Meghan Markle is reportedly planning to meet with her father, Thomas Markle, during an upcoming trip to the U.S. in an attempt to make peace after his public criticisms of the British Royal Family.
A source told The Sunday Mirror that Markle is planning to take a solo trip to the U.S. before the end of August. It will be her first trip to her native country since marrying Prince Harry on May 19. It would also be the first time she sees her father since the wedding, as he did not attend.
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The source said Thomas, 74, is “keeping two dates free at the end of the month” to meet with Markle and is “delighted” that she wants to see him.
“The possibility of a reunion has been discussed and Meghan looks set to incorporate it into her trip,” the source told the Mirror. “Thomas is apparently keeping two dates free at the end of the month with a view to travelling from his home in Mexico to LA to meet his daughter.”
The date, time and location of the meeting is being kept secret and Harry is not expected to be with Markle.
“It is a very sensitive time for them, but the intent seems to be to heal the rift,” the Mirror‘s source explained. “The plan is in early stages but Meghan seems to be tentatively moving towards meeting her father on her own.”
A former aide also told The Sunday Times that Markle and Harry are trying to “get dad on board” for a meeting because ignoring Thomas is “not a very elegant solution,” reports The Sun.
Kensington Palace is reportedly taking the Markle family rift seriously, even holding crisis meetings after Thomas suggested the late Princess Diana would have “loathed” how Markle is treating him.
“They [the Royal Family] have Meghan treating her father in a way that Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, would have loathed. That’s not what Diana stood for,” Thomas said in an interview with The Mail on Sunday last week. “Princess Diana is credited with changing the Royal Family, but she wasn’t perfect. She was still very much one of them… I think Meghan’s the one who’ll bring them into the 21st Century, if they’ll let her.”
Thomas was planning to go to the wedding, but he suffered a heart attack days before and could not go to England. He has said the Royal Family has pushed him out of Markle’s life since the infamous staged paparazzi photos, which Markle’s half-sister Samantha Markle took responsibility for, were published. Thomas has said he wants to reconnect with his daughter before his health gets worse.
“They want me to be silent, they want me to just go away. But I won’t be silenced,” Thomas told the Mail. “I refuse to stay quiet. But if Meghan never speaks to me again, I don’t know how I can go on without my heart breaking. I blame the Royal Family. I can see the strain Meghan’s under, it’s in her face. The Royal Family has taken her back to the 1930s, and it’s ridiculous.”
Markle and Harry’s first trip outside the U.K. as a married couple was a short visit to Dublin last month. They are planning to tour Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga in October.
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