Meghan Markle’s Dad Invited to Royal Wedding Despite Half-Brother’s Claim

Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, will reportedly be invited to her wedding to Prince Harry on May 19, despite her half-brother’s claims to the contrary.

PEOPLE reports that Thomas is expected to be at the wedding at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

On Wednesday, InTouch Weekly published a handwritten letter from Thomas Markle Jr., Markle’s half-brother, to Harry. In it, he tells the prince that Markle is “obviously not the right woman for you.” He insisted Markle did not invite her family to the wedding, instead inviting “complete strangers.”

“Her own father didn’t get an invite, whom should be walking her down the aisle,” Markle Jr. wrote. “She easily forgets if it wasn’t for my father, she would be busing tables and baby sitting to pay her old debt off. The whole world is watching Meg make bad decisions and choices. It’s not too late Harry.”

In his letter to Harry, Markle Jr. called his sister a “jaded, shallow, conceited woman that will make a joke of you and the royal family heritage.”

However, back in March, a family friend told The Sun Thomas is “overjoyed to be beside his little girl on the day she becomes a princess — even if he has to battle his demons to get there.”

The friend said Thomas was “not exactly thrilled” at being in the spotlight, but “nothing will stop him from having Meghan on his arm for the big day.”

Markle’s mother, Doria Loyce Ragland, and Thomas were married for nine years, splitting in 1988. While she remains close to Ragland, who has met Harry, she is estranged from her father, who lives a life out of the spotlight in Mexico. She has two half-siblings from her father’s previous marriage, Markle Jr. and Samantha Grant.

Since Harry and Markle announced their relationship, Grant and Markle Jr. have made their feelings about Markle known in the U.K. press. Before the engagement, Grant began promoting a memoir she titled The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister. In January, Grant told the Mirror she has not heard from Markle in at least three years.

“The last time we spoke – when I heard her voice – was 2014, almost 2015. Her last words were, ‘I love you, babe. I’m really glad we had this conversation. Keep in touch,’” Grant told the Mirror. “And she couldn’t – she got busy. I tried. But I think she just got really busy… I hope now that she knows I was there. I should’ve really reached out more… but I’m proud of her.”