The Duchess of Sussex: Family and Background

[Cocoasneeze]

Meghan and Harry couldn't just pop up for a visit uninvited. The relationship and effort gone into it has to be a two way street, as in Meghan and Harry wanting to visit Mr Markle, and Mr Markle welcoming them. Unless Mr Markle welcomed them, they simply cannot go and visit him. From his own mouth, Mr Markle said, that Harry and Meghan wanted to visit him, but Mr Markle declined the visit. So to blame Meghan (and Harry) for not visiting Mr Markle seems like inaccurate thing to do, because Mr Markle didn't do his half of maintaining the relationship, and keeping contact and meeting up.

[Denville]

why did he not want them to visit?

[Cocoasneeze]

He didn't reveal this information.

[Mirabel]

Originally Posted by Cocoasneeze

Mr Markle never acknowledged the harassment Meghan has faced from the press, and HIS OWN CHILDREN. He never acknowledged the anthrax scare either.

All I've heard from him is 'My image, and not being part of this historic event, but instead being a footnote in it.'

And Samantha Markle claims, that her father has every right to speak to the press if he wants to, even about Meghan. What she fails to acknowledge, is that Meghan has every right to not have Mr Markle a part of her life when he has decided to disrespect her right to privacy.

I'm beginning to wonder if that (Markle's appearance at the wedding) might have been part of an extortion attempt?
I don't mean for money, I mean for certain conditions. Do as I say or I'll ruin your wedding type of emotional blackmail.

Such as: I'll walk you down the aisle, but you need to invite your half-siblings. Or: I will show up, but only if you reconcile with the entire family and give them some support.

I'm thinking he tried to pull something like that and Meghan wasn't having it.
Instead Charles stepped up, and we had some of the sweetest moments of the wedding.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Cocoasneeze

He didn't reveal this information.

I find it hard to believe that he would be reluctat to see his daughter, unless possibly he was not well, or was embarrassed by his financial shortages...

[Cocoasneeze]

Originally Posted by Denville

I find it hard to believe that he would be reluctat to see his daughter, unless possibly he was not well, or was embarrassed by his financial shortages...

From his own mouth, he revealed to TMZ, that he's well off, and has no need to ask for money. My point was, though, that Mr Markle himself said, that Meghan and Harry wanted to visit him, and he told them not to. So the 'why hasn't Meghan visited him, why hasn't Harry seen him yet' at least partly is explained by Mr Markle refusing their visits.

[Denville]

He is hardly going to admit that he is not that well off, and he's going to deny that he might need extra money. But it seems like he went bankrupt and is living in Mexcico because he is not that well off....
it does seem odd that he should refuse a visit.. unless he and Meghan don't get on that well really..

[Mirabel]

His lifestyle doesn't reflect that (that he is well-off).

I've seen street people who look better!

[Denville]

He probably is NOT well off.. but he's not going to admit that is he? It might look like he was saying "Im living here in Mexico, improverished and my daughter and her man who are very rich, could help me out, but I don't want to ask them."ANd that MIGHT be a reasonable cause for his not wanting them to visit, because he is embarrassed at being poor but not wanting to look like he is soliciting money from them...

[Cocoasneeze]

So instead of asking hs daughter for financial help, who no doubt would help him no questions asked, he sells private conversations between himself and his daughter, when he knew she didn't want him talking about her to the press. This logic makes Mr Markle look like a VERY difficult man to live with and have in your life.

[loonytick]

Originally Posted by Denville

He probably is NOT well off.. but he's not going to admit that is he? It might look like he was saying "Im living here in Mexico, improverished and my daughter and her man who are very rich, could help me out, but I don't want to ask them."ANd that MIGHT be a reasonable cause for his not wanting them to visit, because he is embarrassed at being poor but not wanting to look like he is soliciting money from them...

He’s got a house in Los Felix and a retirement condo in Rosarito. That takes money. Period.

For all the fussing over him being in Mexico, he’s in a pretty nice place. The town does have some rough areas, and sadly any place on the border is going to have horrible crime statistics anymore thanks to the nasty business of drug running, but the truth is the main part (where he clearly is, based in the photos) of these border towns are safe, nice, and not inexpensive places frequented by Americans who are very comfortable, financially speaking. He’s living in a place with a long history of Hollywood types having lush weekend getaways and LA/San Diego teenagers taking celebratory trips after graduation. It’s not some run down, dirty, impoverished hideaway.

Let’s not worry about Markle’s financial comfort. He’s doing fine. He’s just narrowly focused on his own image at the expense of his daughter, that’s all.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Denville

why did he not want them to visit?

You will have to ask him. He said they talked about visiting him, but he told them to focus on their day and then go on a proper honeymoon.

Honestly, I might be the only person that sees Harry not meeting him during engagement as not weird because I’ve had friends in the same situation (one actually didn’t have a wedding until almost a year after they legally married, and that’s when her parents met her husband).

[loonytick]

The queen has non-royal family on the balcony every year at Trooping the Colour. Every single year. Once in a blue moon she even has nonrelated guests. If someone is invited to the lunch as a guest they are invited onto the balcony. Just look at the photos. Most of those Kent and Gloucester relations aren’t royal. Zara and Philip and their households aren’t royal. That said, it is true that it’s not her custom to invite in-laws.

In this hypothetical, King William of course would be subject to whatever boundaries the government set, but what we’ve seen so far is that the gov haven’t been fussed enough over balcony appearances to mandate limits on who can or cannot be included.

[jacqui24]

Uh, wrong thread?

[Denville]

Originally Posted by loonytick

He’s got a house in Los Felix and a retirement condo in Rosarito. That takes money. Period.

For all the fussing over him being in Mexico, he’s in a pretty nice place. The town does have some rough areas, and sadly any place on the border is going to have horrible crime statistics anymore thanks to the nasty business of drug running, but the truth is the main part (where he clearly is, based in the photos) of these border towns are safe, nice, and not inexpensive places frequented by Americans who are very comfortable, financially speaking. He’s living in a place with a long history of Hollywood types having lush weekend getaways and LA/San Diego teenagers taking celebratory trips after graduation. It’s not some run down, dirty, impoverished hideaway.

Let’s not worry about Markle’s financial comfort. He’s doing fine. He’s just narrowly focused on his own image at the expense of his daughter, that’s all.

Im not worried.. why should I be? But I have heard that he's bankrupt and Im assuming that means he's not well off.. and I would have imagined that that was why he had moved to MExico, to live more cheaply....so I could understand his being embarrassed by having to live cheaply.. and not wanting ot look like he's looking for financial help. Otherwise, it seems Odd to say that he didn't want them to come. Presumably he loves his daughter and she and H are well off enough to make a visit, before or after the wedding...

Originally Posted by jacqui24

You will have to ask him. He said they talked about visiting him, but he told them to focus on their day and then go on a proper honeymoon.

Honestly, I might be the only person that sees Harry not meeting him during engagement as not weird because I’ve had friends in the same situation (one actually didn’t have a wedding until almost a year after they legally married, and that’s when her parents met her husband).

Given that Meghan is now going to be based in the UK, it seems odd to me that she didn't spare a few days now before she is increasingly tied up with royal duties and maybe staritng a family, to see her father who will be so far away from her..but maybe they are not that close..

[Cocoasneeze]

I think we are going in circles now, but perhaps Mr Markle wasn't welcoming to her visiting him. She could want to visit him very much, and him giving her multiple excuses why now it's not a good time.

[Denville]

Possibly, but one doesn't get the feeling of their being very close. Maybe she did want to visit and was discouraged..but that points to their not being that close...

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Denville

Given that Meghan is now going to be based in the UK, it seems odd to me that she didn't spare a few days now before she is increasingly tied up with royal duties and maybe staritng a family, to see her father who will be so far away from her..but maybe they are not that close..

I would argue that Meghan has jumped in since she moved to UK. We have to remember that she was already engaged by the time Suits wrapped. In the six months, she has wrapped up filming a show, moved acrossed the ocean, said goodbye to one of her dogs that can’t move, planned a wedding, getting to know her in-laws, had religious lessons in the Anglican Church, conducted royal engagements, held private meetings with people on the UK charity landscape (reportedly held just under 100 meetings), made private visits to organizations, deal with immigration matters that required her to travel, learn a new way of life in her new role, and prepare for getting started on her duties quickly after her wedding. There is already two official trips announced, and somewhat likely that she’ll join Harry in The Hague. Rumor is that we’ll hear about a project she’s been working on later this year as well. I would say she’s already been tied up. It’s a lot in 6 months for anyone. Some wondered why she needed an assistant private secretary before she was even married, that’s why.

Plus, I’d imagine any meeting wouldn’t take place in Mexico. He’ll at least have to meet them somewhere in LA due to security concerns. We heard about the security that travelled with her to Chicago, not only was RPO involved, but so was State Department. I think she might not even stayed at her mom’s if the reports of her going to LA during Easter were to be believed. We’ve regularly seen photos of her mom being stalked outside her home, but nothing during those times.

I think her relationship with her dad is one based on love. But her dad seems to not be able to make good decisions when faced with complexity and difficulty. I know parents like this well. They love you in their own way, but they have a way of blowing things up when you most need them to hold it together. It’s extremely frustrating and difficult. There is no way she’d still be on speaking terms with her father and want him to come to the wedding after the photo drama if she didn’t love him. I think most of us would’ve AT THE MINIMUM gave him a colossal telling off for that. It always boggled my mind that the most he seemed to be concerned about is his image. What image?!?! Does he really think anyone gives a crap? Most people would simply read it for entertainment purposes and move on. You aren’t going to change anyone’s mind and no one really cares about what it really is anyways.

In these situations, you really have to decide if it’s just gotten to be too much and walk away or if you can still draw from the good experiences in the past and work it out.

[Somebody]

There are very few people left arguing that they are close. So, how much effort either one put into trying to meet each other is unclear but Meghan saw her father last a few months into dating Harry and didn't visit him the year before her engagement nor since. Her father said he preferred them to focus on their wedding day and enjoy their honeymoon instead of visiting while he was recovering from his heart condition. This doesn't say much about whether he was open to them visiting him prior to the engagement or shortly afterwards. They did expect to meet a few days before the wedding but because he didn't end up coming, so that first meeting might be unsure or moved a long way into the future; or Meghan and Harry might be forgiving again and still let him visit (and most likely regret it afterwards).

He seems to be doing fine financially (owning two houses is a clear indication), living in a retirement village (typically done by people with money); if needed he could decide to sell one of his properties. And if he was worried about them visiting him in Mexico, they could have easily met in LA or have him come over to London,

[AlowVera]

I don't see how they can visit him or even talk to him, he is not trust worthy and more than likely he ran to the press after their last conversation. Given the most recent articles he is still jockeying for an invite or visit. He is still trying to get his "place in history" so any children they have he will want to be apart of their lives.


They can treat him "diplomatically" fly him in, keep any personal contact to a minimum and in an official location or with a third party, then fly him out. Keep all conversation on diplomatic topics like hi/bye, nice weather, smile.