Five years after their highly publicized royal wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have yet to reconnect with Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas Markle. The deeply personal family rift continues to stir public interest, especially as it’s now emerged that Harry never met his father-in-law—an absence that royal experts say raises important questions.
Meghan reportedly became estranged from Thomas Markle shortly before her 2018 wedding, following allegations that he had leaked private information to the media. The fallout was swift and final—no contact has been made since, and Thomas Sr. has frequently expressed heartbreak over the silence from his daughter and son-in-law.
Now, royal biographer Hugo Vickers has offered fresh insight into the situation during an appearance on The Sun’s podcast with royal editor Matt Wilkinson and expert Samara Gil. “Why did Mr Markle never meet Prince Harry?” Vickers asked. “There can only be three reasons for that.”
Vickers laid out the possible explanations. “One, that she was ashamed of him, which I think is a bit unattractive,” he suggested, pointing to the often-awkward contrast between Meghan’s glamorous royal image and her more modest family background.
As for the second theory, Vickers referred to the private conversation Prince Harry allegedly had with Thomas Markle when seeking permission to marry Meghan. “Possibly that she thought he’d done something, but when Prince Harry rang Mr. Markle up and asked if he could marry his daughter, he said ‘You can marry her as long as you never raise your hand against her’,” Vickers explained.
“Of course we don’t talk like that, so maybe he lives in a world where people have done that sort of thing.” Vickers, however, said he personally doubts that explanation, turning instead to the third theory—one he believes may be more accurate. “I think she was worried that he might have warned Prince Harry—‘This is not what you’re getting, this girl,’” he said.
Despite everything, Vickers insists Harry should have ensured Thomas Markle was present at the royal wedding in some capacity. “If [Thomas] couldn’t have walked the aisle, he should have been sitting there, because, as you rightly say, he did a lot for that girl—and she even admitted it in the early days before she distanced herself from him,” he said.
Podcast guest Samara Gil added that while Harry and Meghan speak frequently about privacy and security, Thomas Markle himself was “hounded,” ultimately forcing him to leave the country in the midst of the media storm.