MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry 'only have each other' after turning their backs on The Firm, claims royal expert.
Royal correspondent and author Katie Nicholl says the couple's determination to exit the Royal Family and move across the pond is proof of their love and solidarity as a couple.
Katie told OK!: “In only four years they’ve been on an extraordinary journey, making such huge decisions.
"But as Harry said, they are in it together, as a team,” adds Katie.
“When you think about what they’ve turned their backs on, what they’ve given up and particularly the sacrifices Harry has made, it’s just as well they’re such a strong unit because they’ve only really got each other.
"Meghan’s only family connections are with her mother Doria, and Harry’s ties with his family are hanging by a thread.”
Royal author Nigel Cawthorne agreed, saying that The Duke and Duchesses solitude may have strengthened them as a royal couple.
Read our Meghan Markle live blog for the latest news and gossip…
- Milica Cosic
Prince Harry will 'avoid criticising Queen in memoir'
Prince Harry will avoid criticising the Queen in his forthcoming memoir, claims a royal expert.
Biographer, close friend of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, and co-author of Harry’s unofficial biography Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie told the Royal Obsessed podcast that Harry's book will not be critical of the Queen, but would rather celebrate her life.
He said: “Harry really is going out of his way to make sure that there isn’t material in there [the book] that can be seen as negative towards the Queen or her reign in any way whatsoever, and he really wants to celebrate her life and his relationship with her in that book.
“I think as much as the press want this to be a burn book and an attack on the institution, this is more just about his story, and of course, his story is so much more than just the few years of his life as the Duke of Sussex.
“I think for people expecting that warts and all moment, it’s not going to happen. That said, it’s still going to be fascinating.”
- Milica Cosic
Good morning, Milica Cosic logging on. I’ll be bringing you the latest news and updates today.
- Milica Cosic
Prince Harry accused of 'behaving like child'
Prince Harry has been slammed for 'behaving like a child' by a royal expert for refusing to attend his grandfather Prince Philip's memorial service.
Prince Harry is to miss the Duke of Edinburgh's memorial service, it has been confirmed.
Royal biographer Angela Levin has hit out at Harry's decision, saying he is acting like a “child."
The Daily Mail reported she said: "It’s all about ‘me, me, me’ rather than going out of his way for his grandmother and showing her he cares. He’s behaving like a child stamping his feet."
Ms Levin continued: "What they won’t do, is if he goes out with his friends he gets security. He’ll probably use this same excuse to try to get out of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.”
The Daily Mail has reported that his lawyers claimed he "does not feel safe coming from across the Atlantic."
- Milica Cosic
Thomas Markle 'blocked' doctor from identifying Meghan as Black
Thomas Markle says he blocked a doctor from identifying Meghan as Black on her birth certificate.
His objection was that he wanted his daughter identified as mixed race.
Mr Markle appeared in a YouTube video with celebrity photographer Karl Larsen and explained how he argued with the doctor to have mixed-race put on the certificate.
“I even had to argue with the doctor, and have him write that she was mixed on the birth certificate because he wanted to mark down ‘Black,’” Mr Markle said.
“I had no problem with Black or white, but in my mind, it should have been mixed.”
- Milica Cosic
Meghan & Harry 'against the world'
According to a royal expert, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may have found strength in experiencing problems as a couple, according to a royal commentator.
Royal author Nigel Cawthorne told OK! magazine: "It’s Harry and Meghan against the world, or them against the British establishment.
"But when couples go through a shared problem, it does tend to make them stronger."
Another royal commentator, Katie Nicholl, echoed this saying that the royal couple have gone through it all together as "a team".
- Milica Cosic
Prince ‘Harry’s out of touch with reality!’
Prince Harry has been described as “out of touch with reality” after a royal commentator claimed the Duke of Sussex has received “bad advice”.
Royal commentator Matt de Groot has claimed The Duke’s security demands have been from “bad advice”.
Speaking to Australian morning show Sunrise on Wednesday, Mr De Groot said: “You look at a bloke who is out of touch with reality, it’s that bloke right there.
“They spend one half of their life talking about being determined to be private and being determined to stay away from the public eye.
“They spend the other half of their life selling their story to the highest bidder then he wants to step away from the Royal Family, then wants the royal protection, then he doesn’t even realised you can go the UK and hire your own security.
“Every move they make, every piece of advice they give, and every statement he makes publicly takes him further and further away from the guy that three years ago we thought was going to save the Royal Family.
“Now he’s making blunder after blunder.”
Host Kylie Gillies added: “You can do both, it would mean the world to the family.
“There’s no reason why he cannot.”
- Milica Cosic
‘I don’t often feel sorry for Meghan but her biggest trolls are family members’
This is a comment piece by Clemmie Moodie.
IT’S really not often I have sympathy for the Duchess of Sussex.
But it turns out her two biggest trolls are family.
Within hours of it emerging her half-sister Samantha has been using various Twitter accounts to target the former actress, Meghan’s dad launches a YouTube channel designed, it would appear, solely to slag off/cash in on his daughter.
Samantha, meanwhile, is also suing Meghan, claiming it was defamatory to imply during her Oprah interview last year that the pair were “virtual strangers”.
With toxic “loved ones” like this, is it any wonder Meghan loves a lawyer so much?
- Milica Cosic
'Concerned' Pippa Middleton uninvited Meg to her wedding
A royal expert has claimed that Pippa Middleton had concerns Meghan Markle would "overshadow" her on her wedding day.
Author and royal correspondent Judy Wade told People magazine the main issue was that Meghan Markle at that time just started dating Prince Harry, and Pippa was worried Meg "upstage her".
Instead, The Duchess of Sussex was Pippa's matron of honour.
In Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, also claim that Meghan had planned to attend the full day.
They write: "Harry and Meghan agreed that she couldn't possibly turn up at the church, only fifty metres away from a specially arranged media pen, after such a crass cover story.
"If they worried their arrival might create a media circus despite taking every precaution, now they had no doubt that it would.
"Meghan's church outfit and Philip Treacy hat would have to be worn another time."
- Milica Cosic
Explained: Why Meghan Markle's sister's Twitter was suspended
Meghan Markle's sister has had her Twitter account suspended AGAIN after the social media platform enforced a pre-existing ban.
Samantha Markle's account @TheMarkleSammy was displaying a notice that read: "Account suspended. Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules."
A spokesperson for the social media platform told Newsweek: "We suspended the account due to ban evasion."
Samantha Markle's account was suspended previously, under @sammy_markle, which she used to criticise her sister. However, it isn't known what led to the ban of that account.
- Milica Cosic
Meghan Markle's sister's Twitter account was banned
Meghan Markle's sister's Twitter account was banned after 'she tried to evade a previous ban' following reports that she's been harassing the Duchess of Sussex for years.
Twitter suspended Samantha Markle's account for allegedly attempting to evade a previous ban the social media platform issued in 2019. She had her second Twitter account, @TheMarkleSammy, banned from the platform three years after her first account, @sammy-markle, was suspended.
Samantha's lawyer, Douglas Kahle, denied the allegations and claimed the Twitter account was hacked and that the tweets published by Buzzfeed were 'photo-shopped.'
"Ms. Markle's email and other accounts have been hacked on several occasions and it is very likely that those statements were made by third parties to defame our client," Kahle told BuzzFeed.
"Due to the urgency of this matter, we are still investigating," he added.
- Milica Cosic
Harry & Meghan face backlash after latest political move
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have criticised the UK and world governments over Covid vaccines.
Harry and Meghan, alongside more than 130 former world leaders, Nobel laureates, scientists and others, signed the open letter from The People's Vaccine calling “for urgent action to vaccinate low and middle-income countries and bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
The couple has been criticised for the move, with people taking to Twitter to express their disappointment at the couple.
One person wrote: "Let us sign a vacuous letter criticising the UK while we sit by our pool in our multimillion-dollar home in California."
Another said: "I'm tired of all these rich celebrities in California telling us what we have to do as we should behave when they are the ones who wallow in money and believe themselves superior."
A third added: "That's about all they are capable of doing- Releasing statements, signing letters, and giving speeches. They've literally done nothing else to ensure vaccines reach everyone! They've not even shared photos/statements of them taking the vaccine to encourage their fans to do so too."
- Milica Cosic
Harry and Andrew being counsellors is ‘not right’
The debate over Harry and Andrew’s position as counsellors was reignited after Buckingham Palace announced senior royals future plans.
The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge will be undertaking several tours in the coming months to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
In March, both royals will be away from the UK for at least one day as Prince Charles visits Ireland and Prince William is in the Bahamas.
Speaking to Palace Confidential, editor Richard Eden said: “Charles would be in Ireland so, obviously, he could come back in an emergency.
“But the fact is, Prince Andrew or Prince Harry, as the law stands, would have to step in and that’s not right. That needs to be changed.”
- Joseph Gamp
Thanks for reading
Joe Gamp here, signing off from our live coverage of Meghan Markle.
We hope you've enjoyed reading our rolling blog today.
My colleague Milica Cosic returns at 6am.
- Joseph Gamp
I don’t often feel sorry for Meghan Markle but now her two biggest trolls are family members I feel different
This is a comment piece by Clemmie Moodie
IT’S really not often I have sympathy for the Duchess of Sussex.
But it turns out her two biggest trolls are family.
Within hours of it emerging her half-sister Samantha has been using various Twitter accounts to target the former actress, Meghan’s dad launches a YouTube channel designed, it would appear, solely to slag off/cash in on his daughter.
Samantha, meanwhile, is also suing Meghan, claiming it was defamatory to imply during her Oprah interview last year that the pair were “virtual strangers”.
With toxic “loved ones” like this, is it any wonder Meghan loves a lawyer so much?
- Joseph Gamp
Queen’s ‘disapproving’ remark at Kate & Will’s wedding
According to a professional lip reader, there was one tiny detail the Queen didn’t approve of at Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding.
However, there was one element of the day that The Queen wasn’t a fan of, after a lip reader confirmed her disapproving remarks to her husband.
“I wanted them to take the smaller carriage,” The Monarch said, according to CBS News, before Camilla jumped in and said: “It all went very well.”
The Queen replied: “Very well.”
- Joseph Gamp
What is the lawsuit filed against Meghan?
Samantha filed the lawsuit, demanding Meghan pay £58,000 ($75,000), in Tampa, Florida.
She claims the duchess made out to Oprah that she grew up in “virtual poverty” when really her father forked out thousands for her to go to dance and acting classes and “elite private schools”.
Samantha also reportedly said Thomas covered Meghan’s tuition and living expenses when she went to Northwestern University in the US.
And she blasted the royal for implying she grew up as an only child, despite sharing a father with her half-sister.
On top of the claims made during Meghan and Harry’s tell-all chat, Samantha also disputes stories told in “Megxit” biography Finding Freedom.
She said the “lies” subjected her to “humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale”.
Meghan’s lawyer Michael Kump described the lawsuit as “absurd”.
- Milica Cosic
Meghan’s father wants day in court with Meghan and her ‘ginger husband’ Harry
The Duchess of Sussex’s father Thomas Markle said he is hoping to face Meghan and her “ginger husband” in court as part of the defamation case being brought by the duchess’s half sister.
Mr Markle has sided with his older daughter Samantha Markle and said he would be “thrilled” to be able to defend her.
She is alleging in court documents that Meghan made “false and malicious lies” about her during the Sussexes’ Oprah Winfrey interview and in the Finding Freedom biography.
Ms Markle said this subjected her to “humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale”.
Meghan’s father, in his new YouTube channel in collaboration with Karl Larsen – the first photographer to find and photograph him – said: “I’ve been trying for almost four years to get to see my daughter and her ginger husband in a courtroom face to face.
“I haven’t seen my grandchildren. I’d be thrilled to come to court and talk and defend my oldest daughter.”
- Joseph Gamp
In pictures: Edward plants Tree in Kenya for Queen's Green Canopy
Edward's newly planted tree in Kenya will form part of The Queen's Green Canopy – a unique tree-planting initiative created to mark the monarch's Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people to 'Plant a Tree for the Jubilee'.
The Queen's Green Canopy said: "While we are a UK-based project, we are delighted to include a special Jubilee tree planted near Treetops."
Edward – the Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh's youngest son – travelled to Kenya for his first overseas visit with The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award since the start of the pandemic.
The tree planting came on Wednesday as the earl met young people taking part in their Gold Award expedition and heard about their efforts to support environmental conservation.
Edward, who was dressed in a short-sleeved khaki shirt and matching trousers and at times a hat in the Kenyan sunshine, remarked "Right, this is the important bit" as he watered the tree in its new home.
Award participants have planted more than 30,000 trees across Kenya in the past year as part of efforts to tackle climate change.
NINTCHDBPICT000719340092Credit: PA - Joseph Gamp
Queen 'regrets' pulling out of Commonwealth Day service, says source
THE Queen renewed her vow that her "life will always be devoted in service" this week despite being forced to miss the annual Commonwealth Ceremony.
The 95-year-old had to stay home and watched on TV as Prince Charles took her place at Westminster Abbey.
He chatted to the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore a Ukraine blue Catherine Walker outfit and matching Sean Barratt hat.
Taking seats in the Abbey for the vibrant, multi-faith service where leaders including Boris Johnson and celebs such as David Walliams.
Sources close to the Queen said she "regrets" pulling out.
Aides insisted it was down to concerns over her comfort on the trip from Windsor Castle rather than any new illness.
- Joseph Gamp
Former Invictus Games trialist from Ukraine is killed (2/2)
The foundation said it was aware of many Ukrainian Invictus competitors – injured in the conflict with Russia which began in 2014 – and staff and team management signing up to serve again.
Oksana Horbach, team manager for the Ukrainian Invictus Games team, said: "It was tough to learn about Serhii's death as the fighting continues.
"When we win, we will celebrate his life, talk about him, and his sense of humour, professionalism, patriotism and sports endeavours.
"And we will hug and cry and laugh because the memories of him bring joy and happiness. Please do not think of him as a martyr, he would not like it. Think of him as a celebrated Invictus Games community member, hero and defender of Ukrainian people."
The upcoming Invictus Games, delayed because of the pandemic, will be staged in The Hague next month.
The foundation, which oversees the delivery of the Invictus Games, said in the statement: "When the time is right, the Invictus Games Foundation will once again support Team Ukraine with the rehabilitation and recovery through sport that it will need."
- Joseph Gamp
Former Invictus Games trialist from Ukraine is killed (1/2)
A former Invictus Games trialist from Ukraine has been killed fighting against the Russian invasion of his country, the Invictus Games Foundation said.
Serhii Karaivan died on Sunday and the Ukrainian team manager paid tribute to his "sense of humour, professionalism, patriotism and sports endeavours".
The Duke of Sussex founded the games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans from across the globe, by giving them the challenge of competing in sporting events similar to the Paralympics.
The Invictus Games Foundation said in a statement on its website: "It is with regret that the Invictus Games Foundation can report that a member of the Ukrainian Invictus Games community has been confirmed as a fatality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"Serhii Karaivan, a former trialist for the Invictus Games and Warrior Games for Team Ukraine, lost his life in fighting on the 13th March, 2022, and our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and the wider community."
- Joseph Gamp
Meghan being sued by half sister for claims made during Oprah interview
Meghan Markle is being sued for £55,000 by her sister over claims made in her Oprah Winfrey interview.
Samantha Markle claims the Duchess of Sussex tried to ruin her and their dad Thomas’s reputation.
The defamation suit filed in Florida says Meghan, 40, peddled a false “rags to riches” tale in her Oprah chat last March, and one with TV’s Ellen DeGeneres.
Samantha, 57, claims Meghan concocted a fake background by claiming she raised herself in virtual poverty.
She is also suing over allegations made in Meghan and Harry biography Finding Freedom. A lawyer acting for Meghan called the suit “baseless and absurd”.
- Joseph Gamp
Thomas Markle admits arguing with doctor over daughter’s race
He stated the birth certificate gave options only for ‘Black’ or ‘White’, but not ‘mixed.
Markle said in his podcast that he hosts with long-time friend, Karl Larsen: “He wanted to mark down Black. In my mind it should have been marked ‘Mixed’.
He went on to confirm a piece she wrote in an essay for Elle UK in 2016. In the essay Meghan talks about a census report she had to fill in in the seventh grade (12-13 year-olds) that included ethnicity.
She wrote: “You could only choose one, but that would be to choose one parent over the other — and one half of myself over the other […] I didn’t tick a box.
“I left my identity blank — a question mark, an absolute incomplete — much like how I felt. When I went home that night, I told my dad what had happened.
"He said the words that have always stayed with me: ‘If that happens again, you draw your own box.”
- Joseph Gamp
Sussexes face stark warning
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle have been issued with a stark warning about ‘knocking’ the royal family.
The Duke and Duchess’ relationship with the Royal Family has reportedly been strained for a number of years and came to a head during an interview with Oprah Winfrey last year.
Royal expert, Richard Fitzwilliam has now had his say on the matter describing the Sussexes behavior as being “destructive”.
He said: “Whatever future they want, they’re completely unpredictable in my opinion, don’t keep knocking the British Royal Family.
“Don’t keep knocking your family, which it is. They have a very destructive side, and Oprah showed that very clearly.”
- Joseph Gamp
The Queen meets poet Grace Nichols in person
The Queen has met the Guyanese poet Grace Nichols as she carried out another face-to-face engagement.
The monarch welcomed Nichols to her Windsor Castle home to present her with the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry on Wednesday.
They were joined by the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who chaired the Poetry Medal Committee, which unanimously recommended Nichols as the recipient.
The award was established by the Queen's grandfather King George V in 1933 and is awarded for excellence in poetry.
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