The late Queen Elizabeth II can now add peacemaker to her litany of achievements, as new reports reveal the 96-year-old tried to encourage Meghan Markle to rectify a relationship with her father, Thomas Markle.
In the book "The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth's Legacy and the Future of the Crown" by Katie Nicholl, the royal expert explains that the queen was apprehensive about her grandson Prince Harry marrying Markle without having met his soon-to-be wife's father.
She also allegedly took issue with the father and daughter duo being estranged from one another.
"The Queen," writes Nicholl, "keen to support anyone marrying into her family, did her best to pacify the situation and get to know the new duchess… The Queen was aware that Meghan’s extended family had posed difficulties for the duchess, but she was less bothered about the step-siblings and distant relatives who wanted to cash in on the soap opera. The fact that Harry had not yet met Thomas Markle and that Meghan was still not speaking to her father did concern her, and while she rarely intervenes she made a point of speaking to Harry and Meghan about the situation."
A close family friend told Nicholl, "It was the Queen’s feeling that Meghan should sort things out with her father and that Harry should have met Thomas before the wedding… She thought the whole thing could have been better handled."
The former lighting director was not in attendance at Markle's wedding. Prior to the occasion, Markle released a statement on the status of her father, saying that although he would not be at the wedding, she hoped "he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health."
"Meghan felt unsupported in the run-up to her May 2018 wedding, which was marred by members of her own family selling stories to the press and culminated with her father, Thomas Markle, having a heart attack and being forced to pull out of the ceremony," wrote Nicholl.
Thomas previously alleged that he worked alongside a photo agency to stage photos of himself trying on a tuxedo for his daughter's wedding, as well as viewing a British tourism book.
In the aftermath of the extreme backlash he received, Thomas apparently suffered a heart attack, which is what caused him to not attend the wedding.
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As a result, Markle was walked down the aisle by the U.K.'s current king, Charles III.
While the queen was unsuccessful in mending the heavily dilapidated fence between Markle and Thomas, she made a valiant effort. "From a practical point, the Queen did what she could for the family’s newest member and given Meghan’s boots-on-ground approach made sure the new duchess had the support she needed."
Two years after getting married, both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their duties as senior royals, leading to more familial estrangement, but this time on Harry's side. The queen was said to have been upset by the decision, but ultimately maintained a good relationship with her grandson.
