Prince Harry’s Text Messages To Meghan Markle’s Father, Thomas Markle, Revealed In Court

According to documents filed in the U.K. high court, before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married in 2018, Harry pleaded with his father-in-law Thomas Markle to not speak to the press until after their wedding.

The documents filed on behalf of the Duchess of Sussex contain a series of text messages Harry sent to Thomas Markle on May 14, 2018. 

“Tom, Harry again! Really need to speak to u. U do not need to apologize, we understand the circumstances but ‘going public’ will only make the situation worse. If u love Meg and want to make it right please call me as there are two options which don’t involve u having to speak to the media, who incidentally created this whole situation,” the Prince wrote. “So please call me so I can explain. Meg and I are not angry, we just need to speak to u. Thanks.” 

Markle, through attorneys, released the text messages sent to her father as part of the legal action she is taking against Associated Newspapers for copyright infringement and invasion of privacy. Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, published excerpts of a letter Markle wrote to her father after her wedding. 

Key claims stated in the reply to Associated’s January 14 defence are:

— The Mail harassed, humiliated and manipulated Thomas, despite repeated requests to leave him alone.

— Rather than report on the dispute between Meghan and Thomas, the Mail contributed towards it.

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) April 20, 2020

In another text message, Harry stated, “Oh any speaking to the press WILL backfire, trust me Tom. Only we can help u, as we have been trying from day 1.” 

Thomas Markle did not respond to the text – he had gone to the hospital after he had a heart attack. 

One day afterward, Markle sent a text to her father that said, “I’ve been reaching out to you all weekend but you’re not taking any of our calls or replying to any texts … Very concerned about your health and safety and have taken every measure to protect you but not sure what more we can do if you don’t respond … Do you need help? Can we send the security team down again? I’m very sorry to hear you’re in the hospital but need you to please get in touch with us … What hospital are you at?” 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle never received a response and married shortly afterward. 

Harry announced on the Sussex’s website his reasoning for taking legal action. 

“Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son. Up to now, we have been unable to correct the continual misrepresentations – something that these select media outlets have been aware of and have therefore exploited on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.” 

A hearing for the case will take place this Friday.