Meghan Markle and Harry: Experts say website is ‘still live’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex published a “letter to 2021” on their Archewell website, alongside pictures of Harry with Princess Diana and Meghan with her mother Doria Ragland. The letter began: “I am my mother’s son. And I am my son’s mother.” Later in the piece, they said: “We have experienced compassion and kindness from our mothers and strangers alike.”
What is conspicuously absent is any mention of Prince Charles or Thomas Markle.
Meghan is known to be estranged from her father, who she has not spoken to since her wedding to Harry.
Thomas has spoken to numerous media outlets begging his daughter to get in touch.
Their father-daughter relationship is now at the centre of a lawsuit in which Meghan has accused the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline of invading her privacy by publishing sections of a letter she wrote to her father.
Meanwhile, Harry’s relationship with Charles was tested last year when he and Meghan decided to step down as senior royals.
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Meghan and Harry have been accused of “airbrushing” Prince Charles out of the picture (Image: GETTY)
Thomas Markle on Good Morning Britain (Image: ITV)
There was much upset in the Royal Family about how the Sussexes announced their decision before proper clearance was given by the Queen or Charles.
However, it is believed that the two are still close, and have been communicating while Harry has been in California.
The omission of any mention of Charles therefore might have been quite “hurtful” to the prince, royal commentators argued.
Pod Save the Queen is hosted by Ann Gripper and features Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers.
Ms Gripper said: “The thing that immediately struck me is that it was kind of airbrushing the men out of the picture a little bit somehow.
Meghan and Harry’s ‘letter to 2021’ (Image: Archewell.com)
“It’s a bit like ‘Ooh, ouch’. If I was Charles I think I would probably feel quite hurt.
“Not even the set up at the beginning, but saying ‘we’ve experienced compassion from our mothers and strangers alike’, it’s almost like mothers are the only people who can give compassion.
“And when you’re putting the focus on being ‘our son’s mother’, what is the role of the son’s father?
“I felt like Harry was put at a distance from Archie.
“And I know that this is absolutely micro-analysing what they’re saying and how they’ve said it and all that kind of thing, but ultimately they are Harry and Meghan and that’s what happens.”
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The picture on the right of Harry and Diana features on the Archewell website (Image: GETTY)
Mr Myers said he thought it was “fair enough” to micro-analyse their words given they were coming directly from the horse’s mouth.
He also agreed that it was “hurtful” to sideline Charles like this.
The royal expert suggested it might be because they did not want to include Thomas and felt like they therefore couldn’t mention either of their fathers.
However, he branded this “ridiculous”, saying that Charles could still have been mentioned.
Mr Myers said: “They’re putting this up themselves, it’s their words so they should be micro-analysed and anyone would be foolish to think it wouldn’t be.
Meghan and Harry sing together in Archewell Audio trailer
“Maybe the fact that Prince Charles has been airbrushed from it is potentially a little bit hurtful.
“But I can see the direction it’s going in and certainly the imagery used of that picture of Harry on Diana’s shoulders.
“It almost just felt as though they couldn’t mention Charles because then they’d have to mention Thomas and that just seems slightly ridiculous.
“Everybody knows that Meghan doesn’t have a relationship with her father and that’s her prerogative.
“It’s at such a low ebb, unfortunately, their relationship, that then Charles doesn’t get a look-in.”
Ms Gripper argued that when people think of compassion, they would tend to think of Princess Diana over Charles.
Diana was famous for her warm demeanour on engagements, and especially for hugging and touching people with HIV at a time when there was a huge stigma.
Diana showed love and compassion to everyone she met, even saying in her infamous Panorama interview that “someone’s got to go out there and love people”.
However, Mr Myers argued that behind the scenes Charles has been a very loving and supportive father, especially after the death of Diana.
He said: “Someone said that to me, but I would disagree because I think Charles did help them and certainly I’ve spoken to a lot of people who know Charles well and helped those boys through that tumultuous period in their life and he has worked very hard to make sure they have a relationship, the three of them.
“And he’s absolutely devastated how it’s actually worked out, or had worked out for Harry last year that he felt backed into a corner.
“And as far as I’m concerned, I’m led to believe that their relationship is pretty good now. I’m at a loss to explain it really.
“And I think it’s probably more clear cut that it’s just this Thomas Markle aspect of it and they felt they couldn’t mention the father.”
He added that Charles does not get enough credit for how he handled the disaster of Thomas not coming to the wedding, and how he stepped in to take Meghan down the aisle.
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