Charlotte Griffiths, a former friend of Prince Harry, has argued that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a major error in how they handled the Thomas Markle scandal by letting the Royal Family shoulder the blame for Meghan's distress.
Appearing on TalkTV, the journalist said Meghan and Harry had "let the world believe" that the Royal Family were solely responsible for her anguish in 2019. During the Oprah interview, Meghan confirmed she was suffering with her mental health at the time, but Griffiths pointed out that the public did not know she had also just received disturbing allegations about her father.
Timeline of events in January 2019
"Now in Spare, and a couple of the documentaries, they detail how in mid-January, she went to an event at the Royal Albert Hall and said she didn't want to be alive anymore, and earlier that day had been in the fetal position crying on the floor," the TV star said.
"So I think we're getting more of a picture as to why. Although, I have to say, they let the world believe that it was because of her maltreatment in the royal family, and the press and the media in the UK. But I think the timelines are starting to make sense to people now."
Griffiths continued: "Ok, so now we've heard many stories about how she cried on the floor in Spare, and now we're getting a sense of, 'Well, ok, that actually happened in January, and she actually got this letter [from the Metropolitan Police].'"
Who is to blame?
She added: "Who wouldn't be crying on the floor in the fetal position if you just found out your father may be a paedophile? So, I do think people will start to show her a bit more leniency, but the only thing is, she's slightly blotted her copybook by letting people think it was just the Royal Family."
Griffiths noted that even Harry himself, in 2022, blamed himself and said: "Before she met me, she had a father; now she doesn't have a father." She said: "I think that doesn't paint the full picture, and he shouldered a lot of the blame, when really, it sounds like most of the blame, if not all of it, is with Thomas Markle."
Child abuse allegations against Thomas Markle
Last week, it came to light that Meghan's estranged father, Thomas, had been accused of child abuse after a letter from his ex-wife, Roslyn, was sent to the police in 2019. After the letter was reportedly shared with the Sussexes, Meghan and Harry subsequently cut ties with Thomas.
Thomas has been accused of possessing child abuse images in his home. The Sun reported that his son, Thomas Jr., allegedly found the content in his dad's house in the Philippines and reported it. Meghan's father has denied the accusations and told the Daily Mail that they were "sick lies".
