It’ been one unsolicited outburst after another – with both Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle embarrassing themselves with nasty, ill-considered comments about the Duchess of Sussex and the royal family.
We now feel nervous every time the Markles open their mouths. But an end to the Markle debacle could be in sight, with Kensington Palace reportedly in crisis talks on how to end the dramas, once and for all.
According to a report from The Mirror advisors have held at least three top-level crisis meetings and have come up with three approaches that could be used to stop the drama with the Markles and the Duchess of Sussex’s father, Thomas Markle, in particular.
According to a royal source of The Mirror, Duchess Meghan has been “deeply hurt” by everything that has been said since she joined the royal family in May, and she now has three possible options to deal with the situation.
“Firstly, Meghan could contact her father straight away and appeal to him directly to ask him to stop hurting her, but right now she’s decided to cut him off.”
Thomas Markle claims that the last time he spoke to his daughter was before the royal wedding in May.
The source revealed that the second option is that “an intermediary could meet with him and appeal to him to stop making such hurtful statements”.
Royal expert Phil Dampier told The Daily Express that the Queen herself could be the chief mediator if this option goes ahead as “it is getting out of control”.
“If this carries on I wouldn’t be surprised if the Queen herself gets involved and bangs a few heads together.”
The third and most definitive option for Meghan is to cut off ties with her father completely but the source says “the situation is so precarious no one knows when that would be.”
In recent weeks (and despite not having spoken to his daughter since May) Thomas Markle has claimed his daughter is “terrified” by royal life. He has complained that the Queen chose to meet Donald Trump before meeting him in person.
He has staged paparazzi photos with the intent of “improving his public image”, which backfired terribly.
He has criticised his daughter in a televised interview for cutting off contact with him, saying she would be nothing without him – “Perhaps it would be easier for Meghan if I died.”
But his lowest blow has probably come in the form of taking aim at Prince Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, when he told The Daily Mail: “They have Meghan treating her father in a way that Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, would have loathed. That’s not what Diana stood for.”
How the heck would he know?
His vitriol is so vile that celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen are now coming out of the woodwork to lend her their support via social media posts.
The Duchess has also had the support of members of the royal family such as her sister-in-law, Duchess Catherine, who has made a real effort to be there for her new sister-in-law.
In an unprecedented revelation from a royal family member, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, commented that they “didn’t know what would happen next” after Thomas Markle’s paparazzi gaff.
This man has certainly got everybody talking, but for all the wrong reasons.