Samantha Markle is continuing to speak out against her estranged sister Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry‘s decision to exit their royal duties. After stating earlier this week that the decision was a “slap in the face,” Markle, in an interview aired on British TV, suggested that the move was a “gross breach of duty.”
“Prince Harry and Meghan have quite a bit of apologizing to do,” Markle said during an appearance on ITV’s This Morning, according to the Daily Mail. “We aren’t talking about teenagers, we are talking about adults who knew what they were doing and in regards to my father it was so incredibly wrong and shocking.”
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Accusing her estranged sister, whom she has not spoken to in years, of adopting a “contrived British accent,” Markle went on to state that the Duchess of Sussex originally enjoyed the attention of her newfound public standing as a royal, though she later decided she wanted out after facing criticism for her “spending.”
“From my perception, I feel that she [Meghan] did enjoy it when there was the fab four and the photographs of her hair blowing in the wind and the smiling and the contrived British accent,” she said. “But when the public state to criticise the behaviour and expenditure the tune changed and it became a bit more attribution error, avoiding accountability, flipping the script, and it’s quite hurtful.”
Markle also addressed statements that her sister was inundated with criticisms laced with racism since her marriage to Harry, which some have partially credited for the couple’s decision to step away from their royal duties.
“I’ve never seen anything that was racist in nature so it seems a misplacement of blame to avoid accountability,” she said. “I just thought it was a gross breach of duty or honour and confidence that was placed on her.”
Despite Markle’s words, which have been echoed by several others, Queen Elizabeth II has publicly stated her support for the Sussexes decision to step back as senior members of the royal family. Although she admitted that it was not the outcome she had hoped for, “my family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family…we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”
Harry and Meghan have not further addressed their decision to step away from their royal duties, though in their announcement they explained that they had come to the decision “after many months of reflection and internal discussions.” The couple, who share 8-month-old son Archie, will split their time between the United Kingdom and North America.
