Meghan Markle’s Sister Disputes Prince Harry’s Claims of Estrangement

Samantha Markle, the half-sister of actress Meghan Markle, has hit back at Prince Harry's recent comments that the royal family is the family the former actress never had.

In an interview with Radio 4, Harry claimed that Meghan had a fantastic Christmas at Sandringham in Norfolk, and that his family loved having her there.

However, Samantha took to Twitter to refute the claims, stating that Meghan has a large family who were always there for her growing up and that she was just too busy for them.

Samantha, who is related to Meghan through their father Thomas, said, “Actually she Meghan has a large family who were always there with her and for her, our household was very normal and when dad and Doria divorced, we all made it so it was like she had two houses, no one was estranged, she was just too busy, Meg's family, our family, is complete with sister, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and the glue of our family, our amazing completely self-sacrificing father.

She always had this family.”

Samantha's comments came after Prince Harry revealed how he and Meghan enjoyed their festive period.

During his guest appearance on the Today programme, Harry explained how the couple stayed with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who live in Anmer Hall in Norfolk, while visiting the Queen at her nearby Sandringham estate.

Harry said, “the family loved having her there, there's always that family part of Christmas, where, there's always the work element there as well, and I think together we had an amazing time, we had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running round with the kids, Christmas was fantastic.”

Presenter Sarah Montague asked the Prince if there were any family traditions that had to be explained to Meghan, and he replied, “oh plenty, I think we've got one of the biggest families that I know of, and every family is complex as well, no look, she's done an absolutely amazing job, she's getting in there and it's the family I suppose that she's never had.”

Meghan's mother Doria Ragland, 61, and father Thomas Markle Sr, 73, divorced in 1987 and Mr Markle Sr has still not met his daughter's fiancée.

However, her half-sister has revealed that her elusive father will want to walk her down the aisle next year, and her nephew will reportedly gate crash the ceremony if he isn't invited.

Samantha, who describes herself as a writer, a mental health counsellor and a blabbermouth, has a murky relationship with her half-sister.

Based in Florida, she is 17 years older than Meghan and has been an outspoken critic of her since news of her relationship with Harry broke.

In interviews, she has described Meghan as a shallow social climber and claimed she shunned her family since making it in Hollywood.

Samantha once pointed out that Meghan, whose first husband had reddish hair, had a soft spot for gingers.

However, the mother of two has disputed this and said, “I may have said that our father has auburn hair, so perhaps that is her type, but I was not disrespectful, adding, I feel awful, she says.

I'm sure I made some comments that could have been put in a different way.”

Unable to work due to her MS, Samantha has suffered financially, as did her father Tom.

Both were declared bankrupt, and Samantha challenged Meghan on her lack of financial support.

“We did have a conversation once,” she said.

“I felt she should help my dad when he was having a hard time, but maybe he wouldn't have wanted her help.

People have said, you are being stupid, she could call you and be more supportive, but I can't demand or presume to know what she could squeeze in, but I was honest about my feelings.

I felt that we had drifted apart.

In retrospect, when I searched my heart, maybe she just got very busy.

These things happen in families, and when you are in a high profile family, these situations are brought into big, dramatic focus.”

In conclusion, Samantha Markle's comments contradict Prince Harry's claims that Meghan was estranged from her family.

Although Samantha has been critical of her half-sister in the past, she insists that their family was always there for Meghan.

The upcoming royal wedding will undoubtedly bring more attention to the Markle family, and it remains to be seen how they will handle the media scrutiny.