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Duchess Meghan’s private pain amid nasty feud with father

As a court battle looms, family drama is still front and centre for the Sussexes.
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Two years after Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry was beset with dysfunctional family drama, the couple’s text messages to her father, Thomas Markle, have been released as part of a legal case against the Mail on Sunday

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The Duchess of Sussex’s legal team lodged papers, obtained by news outlet TMZ, which show that Meghan and Harry repeatedly reached out to Thomas, 75, after the former movie lighting director was sprung staging paparazzi photos for cash days before he was set to walk Meghan down the aisle on May 19, 2018.

“I’ve called and texted but haven’t heard back from you so hoping you’re okay,” Meghan messaged, as revealed in the new court documents. On May 6, just days before their nuptials, Meghan and Harry learnt that Thomas had posed for fake photos. Meghan, the legal papers say, tried to arrange “logistics and supplies for her father discretely and with privacy, with care taken not to feed the press She is trying to protect her father from heightened press intrusion and scrutiny and [advising] that he should keep a low profile until the wedding.”

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“If you love Meg, please call.” (Credit: Getty)
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Meghan’s legal team claim Thomas was “harassed and humiliated” by the paper.

On May 14, Thomas said he would not be able to attend the wedding and, according
to the court papers, Harry texted him after attempting to call for half an hour.

“Tom, it’s Harry and I’m going to call you right now. Please pick up, thank you, he wrote, according to the documents. Tom, Harry again!” read another text.

Really need to speak to u. U do not need to apologise, we understand the circumstances but going public will only make the situation worse. If u love Meg and want to make it right please call me as there are two other options which don’t involve u having to speak to the media, who incidentally created this whole situation. So please call me so I can explain. Meg and I are not angry, we just need to speak to u. Thanks.

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A third message read, “Oh any speaking to the press WILL backfire, trust me Tom. Only we can help u, as we have been trying from day 1”.

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Their happy day was marred by Thomas’ stubborn refusal to return calls. (Credit: Getty)

Also in the new court papers, it’s revealed that when Thomas told TMZ he’d had a heart attack, it was the first Meghan had heard of it.

“I’ve been reaching out to you all weekend but you’re not taking any of our calls or replying to any texts

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Meghan wrote, according to the texts in the court papers. “Very concerned about your health and safety and have taken every measure to protect you but not sure what more we can do if you don’t respond Do you need help? Can we send the security team down again? I’m very sorry to hear you’re in hospital but need you to please get in touch with us … What hospital are you at?”

When there was no response, Meghan tried again. “Harry and I made a decision earlier today and are dispatching the same security guys you turned away this weekend to be a presence on the ground to make sure you’re safe … they will be there at your disposal. Please please call as soon as you can … all of this is incredibly concerning
but your health is most important.”

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The texts shed light on how the duchess’ relationship with her father broke down after he decided to sell stories about her to the press. (Credit: Getty)

Documents filed by the newspaper at the High Court in London in January showed it plans to rely on evidence from Thomas, stating that he “had a weighty right to tell his version of what had happened between himself and his daughter, including the contents of the letter.

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The newspaper group is arguing that there is legitimate public interest in the royals family and their “personal relationships”, and their filings also revealed previously unpublished texts, including one that appears to be an angry exchange between Harry and his father-in-law after the 75-year-old claimed he was rushed to a hospital for emergency heart surgery and could not fly to the UK on health grounds.

“I’ve done nothing to hurt you Meghan or anyone else,” the Daily Mail cites Thomas as writing in the court filings. “I’m sorry my heart attack is … any inconvenience for you.”

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(Credit: WHO)
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