Meghan Markle’s half-siblings hit back at Netflix series as ‘horrible’ and ‘hurtful’ towards family

Meghan Markle’s half-siblings have responded to the first three episodes of the Duke and Duchess Netflix series as “horrifying” and “hurtful” to their family.

Speaking on Talk TV, Thomas Markle Jr. called the documentary “a bit disturbing” that made “ridiculous” claims.

In episode three of the couple’s Netflix documentary series released today, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reflected on the events leading up to their royal wedding, which resulted in a break-up with their father, 78.

Markle Jr. and her sister Samantha were offended by Prince Harry’s comment about Meghan’s father.

The Duke of Sussex said he blamed himself for Meghan’s breakup with her father, Thomas Markle, because “if Meg wasn’t with me, her daddy would still be her daddy.”

He added: ‘She had a father before this and now she doesn’t have a father. And I carried that.

Reacting to the comment of that, Mr. Markle Jr. said: ‘I think it’s horrible. The documentary is so far gone on so many different levels that it’s actually a bit unsettling.

“Saying she doesn’t have a family and she doesn’t have a father, and for Harry to say he doesn’t have a father now, that’s just ridiculous.”

Ms. Markle said that she did not want her father to watch the series.

“She’s been through a lot, two heart attacks and a stroke, and she allowed this, she saw it, she didn’t do anything about it, and for Harry to say something like that is appalling,” he told GB News.

Both brothers accused Meghan of lying in the documentary, with Markle Jr. adding that the Netflix show prompted him to work on his own documentary.

He told Talk TV: “Basically, she just swept the whole family under the rug like we didn’t exist, and then she lied about not having a family, and she lied about not having a family that she always wanted.”

We have always been here. The documentary is far away. That is what really prompted me to work with my own production team and present in 2023 our side of a documentary that will shed a lot of light that needs to be shed,” he said.

He added: “The unprecedented amount of files, photos and videos and documentation that we are going to include in our documentary will tell a completely different story.”

“I think the general public in the UK and the US knows that now the Markles are not bad people, we are just like a normal family like everyone else.

“We exist, and when a person tells lies, this is what happens: You end up looking ridiculous.”

Ms Markle said there was a “vicious cycle of wanting to set the record straight”.

Ms Markle also addressed claims made in the documentary that she was the reason her daughter Ashleigh Hale, 37, was not invited to the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.

“Ashley was lied to and in fact my sister was the one who allegedly told Ashley she couldn’t come to the wedding,” Markle told GB News.

“So I felt like I was manipulating my daughter, and that’s really sad because my daughter apparently held a grudge and felt like I was the reason she couldn’t make it to the wedding.”

Ashleihh claimed in the documentary that Meghan told her she couldn’t attend due to her strained relationship with Samantha and “guidance” from the Palace.

“I think I said that I was hurt on some level, but I understood where it was coming from,” she said.

“Knowing that it was because of my biological mother that this relationship, which is so important to me, was affected in that way. I feel that because of her they took it away from me. It’s been hard.

Ms Markle dismissed rumors that the decision not to invite her daughter was ultimately up to Meghan.

“Ashleigh was lied to, and in fact, my sister was the one who allegedly told Ashleigh she couldn’t go to the wedding,” she said.

“So I felt like I was manipulating my daughter, and that’s really sad because my daughter apparently held a grudge and felt like I was the reason she couldn’t make it to the wedding.”

Markle Jr. also criticized the couple’s wedding, telling Talk TV: ‘I mean, who doesn’t invite their family to a wedding, especially a royal wedding? And it’s not like no one in my family asked her for a penny or anything, we were all happy for her when this happened.

‘But the turn of events showed the true colors of this woman.

“My overall view is that I can’t believe that she was able to be in this position, all thanks to my father, by the way, being in that position and knowing what you’re getting yourself into and then going in there and trying to change a traditional monarchy of 1000 years old to your liking.

‘Who does that? It’s still a big question, I mean, me and my dad, we talked about it a little bit, I mean, how could you even consider doing that?

“Everything every woman could dream of in her life, you had and you had to go and make waves and accuse and be difficult and generally take Harry away from his family.”

Markle also criticized the comparisons made between Meghan and Princess Diana.

Prince Harry claimed in the documentary that he “had to step down” from royal duties to protect Meghan when he compared the former “Suits” actress to her late mother.

The Duke of Sussex compared the paparazzi following Diana to the online bullying Meghan faces, describing her as “prey” for social media “hunters”.

Markle dismissed the comparison by saying that her sister was not like the late princess.

“Diana was never noticed for destroying other people, ignoring people through heart attacks, strokes, pandemics,” she told Australia’s Channel Seven’s Sunrise on Friday.

He also questioned the couple’s response to Markle Sr.’s heart attack before their wedding.

‘Why didn’t you get on a plane and go see my father in the hospital? No, the paparazzi wouldn’t have harassed them, that’s a corny excuse. They were never there, they didn’t want to be there.

Thomas Markle Jr. said his father’s condition is improving.

Speaking on Talk TV, he said: ‘Dad is doing great, he’s making a lot of progress, he’s in a good mood. He sometimes he doesn’t feel so comfortable to make a live appearance, but he is doing very well.

“Her speech is definitely coming back, we’re making a lot of progress with speech therapy and for the most part it’s pretty normal, going off for a few moments and coming back.”

“I’m very happy to be here every day for him since this happened in May.”