Meghan Markle’s brother has hit out at the royal family and its aides over the way his family has been treated – and said he hopes she can make peace with her father ‘before its too late’.
He also asked why the Markle clan can’t be looked after like the Middleton family, saying that Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary Goldsmith had been welcomed into the fold despite four marriages and a conviction for domestic assault.
Thomas Markle Jr. spoke to DailyMail.com amid reports that his sister is expected to arrive in California to see her mother Doria.
She is not expected to contact her father or other family members during the trip, which comes after a series of explosive comments by Thomas Markle Sr., who suggested he would be better off dead and compared the royal family to Scientologists.
His son Thomas Jr. questioned why his family has been frozen out while the Duchess of Cambridge’s relations – including Goldsmith – have been brought into the royal fold.
He also revealed that he has been left heartbroken by the breakdown in his father’s relationship with Meghan and says he would like the Duchess of Sussex to ‘make amends’ before it’s too late.
Thomas Jr. told DailyMail.com: ‘They have [brought outsiders in] before in the past like with the Middletons. I don’t see why our family is any different.
Concerned: Thomas Markle Jr. tells DailyMail.com that his sister Meghan needs to heal the rift with her father Thomas Sr. ‘No father-daughter relationship should be like this,’ he said, warning that he is worried about his father’s health
House of Markle and house of Middleton: Thomas Markle Jr. (left) tells DailyMail.com that his family has been treated very differently to that of Kate Middleton, including her colorful uncle Gary Goldsmith, who was invited to her wedding to Prince William. He later assaulted his fourth wife and was photographed arriving at court to be sentenced in 2017
Out of the fold: Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, and her husband Prince Harry have not been in contact with her father since before their wedding
‘Kensington Palace could have got involved a long time ago – as soon as they announced their engagement.
‘They’ve dealt with this kind of stuff for a long time and why they did it this way, that’s the big question? Why? They could have looked after my dad and he would have been happy.’
He highlighted Kate Middleton’s uncle , whose colorful conduct before their wedding – he was caught chopping lines of cocaine in a newspaper sting at his Mediterranean home, La Maison de Bang Bang – did not stop him from being invited to Westminister Abbey.
Thomas Jr. said: ‘I think Uncle Gary and I would get along just fine. It would have been nice to at least get an invite to the wedding like he was.
‘I don’t need to be brought into all the events or whatever but it would have been nice to be brought into that.’
Meghan, who turned 37 earlier this month, has been estranged from her half-brother and sister for several years and has not spoken to her father, Thomas Markle Sr, 74, since the day after her wedding in May.
Her mother Doria Ragland, 61, was the only family member present at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor on May 19 – with even relations she is known to be close to such as niece Ashleigh Hale, 32, and half-uncle Joffrey Ragland, 34, left off the guest list.
By contrast, at Kate Middleton’s wedding to Prince William in April 2011, nearly all of the Middleton clan was present – including parents Michael and Carole and siblings Pippa and James.
Also invited was Kate’s uncle Gary – a man whose antics have since included being convicted of drunkenly punching his wife late last year and admitting to taking cocaine at his Ibiza villa, have caused as least as much embarrassment to the royals as the Markles have.
Goldsmith , 52, was also caught taking an alcoholic tumble outside a branch of McDonalds in London earlier this year and then publicly relieving himself nearby.
Another member of the extended Middleton clan is reality TV playboy Spencer Matthews, 30, Pippa Middleton’s husband James’s brother.
He claimed in his autobiography to have bedded over 1,000 women but was pictured laughing with Princes William and Harry at his brother’s wedding.
Meghan, Thomas Jr. told DailyMail.com, could have handled her family tribulations ‘differently from the start’ and avoided the rift with her father that has seen him speak out repeatedly and even tell one newspaper that ‘they would be better off if I died’.
Another black sheep: Spencer Matthews, seen laughing and joking with Princes William and Harry at his brother James’s wedding to Pippa Middleton. The reality star has boasted of bedding 1,000 women
Stumbling performance: Gary Goldsmith, Kate Middleton’s uncle, was seen in January stumbling in the street after a boozy ‘Peeky Blinders’ themed night out with friends in London’s Mayfair. He was later spotted apparently emptying his bladder in public then heading to McDonald’s
Notoriety: Gary Goldsmith gave Prince William and Kate Middleton his villa in Ibiza, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean, for their first vacation as a couple. He was later caught on camera cutting lines of cocaine at the villa – La Maison de Bang Bang, a name he insisted was a reference to music
‘I think Meghan should have handled this differently,’ he said. ‘I think Meghan should have handled this from the beginning and I think it got ignored and swept under the carpet for so long, it’s a shame where it’s ended up, especially between her and my father.
‘She’s capable of doing anything, she’s just got to want to do it. If she wants to make amends, by all means, she can do that. But she’s got to want to do it.’
Markle Sr and Meghan are understood to have been extremely close during her childhood when he devoted ‘all of his spare time to her’, according to Thomas Jr. – to the point that he eschewed nights out with friends and having girlfriends in order to spend as much time as possible with his youngest child.
But their relationship became increasingly strained after she left to go to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and grew more distant still after the 37-year-old got her dream job on Suits.
‘Before she went to Suits, they were just in constant contact all the time and that’s all he would ever talk about,’ Thomas Jr. said. ‘He dedicated all his time to her.
‘But when she couldn’t give him the time he needed or wanted to spend with her, he got upset about that.
‘She didn’t need him like she needed him before – she was getting everything she wanted from being a star and being on that show.
‘He would have to reach out to her and I think their relationship became a lot more distant then and that hurt his feelings.’
Part of the family: The royal family have welcomed Kate Middleton’s parents Carol and Michael (right), inviting them to take part in events including a church trip to St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate just after Princess Charlotte’s birth
In the fold: Doria Ragland, Meghan Markle’s mother, was welcomed by the royal family, to the extent that Prince Charles gave her his arm as he and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, walked out of St George’s Chapel in Windsor at the end of the ceremony
Meghan’s brotherr admits that his own relationship with his father has been difficult but says he made the effort to reach out after learning of his heart attack in May – and now thinks Meghan should do the same.
He said: ‘When I found out about his health and his heart attack, that struck a nerve with me and I felt the urgency to get in contact with him.
‘He changes his number a lot and I didn’t have his new number so I ended up going down there [to Mexico] to find him to make sure he was alright.
‘He’s had a rough life, the studios take a lot out of you and he didn’t look like he was in as good a shape as before so it did worry me.’
Thomas Jr. added: ‘I don’t think he deserves that kind of treatment from her. I think she owes him emotionally as his daughter to support him the way he supported her.
‘To see all this go on in the media, from their relationship being so close and so tight knit all her life to come to this, like she doesn’t want to deal with him for what reasons I don’t know.
‘No father-daughter relationship should be like this. I feel for him because of how strong their relationship was and what it’s become now. That’s got to hurt anybody.’
He says he doesn’t expect to hear from Meghan himself if she does come to the United States, and says her cold-shoulder treatment of the extended Markle clan is nothing like ‘the Meg that I knew’.
‘It’s not the Meghan I remember,’ he said. ‘The Meg I remember was very caring and she cared about everybody – that was important to her.
‘Since Hollywood and being on that show – being a celebrity has changed her. Maybe she feels she is above everybody, maybe even more now.
‘But if she wasn’t with Prince Harry right now – even if she was still on Suits right now – she would have stopped what she was doing to go and visit him and make sure he’s ok.’
He added: ‘I think a lot of this probably has to do with Meghan. Who knows what she told them?
‘It’s very obvious that she does have a family. That’s probably another issue for my father. I’m sure that upsets him.’
Nevertheless, Thomas Jr. would still like to see his father and sister reconcile – despite his repeated media outbursts – and says he would also like to meet the Middletons eventually.
‘That would be kind of interesting,’ he told DailyMail.com. ‘But for now, I think just to be recognized as her family would be nice.’
MARKLE V MIDDLETON: HOW MEGHAN’S BROTHER THOMAS AND KATE’S UNCLE GARY COMPARE
Marriages
Thomas Markle Jr., 51: Two. Married to Tracey Dooley, mother of his two sons Tyler and Thomas III until 2001. Then married Johannes Rawha, and couple divorced in 2009. Now engaged to mother-of-one Darlene Blount, 37. Pair hope to marry next year
Gary Goldsmith, 52: Four. Married Miranda Foote in 1991, but marriage ended 18 months later in divorce; married Luan Bettaney in 1997, with whom he has daughter Tallulah. They divorced before his third marriage; wed accountant Julia Leake in 2007 and divorced in 2009; married Julie-Anne Brown, a convicted fraudster in 2011.
Substance use and abuse
Thomas Markle Jr.: Blamed drinking heavily for domestic violence arrest in January 2017. Also admitted to smoking marijuana – which is legal in Oregon, where his son Tyler runs a marijuana farm. Sister Samantha has accused him of taking hard drugs but he denies this. Said he would seek rehab after police were called to domestic disturbance
Gary Goldsmith: Filmed openly chopping up cocaine by a reporter in 2009, offered them drugs and also offered to set them up with Brazilian prostitutes. Has admitted to dabbling in other drugs, including ecstasy. Was ordered into rehab in October 2017 after drunkenly hitting his wife. But was pictured taking a drunken tumble outside a London McDonald’s in January earlier this year and then relieving himself on the street
Career
Thomas Markle Jr.: Followed his father into the entertainment business as a glazier specializing in film sets. Since moving to Grants Pass, Oregon, has plied his trade for local companies but is currently between roles and considering striking out on his own
Gary Goldsmith: Left school to work as an IT operator then became a recruitment manager but quit shortly after meeting his first wife to join IT company, Computer Futures. Within six months he had become a director and, in 2005, sold his shares in the business for £275m ($353m). Then founded RLDC – a ‘networking club’ for recruitment managers. Also invests in other recruitment companies
Arrested: Thomas Markle Jr. was mugshotted but charges were dropped – in contrast Gary Goldsmith was convicted
Brushes with the law
Thomas Markle Jr.: Arrested in January 2017 after an explosive row with then girlfriend, now fiancee, Darlene which ended with him drunkenly putting a gun to her head. Spent a night in Josephine County Jail and charges were dropped the following month. He called the cops in July of this year after a drunken bust-up with Darlene. Charges against her were dropped
Gary Goldsmith: Convicted in October 2017 of hitting wife Julie-Ann and calling her a ‘whore’. Was fined £5,000 for the attack, called ‘a mean, nasty drunk’ by magistrate Emma Arbuthnot and told to attend an alcohol rehabilitation program
Wedding invitations
Thomas Markle Jr.: None. Attended neither Meghan’s first wedding to Trevor Engleson in Jamaica in 2013, nor to Prince Harry in Windsor in 2018 – although he was flown to London by a tabloid newspaper at the time
Gary Goldsmith: Went to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s nuptials in April 2011 in Westminster Abbey, taking ex-wife Luan and daughter Tallulah. Invited to Pippa Middleton’s wedding to James Matthews in London May 2017 but his wife was not and neither he nor his daughter went to the reception
What they say
Thomas Markle Jr.: Published a letter shortly before the royal wedding warning Prince Harry he would ‘making the worst mistake in royal history’ marrying ‘a below C average Hollywood actress’. He has since apologized for the comments
Gary Goldsmith: Told an undercover reporter that he called Prince William ‘f***er’ the first time they met and also what had happened at another meeting: ‘They were talking about boobs at the time, around the table at my sister’s house. William said that more than a handful is a waste.’ Later said: ‘I’ve had my moments – I’m not totally innocent – but am I disliked by my family? No, that is simply not true. I’ve got a good heart and I care about people.’