MOST of us are familiar with Prince Harry’s famous Royal Family, but who are Meghan’s siblings and is close to them?
Here’s the latest on the Duchess of Sussex’s half-brother and half-sister, Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle Jnr.
Who are Meghan’s siblings?
Through her father’s side, Meghan has two older half-siblings – Thomas Markle Jr. and Samantha Grant.
Her parents, Thomas Markle Sr and Doria Loyce Ragland divorced when she was six years old, and the siblings are from her father’s previous marriage to Roslyn Markle.
Neither parent has remarried since.
Who is Samantha Grant?
Samantha, 56, is Meghan’s oldest sibling and has been the most opinionated about her sister joining the Royal Family.
She lives in Florida, has three children, and has used a wheelchair since 2008, when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She sometimes goes by Samantha Markle.
In November 2016, after Meghan and Harry’s romance became public, she said: “Her behaviour is certainly not befitting of a royal family member.”
Samantha has written a book entitled The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister – which was published in January 2021 – and has tweeted numerous times about it, saying that it includes details of their “home life” and “photographs never seen before.”
She also publicly laid into Meghan on Twitter after claiming not to have received an invite to the Royal Wedding.
Samantha had not been invited to Meghan’s first wedding to Trevor Engelson in Jamaica.
Samantha accused the royal couple of inviting “complete strangers” to their wedding, after it was revealed 1,200 members of the public were given invitations.
But she claims “no one” from the Markle clan made the coveted guest list.
In a five-page letter to her father Thomas, Meghan is thought to have hit out at Samantha, saying she “manufactured” lies and added that she, Meghan, barely knew her half-sister.
Since the birth of baby Archie, Samantha has claimed it’s her half-sister’s “turn” to reach out to her estranged family.
Speaking to DailyMailTV, Samantha said that she knows the latest addition to the royal family will grow up “to be an exceptional man”.
But she repeated calls for Meghan to reconnect with their dad Thomas Markle Sr – saying “life is too short” for her to continue to snub the 76-year-old.
In her bombshell interview with Oprah, Meghan said she “grew up as an only child”, and that the last time she saw Samantha was around 19 years ago.
Who is Thomas Markle Jr?
Thomas, 55, shares his name with Meghan’s father, who was a lighting director in Hollywood.
He was 14-years-old when Meghan was born, and lived with his father, stepmother (Doria) and Samantha during Meghan’s early years.
Thomas works as a window fitter and lives in Grant’s Pass, Oregon, with his partner Darlene Blout and has two sons that live nearby.
His ex-wife, Tracy Dooley, has said that he struggled with alcohol issues during their 11-year marriage.
Thomas was not invited to his half-sister’s wedding.
After the birth of baby Archie, he publicly congratulated his sister and said he was over the moon for her.
Like Samantha, he also urged his ex-actress sister to reach out to their dad – who he said was “terrified” at the prospect he may never meet his grandchild.
Thomas also said, in an exclusive interview with The Celeb Report, that he hoped Archie would mend the rift in their family.
In May 2019, he revealed he was homeless and had been living in a hotel room with his fiance.
Do Samantha and Thomas have any children?
Meghan is an aunt to Samantha’s three children.
Noelle Rasmussen is estranged from her mother and reportedly lives with her grandmother.
Her father Scott was married to Samantha until 2003.
Noelle jetted to the UK for her aunt’s wedding – although she wasn’t invited.
She told The Mirror: “Meghan looked so beautiful. I’m thrilled by how popular she is here.”
Samantha also has daughter Ashleigh Hale and son Christopher Hale.
Thomas Jr has two children, Thomas III and Tyler, making Meghan an aunt to them too.
