Meghan Markle news latest – Duchess SLAMMED royals for ‘putting her & Harry under pressure’ to deal with father Thomas

Meghan consulted Royal aide on letter

Former Royal comms boss Jason Knauf revealed in his witness statement how Meghan had been “meticulous” in her wording.

He told how she messaged him with an electronic draft of the letter where she asked if anything stood out as a “liability”.

The papers read: “She also asked a specific question regarding addressing Mr Markle as ‘Daddy’ in the letter, saying ‘given I’ve only ever called him daddy it may make sense to open as such (despite him being less than paternal), and in the unfortunate event that it leaked it would pull at the heartstrings.”

Meghan later text Mr Knauf again, saying: “Honestly Jason, I feel fantastic.

“Cathartic and real and honest and factual. And if he leaks it then that’s on his conscience.

“And at least the world will know the truth, words I could never voice.”

Meghan wrote letter to Dad ‘for Harry’

New court documents suggest Meghan was not only advised to send the letter by royals, but also did so for her husband.

Separate papers by her former press secretary Jason Knauf claim she text him in 2018 about writing the note, saying: “The catalyst for my doing this is seeing how much pain this is causing H.”

Mr Knauf continued in his statement: “The Duchess said she was writing the letter in part to allow The Duke to demonstrate to his family that some action was being taken by the couple to stop Mr Markle from continuing to engage with the media.

“She added that ‘…while unlikely perhaps it will also give my father a moment to pause’.”

Recap: the latest Meghan drama

The term Megxit was created by a troll, says Prince Harry

Prince Harry has slammed the term “Megxit” to describe the couple’s departure is sexist.

Speaking at an online event about disinformation organised by Wired magazine, he said: “Maybe people know this and maybe they don’t, but the term Megxit was or is a misogynistic term, and it was created by a troll, amplified by royal correspondents, and it grew and grew and grew into mainstream media. But it began with a troll”.

Megxit is a play on Brexit – the popular term for the UK leaving the European Union.

It implies that the couple’s decision to break from the Royal family was entirely Meghan’s decision.

Explained: Why is there a two-minute silence?

The Royal Family have a long history of honouring the armed forces and those who have fallen in service.

Today they are likely to join millions at 11am in observing a two-minute silence.

The first two minute silence in the UK was held on November 11, 1919, when King George V asked the public to observe a silence at 11am.

This was one year after the end of World War One.

He made the request so “the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead”

A Royal coincidence?

Trevor Engleson, who was once married to Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex in 2011, is celebrating being a father again after his new wife Tracey gave birth.

“World, meet baby girl Sienna Lee Engelson… my wife is a gangster!” Trevor, 44, wrote on his private Instagram account.

Fans are are saying that the name choice is a slight ‘coincidence’ with it being a royal name.

Sienna is the name given to Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi‘s baby who was born earlier this year.

What did the letter say?

In the letter Meghan begged her dad to stop speaking to the media about her – saying he was breaking her heart “into a million pieces”.

After he agreed to pose for photos ahead of the May 2018 he was disinvited from the wedding and later spoke to Good Morning Britain about how he had been cut off from his daughter.

The five-page handwritten letter was posted to Thomas by Meghan’s Los Angeles-based business manager.

Read more here

Elton John wins rare Royal honour

Elton John received a rare royal honour from Prince Charles in a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday in recognition of a music career lasting more than five decades and his charity work centred on AIDS.

John, aged 74, was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour, an award restricted to the sovereign and a maximum of 65 members.

The musician joins the likes of artist David Hockney, actress Judi Dench, musician Paul McCartney and author J.K. Rowling in the order.

John, accompanied by his husband David Furnish at the ceremony, walked with the aid of a cane. In September he announced his European tour would be delayed due to hip problems.

John has raised millions of pounds for the fight against AIDs, including establishing the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the 1990s.

Mirrored love (continued)

Judi said that the level of the couple’s synchronisation is “relatively rare” and is particularly “astonishing” given William’s background.

She explained: “First there’s William’s military training that should have left him, like his father and brother, with a specific style of movement that would be unlikely to be as flexible as this.

“Then there is his royal upbringing which is based so much on royal hierarchy that it is unusual to see a top level royal using such equal-status mutual mimicry as he does with Kate.”

Kate and Prince William put on a rare display of public affection at the Earthshot Prize last month and were pictured cuddling up to one another and gazing into each other’s eyes.

And the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were seen holding hands during their visit to the Clydeside Distillery in Glasgow, Scotland.

Kate and Wills’ ‘mirrored’ love

A body language expert has said that Kate Middleton and Prince William “mirror” each other physically, and it demonstrates their “deep level of love”.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge may have been married for a decade, but their connection is more “intense” than ever, says Judi James.

Speaking to Fabulous, she said: “The phrase ‘like-bodied equals like-minded’ is so true of William and Kate who have displayed a tendency to mirror one another with a high degree of intensity since they first got married.

“Done consciously it will always imply strong bonding, a bit like wearing matching jumpers to show the world you’re an item, but in these photos we can see they also use identical poses and gestures when they are out of sight of each other as well, which signals an intense meeting of minds and outlook.

“It’s also a romantic ritual and, unlike hand-holding or other more obvious PDAs, it shows very deep levels of loving bonds.”

A right Royal mischief

The Royal family is usually the picture of elegance and poise during public engagements.

But the same can’t always be said for the youngest and most adorable members of the family, who occasionally have been spotted being rather naughty during events.

Like most kids, some of the younger royals have decided to have some playful fun when they are supposed to be on their best behaviour.

From sticking tongues out to playing pranks at school, the mischievous youngsters have won our hearts on numerous occasions.

Click here to see some of their naughtier moments…

Queen may be ‘forced to act’ over royal title

If Meghan Markle continues to use her royal title to help influence her political ambitions, the Queen may be “forced to act”, a royal commentator has claimed.

Daniela Elser said Meghan’s use of her Duchess of Sussex title as she looks to make a difference in American politics is making things awkward for the monarch.

Elser went on to say that Meghan’s continued use of the royal title in politics is “pushing the Queen into even more of a corner”.

She continued by questioning how long the Queen would stand by with the use of the Duchess of Sussex title before she is “forced to act”.

Meg-a-drama (continued)

Meghan said: “While my husband and I were sitting with Senior Member B, I was told that Senior Member A was on the telephone and wished to speak to me.

“The telephone was passed to me and we had a discussion about the situation in the presence of Senior Member B and my husband.

“Once the call ended, we continued discussions with Senior Member B, and it was only after these discussions, and in accordance with the advice that I received from the two senior family members, as stated in my Re-Amended Reply, I decided, that I would write a letter to my father.”

She also accused the royals of “putting significant pressure” on Harry and herself to deal with her father and said she “felt strongly” she had to “do something about it”.

Meghan added: “It was only when my father began criticizing the royal family … that senior members of the family and their advisers expressed their concern over the public attacks, and expressed their desire to have them stopped.

“I felt that even if my attempt to stop my father talking to the media failed, at least my husband would be able to say to his family that I had done everything I could to stop it.”

Meg-a-drama

Meghan Markle refused advice from the Palace to visit her dad and slammed the royals for putting “pressure” on her and Prince Harry.

The Duchess of Sussex, 40, sent her estranged father Thomas Markle a “heartfelt” five-page letter in 2018 after they reached “breaking point”.

But in sensational court documents released today, Meghan has now claimed she only wrote the 1,250-word note on advice of senior royals “A” and “B”.

She said she was originally told by a Palace aide she should fly to Mexico and meet Mr Markle in person, which she felt was “completely unrealistic”.

Instead, she reignited the discussion over how to “deal with the concern surrounding” her dad and “his dealings with the media” while visiting the senior royal B with Harry.

What was Meghan accused of? (continued)

Staff were said to be occasionally reduced to tears.

And one aide, fearing a confrontation with Meghan, apparently told a colleague: “I can’t stop shaking.”

Two senior members of staff have claimed that they were bullied by the Duchess.

And another ex-employee alleged they had been personally “humiliated” by Meghan.

The former worker also said two other members of staff had been bullied.

Another aide said Meghan’s behaviour felt “more like emotional cruelty and manipulation, which I guess could also be called bullying”.