Late Queen Elizabeth Tried To Get Meghan Markle To Reconcile With Her Father, Royal Expert Claims

Despite the rumored feud between Queen Elizabeth II and Meghan Markle, it might seem the late monarch cared about her to some extent. While Meghan has returned from mourning the Queen's passing, reports have revealed that the late monarch once begged her to settle things with her dad, Thomas Markle.

Meghan's father, Thomas, a former director of photography, bailed on attending his daughter's wedding to Prince Harry. The duchess reportedly drifted from her father after he leaked a personal letter she wrote after the ceremony. She also accused her father of exploiting her marriage to the Prince and begged him to stop.

While she had no personal relationship with Meghan's family, the late monarch wanted the Duchess of Sussex and her dad to make up. She also reportedly believed that they could have handled things better between them.

Keep reading to find out more.

Royal expert and correspondent for Vanity FairKatie Nicholl wrote about the royal drama in her unreleased book "The New Royals." In the book, Nicholl noted that the Queen saw how bad things were between Meghan and her father and tried to convince her to fix things between them.

Also, the Queen believed that the issue was "badly handled" and could've turned out better than it is now. Meghan's father, Thomas, canceled on attending her wedding after some pictures of him getting measured for a wedding suit went public.

Per PageSix, the ex-lighting director later admitted that he agreed with the press to stage the pictures and pretended to get ready for the wedding. Harry's father, King Charles, had to step in to walk her down the aisle.

In response to how he felt about missing the Royal ceremony, Thomas explained that he would always regret it even though it was in the past. He said, "The service was beautiful and it is history. I will always regret not being able to be there and not being able to hold my daughter's hand."

The wedding drama wasn't the only thing that affected Meghan's relationship with her father. As reported by PageSix, he also admitted that Harry warned him not to pull any stunts with the press concerning the wedding. Following this, the two went into a heated argument on the phone, after which the Markle patriarch hung up.

Things got even worse when he publicized a personal letter Meghan wrote after the ceremony. This act upset the duchess, as she sued and won against an online publication for releasing the letter.

Following the leak, Meghan accused her father of using her marriage to Prince Harry to gain money and fame. The "Suits" star also released a statement begging him to take a step back and think about how much "pain" his actions were causing her.

It read, "Please stop exploiting my relationship with my husband … I realize you are so far down this rabbit hole that you feel (or may feel) there's no way out, but if you take a moment to pause I think you'll see that being able to live with a clear conscience is more valuable than any payment in the world."

While Meghan blamed her father's behavior for the rift between them, the Queen held Harry responsible for a part of it. According to the royal expert Nicholl, she noted that Harry should've gone to Mexico to see his father-in-law and make him feel welcome to the family. The late monarch also believed that it would've gone a long way in preventing the rift between the father and daughter.

Nicholl wrote (per PageSix), "I think she felt that Harry should certainly have met Thomas Markle and it was unfortunate that that had to happen." According to Nicholl, the Queen also cared about mending other rifts within the Royal family before her death.

Queen Elizabeth II also asked Prince Harry to speak with his elder brother, Prince William, and fix things with his father, King Charles. Not only did she want peace in the Markle family, but she also wanted her grandson to be close to his family again.

In a statement to People, another Royal expert, Robert Hartman, revealed that the Queen had a soft spot for Harry and wanted everything to go well for him. This included his relationship with his family. He also noted that it would've been her "dearest wish" for that to happen.

While she loved her grandson, Harry also felt the same about her as he paid a touching tribute to the late monarch after she passed. "I cherish these times shared with you and the many other special moments in between," he said in a public statement.