Prince Harry 'blames himself for rift between Meghan and Thomas Markle' trends now
Prince Harry has said that he blamed himself for Meghan's rift with her father Thomas Markle because 'if Meg wasn't with me then her dad would still be her dad'.
In episode three of the couple's bombshell Netflix docuseries released today, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reflected on events leading up to their royal wedding, resulting in a relationship breakdown with her father, 78.
Meghan pinpoints the moment when the 'unravelling happened' in their relationship just days before the couple tied the knot at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018.
Speaking to Netflix, the duchess recounted how her father, a former lighting director, found himself at the centre of a scandal when it emerged he had staged paparazzi photos and sold them for a reported $100,000.
Prince Harry said he blamed himself for Meghan's rift with her father Thomas Markle because 'if Meg wasn't with me then her dad would still be her dad'
Meghan said her father (pictured together) denied staging photos, including one of him reading a history book on Britain as she offered to arrange his travel to London a day earlier than planned
Meghan said she found out her father was not coming to the wedding 'through a tabloid' before reading that he was in the hospital following a heart attack. She said she repeatedly tried to call him but he would not pick up or respond to her texts
Soon after, Mr Markle suffered a heart attack and said he could no longer attend his daughter's wedding with just days to go.
The segment begun with Meghan telling Netflix that a week prior to the wedding, she received a message from Jason Knauf, her former communications secretary, to say a 'story is going to come out tomorrow that your father has been staging pictures and taking money from the press.'
The pictures showed Mr Markle being fitted for a suit, exercising in a public park and one of him reading a history book about Britain from his hometown of Rosarito, Mexico.
Meghan told the camera: 'That was the first I was hearing of it. Jason [Knauf] said you need to call him and find out if this is true or not because it could be really damaging.
Meghan pinpointed the moment when the 'unravelling happened' in their relationship just days before the couple tied the knot at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018
Meghan told the Netflix show that she was pleading with her father to pick up the phone when it was reported he had suffered a heart attack and texted her to say he was in hospital
Recounting events, she said: 'H and I called my dad, I said "look they are saying you are taking money from the tabloids to stage photos, is this true?"
'He goes "no", and on that call I said "look, this story, if they can't stop it and it's going to come out tomorrow, so why don't we send someone to your house to get you out of there now? Because if that's the case your house will be swarmed by media... lets get you out of Mexico" and he said "no, I have things I need to do", and it felt really cagey.'
She continued: 'I was like, it doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense.
'And when we hung up I looked at H and I was like, "I don't know why but I don't believe him".'
The couple revealed some of the messages between Meghan and Thomas Markle in the days leading up to her wedding with Prince Harry
The Duchess of Sussex said that in the week leading up to the wedding, 'paps and media and journalists were following him [Mr Markle] all day everyday.'
But for Meghan, the 'unravelling happened' when she claimed her father wouldn't pick up her call and was 'talking to TMZ', which reported that he had suffered a heart attack and
