The Shady Side Of Samantha Markle
Ever since Meghan Markle was linked to Prince Harry, her half-sister Samantha Markle vied for the spotlight with her many shady social media posts and television interviews. The two are linked by their father, Thomas Markle, but Samantha and Meghan didn't share a childhood together. When discussing Samantha's book "The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister," Meghan revealed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey (via CBS Mornings), "I think it'd be very hard to 'tell-all' when you don't know me ... I don't feel comfortable talking about people that I really don't know. But I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows." The Duchess of Sussex stated that she hadn't seen Samantha for nearly 20 years and that Samantha, who went by the last name Grant, had changed it to Markle after Meghan's connection to Harry.
Amid reports that Samantha called Meghan "self-obsessed" in the media and was going to slam her in the tell-all, the author went on Good Morning Britain to state, "It's more of a beautiful, warm, witty story of our lives and my life." She went on to say, "Don't believe what you read in tabloids. You know, if you didn't see me say it and you didn't hear it from a reliable source, you've got to remember that tabloids say incredibly far-fetched horrible things." Despite her claims, Samantha has said many shady things about Meghan and the royals over the years — and it came straight from the horse's mouth.
Samantha Markle sued her own half-sister
Samantha Markle's beef with Meghan Markle is never-ending. Following Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey, Samantha hit her sister with a lawsuit, claiming that false narratives were given about their relationship, TMZ reported. One point of contention for Samantha was when Meghan stated she grew up as an only child and hadn't seen her sister for decades. Samantha also hit back at Meghan's claims that she only changed her last name from Grant after the actor started dating Prince Harry.
The $75,000 suit was ultimately thrown out in court by Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell, who noted that Samantha did indeed change her married last name to Markle just a couple of months after Meghan and Harry went public, per the BBC. "Therefore, the gist of the statement — that [Samantha] switched to her family name a short time after it was reported [Meghan] was involved with Prince Harry — is true," Honeywell stated.
As reported by ET, Samantha's lawyer Peter Ticktin shared that they were going to appeal the decision. He shared, "It is unfortunate to see that some of the press has chosen to wrongly report on the Judge's ruling as a total win by Meghan. Upon reviewing the order, it is made very clear that the entire case was not tossed out, but in fact, the Judge is allowing Samantha the ability to amend her complaint within a 14-day period."
Samantha Markle called Meghan Markle a social climber
Samantha Markle has said some pretty horrible things about Meghan Markle over the years. In 2016, the former model told The Sun, "Hollywood has changed her. I think her ambition is to become a princess. It was something she dreamed of as a girl when we watched the royals on TV. She always preferred Harry — she has a soft spot for gingers." Samantha claimed that she and Meghan kept in touch over the years but the "Suits" star stopped contact abruptly. "The more high profile she became, she never mentioned me," she added.
Samantha's bitterness toward Meghan is not the Duchess' fault, according to family members, and it is born out of jealousy, according to the Daily Mail. Even Samantha's mother Roslyn called out her daughter's shadiness. "Samantha has been dogging her for the last 20 years. Everything she has said about [Meghan] is a lie," Roslyn declared. Samantha's brother and ex-husband validated Roslyn's statements to the Daily Mail. It was also revealed that Samantha attempted to sue both her mom and ex but both suits were thrown out.
Samantha Markle tweets anti-trans sentiments
Once suspended from X, formerly known as Twitter, Samantha Markle rejoined the platform after Elon Musk took over. Since her previous accounts were banned for harassing and spreading misinformation about Meghan Markle, Samantha is now careful to refrain from posting too much about the Duchess of Sussex. However, she's not afraid to share her political views and reposted a tweet that read, "What is it about many trans-women that allows them to believe they're desirable to men?"
When President Joe Biden declared March 31 "International Transgender Day of Visibility," Samantha tweeted, "No and disgustingly everyday has been transgender day of visibility since this malarkey started. Easter Sunday is the day Christ Rose. It is not transgender appreciation day. Stay in the closet." Samantha often retweets anti-trans posts and on March 29, she shared a picture of two people holding up signs that stated, "Allah loves equality" with the caption, "Since Queers for Palestine is still trending I thought we might as well have a good laugh at some of the most stupid people on the planet."
Samantha Markle was behind the staged paparazzi pics of her father
Right before Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding, the "Suits" actor's father, Thomas Markle, was caught staging photos with a photographer that sold for over $125,000, as reported by the Daily Mail. Pictures included Thomas seemingly getting fitted for his suit and perusing a book at a Starbucks. After getting outed, Thomas opted not to attend Meghan's wedding to prevent further embarrassment. It turned out that the staged paparazzo pics were Samantha Markle's idea. "I'm entirely the culprit. I said to him to show the world 'I'm getting in shape and getting healthy' so I suggested it to benefit him and the royal family," she told the Daily Mail. When asked if Thomas received money for the photos, she stated that if he did, it was very little and that the shots weren't about making money.
In her memoir, "The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister," Samantha revealed that someone had contacted her to set up the photoshoot, promising that they would look natural and discreet (via Newsweek). However, after reports that the pics were faked, Samantha wrote, "I nearly choked, when I saw photographs of the photographer walking 3 feet behind my father, as seen on an Internet Cafe surveillance camera. I was guaranteed that he would not be visible, and I'm sure he knew that the camera was there on the ceiling, so I felt as though I had been baited, and so had my father."
Samantha Markle tried to gate-crash the palace
In an attempt to reach out to her half-sister Meghan Markle, Samantha Markle flew across the pond to visit Kensington Palace thinking she could just mosey on in, per the Mirror. She was accompanied by a gentleman who took her to the gate, only to be turned away by the guard. Samantha ended up handing over a letter before she was taken to a nearby stand selling royal merchandise. "This was a huge move on the part of Meghan's sister to try to see her face to face and the fact she was turned away speaks volumes. This is the closest Meghan has come physically to that side of her family since she married into the royal family but palace staff had clearly been instructed not to allow her access," a source shared.
Samantha revealed the contents of the letter, which implored Meghan to believe that their father's heart attack was real after mentions of him faking it to get out of walking his younger daughter down the aisle, per the Daily Mail. The letter goes on to beg Meghan to make amends with their dad, stating, "I know that he wants to be there for you, without the media and water under the bridge as an unnecessary barrier." Samantha concluded the lengthy note with, "I do not require a response to this letter but please communicate with Dad."
Samantha Markle gave Prince Harry a shady birthday shout-out
Samantha Markle doesn't just save her shady tweets for Meghan Markle but she makes sure to include her brother-in-law as well. In 2018, Samantha tweeted a pic of a hamster stuffing its face with cake and wrote (via Us Weekly), "Happy Birthday Harry! As you 'mack down' on your birthday cake, think about the birthday wishes you never extended to your FATHER-IN-LAW."
Following the release of Prince Harry's memoir "Spare," Samantha went on the British talk show GB News to slam the royal. "I think he is lacking in empathy, remorse, and shame. I think he's so underdeveloped and introspective that he really needs to get counseling, in my opinion, because I think he is stuck at an adolescent stage of resentment over a whole host of issues," she stated. Samantha added that she thinks Harry doesn't think like an adult, sharing, "It seems to be an attention gameplay." She went on to say that Meghan should seek therapy as well, never failing at an opportunity to make a dig at her estranged sister.