Royal family avoids offering support to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during ‘difficult’ time

The royal family should wash its hands of any drama surrounding Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle Sr., after he was accused of possessing a collection of child pornography, according to several royal insiders.

“I don’t expect the royal family to be involved in this situation,” royal reporter Andrea Caamano exclusively told Page Six.

“Despite Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK, relations remain complicated and I do not see the Palace wanting to get involved in matters concerning Meghan’s father.”

The co-host of Hello!’s “A Right Royal Podcast.” pointed out that there have been no publicly confirmed face-to-face meetings between King Charles III and Harry or the Duke of Sussex’s children since he and Meghan returned to the UK in August.

“The king also has a lot to do,” Caamano said, noting that he is embarking on an “extremely important” nine-day tour of the Caribbean, during which he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Meanwhile, Prince William is preparing to travel to Mumbai in November for the Earthshot Prize. It has not yet been confirmed whether his wife, Kate Middleton, will join him on the trip.

“Ultimately, I believe the King, Prince and Princess of Wales will continue to do what they do best: focus on their royal duties and the work ahead of them,” Caamano said. “I would not expect any public intervention from the royal family in this particular matter.”

Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield agreed, exclusively telling Page Six that Charles is currently in a “difficult position.”

“As a father, he would like to offer emotional support to Prince Harry in such a distressing situation. However, as monarch, he must consider the potential consequences of any private conversations,” Schofield said.

Due to Harry’s habit of discussing private family matters with the media, Schofield believes Charles would be hesitant to speak with his youngest son about the Thomas Sr. scandal.

“The king would be reluctant to discuss such a sensitive issue without assurance that their conversations would remain private,” she said.

Schofield expects Prince William to “not engage” with his estranged brother and sister-in-law either.

“It’s not his fight,” Schofield said, adding: “William has his own family to protect and his own responsibilities to the Crown. He has little appetite for getting involved in another Sussex crisis.”

Shofield told Page Six that she contacted more than 40 palace sources and discovered that no insiders had heard of the allegations against Thomas Sr. before the story broke last week.

“I found no indication in these conversations that the palace was previously aware of allegations of this nature,” Schofield said, adding: “Given their seriousness, I would have expected such concerns to be raised through appropriate channels if they had been known during Meghan’s time as a working royal.”

The “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered” podcast host believes Meghan, 45, and Harry, 42, had a “responsibility” to inform the institution of the allegations against her father when they became aware of them in order to prepare the royal family for “potential fallout.”

“From my conversations, I have seen no evidence that such a warning was given,” Schofield said.

Last week, Page Six confirmed that Thomas Sr., 82, was under investigation in the Philippines for possession of child pornography.

Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., said he found “hundreds, if not thousands” of images and videos of child sexual abuse among his father’s belongings at his home in Cebu City.

Thomas Sr. has denied the accusations, calling them “sick lies.” His daughter, Samantha Markle, responded by accusing Thomas Jr. of lying about the “revenge” allegations.

Meghan reacted to the news by sharing that she has been aware of the “deeply distressing” accusations against her father for several years.

“I hope it can now be understood that, despite the distortion of some media publications over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason only: to protect them,” Markle said in part. “I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families. »

The As Ever founder – who shares son Prince Archie, 7, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 5, with Harry – has been estranged from her father since 2018.