Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas, is in intensive care seriously ill.

H &M don't realise the extent to which they are being mocked as they become predictable and boring.

Both hanker after celebrity status but neither has the ability to achieve it.

Notoriety is all that remains to them.

That too will fade.

I think the only thing MM will feel if her father dies is relief.It will be another person she can put on the back burner.

My tuppence worth is that Harry is homesick. No matter how wonderfully sunny and glamorous his life is in California, he will be missing dear old Blighty. He will be missing the Royal families' Christmas traditions. He may even be missing the weather!

I absolutely do not agree that they can escape the media. Does anyone really think they will be left alone?

Not now, Luckygirl
They've passed the point of no return, and they never wanted to escape the media anyway, despite what they said.

Anyone who wants to live quietly and escape the media does not write books, go on Oprah, make Netflix films, make lifestyle programmes. They are using the media to promote themselves, quite the opposite of wanting no publicity.

Neither of them are shrinking violets.

The Duchess of Kent was a truly good person.

Look at the fact that Mr Markle's illness is all over the media - it is of no public interest whatsoever

Leaving aside all that has gone before, he is father in law to the king’s younger son. That in itself makes it worthy of reporting.

If Michael Middleton was in intensive care following a leg amputation there would be an even bigger press coverage.

It is sad Fried, but as long as there is life, it is never too late.

I'm not so sure that Harry will be thriving on media attention by the time their relationship is over (ie his and Megan's).

The one plus side eventually is he is going to be in prime position to help publicise a cause no-one has yet connected him with....

Luckygirl3

We know nothing about what has gone on behind the scenes, any more than anyone knows what goes on with our families behind the scenes. Let's not be judgemental and just leave her be. I hate this pilingnin.

Hear hear!!!!

further gossip mongering just adds to it all.

I absolutely do not agree that they can escape the media. Does anyone really think they will be left alone?

Harry has long experience of how impossible this is and watched his mother being hounded. I am not surprised that they sometimes try and take control over it and tell their side.

The Duchess of Kent got away with it because there was absolutely nothing newsworthy about her. An interracial international marriage to a TV star by the son of the king is not going to be something the media will stand back from - they love it all. They will never let go. Look at the fact that Mr Markle's illness is all over the media - it is of no public interest whatsoever but the media can see mileage and money in it so out it goes online, in the papers, along with its opportunities to make stuff up, criticise people and generally stir up dissent. Don't fall for their tricks - just ignore it.......

They cannot escape the media and live under the radar

As merlotgran says, of course they could but it's too late now.

They are two people who thrive on the publicity and love the limelight.

They cannot escape the media and live under the radar

They could if they really wanted to but how would they earn enough money to sustain the lifestyle they have chosen for themselves?
The genie is out of the bottle.

left distraught by allegations of bullying

I should clarify- it was Meghan who allegedly bullied them, reducing some to tears.

They should have just said, from the start, they did not want to be working Royals and wanted no titles, wanted to live quietly with no publicity and disappeared off to America instead of leaving a trail of destruction behind them.

Of course the media are going to hone in on that surely she has some control over her own script it sounds so utterly phoney taking into account of one very ill grandfather who has been abandoned and who has never been allowed to see his grandchildren, one grandfather with his own serious health issues who has only seen them fleetingly, an estranged brother and wife who were once very close and their children, plus two estranged half siblings. Umpteen "dumped" friends, replaced by some high profile useful people wheeled in to create a manufactured ambience.

Add in all the members of staff, some handpicked by Harry, left distraught by allegations of bullying. They did their utmost to make her feel welcome, to learn all about her new rôle about which she seemed so enthusiastic, but were bullied and dumped.

I feel sorry for this gentleman, having suffered estrangement from my oldest daughter I do not wish this state of affairs on anyone. Thank goodness his other daughter and son are there for him.
When my DH had a stroke and bleed on the brain earlier this year and was not expected to survive the weekend, our oldest daughter knew about this due to other family members telling her but never got in contact. Thankfully our other daughters were amazing and never left the hospital.
At the end of day when at some point her dad is no longer around, will be a lot of bitter regrets for Meghan to live with.

Well the late Duchess of Kent managed it, maybe it takes some determination on the part of the individuals.

I admit there would be media interest in them, they are very high profile, but possibly much of that would fall away, if, they weren't always in the public domain promoting themselves. It's particularly unfortunate for Meghan at the moment, given her father is practically at death's door, in that Netflix having launched her Christmas special, she's heard to be wittering on about close family ties and traditions. I thought she was supposed to be smart and media savvy, she could have left all of that out given waxing lyrical about the closeness of so many severed relationships will automatically draw comments as to all those elephants in the room. Of course the media are going to hone in on that surely she has some control over her own script it sounds so utterly phoney taking into account of one very ill grandfather who has been abandoned and who has never been allowed to see his grandchildren, one grandfather with his own serious health issues who has only seen them fleetingly, an estranged brother and wife who were once very close and their children, plus two estranged half siblings. Umpteen "dumped" friends, replaced by some high profile useful people wheeled in to create a manufactured ambience. They've taken control alright but only to make themselves look ridiculous. They're the architects of their own negativity, they've chosen to present themselves in this way often contrary to advice.

Go be private people and live under the radar if that's actually a genuine desire.
I can't imagine the media letting thst happen!
What are they to do? ... put up with the incessant media intrusion and ignore it? Take opportunities to state their case? Go with flow and accept that it is inevitable? Try and take control of how they are presented?
I wonder what we all might do in this situation?
They cannot escape the media and live under the radar.

Apparently Harry, after his recent visit to his father, has been encouraging Meghan to make contact with Thomas before it’s too late.

Me - I'm just waiting for "the whole story" to come out as "common knowledge" and no-one trying to put the frighteners or ridiculing on for saying "Actually....such and such does seem to have good evidence that that is how things are".

Lost count of how many big red flags are flying...

Luckygirl3

*We have every right to judge someone who has lied so often* - do we have that right?

We can judge someone when we know the full facts. We have no idea at all what life was like for Megan growing up nor how the rifts in their family developed.

I have no idea whether Megan is a wonderful person or a dreadful person - I suspect that, like the rest of us, she might be a bit of both. Or just somewhere in the middle.

I am happy to judge people like Johnson or Hitler who have caused untold general misery - but not the likes of Megan, who does no harm.

who does no harm

I agree that we don't know the full facts. But we know enough to know that she does harm.

Without Meghan, Harry would probably not be alienated from most of his family and friends. He probably wouldn’t have betrayed his family for money by airing the dirty laundry on Oprah and Netflix. Plus she accused the royal family of being racist, most probably unjustifiably.

I don’t think anyone can say she hasn’t done harm to the monarchy.

Charles has hardly seen his grandchildren so that’s quite a lot of harm right there. He comes across in Spare as a very affectionate father who would really mind this family rift.

As PPs have said, Meghan has been shown to have lied at least 4 times.

In addition, she has several times been accused of bullying, by people in different workplaces.

Ten people she employed as publicists have left within 5 years, and a chief of staff for the couple recently left after 3 months.

According to Andrew Morton’s biography of Meghan, her father did really love her and put himself out for her. I feel sad for him and I hope she will go and see him.

Poor man. An amputation at any age will be traumatic but even more so for an 81 year old.

Luckygirl3

BlueBelle

The judgement on here about someone no one knows and a situation no one knows a thing about is frightening
Not one of you knows what has gone on it’s just horrible to see when one person is picked on with such nastiness

It’s for her conscience only she will have to live with her decision No one else’s business

Indeed so.
It is as if folk need a target for harboured anger in their lives. I find it rather sad.

That's not a very pleasant thing to say. Are we not allowed to make a comment without being accused of having harboured anger in our lives? I don't think that applies to most people but we have watched this disaster (had it presented to us by Harry and Meghan in fact) for a long time and it doesn't get any better.

I think Terribull sums it up (again!) when she says
There are always, always two sides, and Meghan's reputation as a difficult person preceded her associations with the Royal family. Family fall outs and estrangements per se are not so unusual that they don't resonate universally.
She has also left more than a few devastated people in her wake en route, not just her father, most of whom cannot or will not speak out.

It is frightening to see how parents, after doing what they feel is best for their child, then see that child cut them off as if they no longer exist. Sadly, we see stories on here but this one has been played out in public by Meghan and Harry themselves.

I think H&M are up the creek without a paddle with this one.
Anything they do will be criticised one way or another and any support they give, financial or otherwise would need to be accompanied by the usual gagging order unless they decide it’s in their own interests to disclose it.
They don’t have, or don’t listen to good advice so a simple, ‘What can we do to help?’ can no longer figure in their world.

Thomas Markle has enough to contend with. Whatever he has or hasn’t done in this sorry tale, he has my sympathy.

Well put Terribull.

Yes! the poor man has now had his leg amputated.

Possibly judgements on here and frankly all over the place, very much in the American media as well as our own reflect their behaviour. Hence the South Park skit, anybody who has had children who followed that show will know that it is well known for their parodies of the famous. The essence of the H&M one was very much taking the piss out of the contradictory narrative they created themselves "we're leaving because we seek privacy" and the reality of a never ending entitled moan about how hard done by they are. Maybe all of this is a backlash to M&H's own harsh one sided judgements of people who weren't in a position to retaliate. What goes around comes around. There are always, always two sides, and Meghan's reputation as a difficult person preceded her associations with the Royal family. Family fall outs and estrangements per se are not so unusual that they don't resonate universally. Everything that could be gleaned from Meghan's relationship with her father was one of closeness, many photographs of them together with his arm around her, or her head on his shoulder. I certainly never had such a tactile relationship with my father it was very much at arms length, her pictures do tell a story to a certain extent. He made an error of judgement in talking to the paparazzi who were permanently parked outside his home. Up until that point he was going to walk her down the aisle, he was still the very much loved dad, then he inconveniently had heart surgery to coincide with the wedding and would have been precluded to travel in the immediate aftermath anyway. His testaments were that he was berated in hospital by both of them and at which time they didn't ask how he was doing and that was that! From that time onwards he joined a queue of others who were deemed persona no grata.

Personalities who drive their own publicity machine, whether they be celebrities, royals, politicians, presidents on a world stage cannot expect the public not to comment on bizarre and hypocritical behaviour. Go be private people and live under the radar if that's actually a genuine desire.

Luckygirl3

*And seeing as Harry has supposedly walked away from his Royal connections, why is he mentioning his great, great, great…. grandfathers?*

No longer working for the royal family does not mean this person has ceased to be his forbear!

But if his Royal family are so dire, (they had to escape from it after all, ‘Finding Freedom’, ) why does he need to refer to them?

You would think he would want no association with it.

Back to the $$$$ though,