Wednesday, August 1, 2018

The Mess Megan and Harry Made With Megan's Father and How to Fix It


I'M CERTAINLY NO AUTHORITY ON ALL THINGS ROYAL about Megan and Harry---excuse me,  the new duchess and duke of something---who grew up universes apart.  However it does seem to me like some high level faux pas have been made with Thomas Markle, Megan's father---and perhaps other members of her unroyal family--- that need to be mended to the extent possible sooner rather than later. Thomas Markle is not innocent  in all this either though his is the harder row to hoe, as he grapples to cope with the last situation  in the world he must have ever thought he would have to deal with:  having his beloved daughter marry a prince and move to a far away country After his own awful publicity blunders, he now fears losing contact with her completely now and is pulling out the stops in desperation to get her attention.

Some steps taken now could bring Meghan and her father to a better, more loving understanding.   If not,  it could be an increasingly embarrassing  and guilt-provoking situation for years to come.   Thomas clearly wants some assurances and time with his daughter. This awkward situation has the potential to derail Megan's marriage completely over time and become another tragic royal train wreck no matter how infatuated she and Harry are with each other at the moment.

So what can be done to begin to remedy it?  Here are my thoughts for what it's worth:

1)  Meghan could call her dad and arrange a very private meeting with him---one-on-one---at an undisclosed, private location in LA as soon as possible.  She could tell him  if he leaks their plans to the press, the meeting will be called off.  She could also tell Thomas how much she loves and cares for him and appreciates all he's done for her over the years and understands her engagement and marriage to Harry is a very stressful adjustment. Meghan can assure him that he has not lost her and she wants to maintain a relationship with him if they can keep it out of the public eye.  Her dad can assure her he loves her and will keep their relationship private. He could stop talking to the press at all.

2)  Meghan could arrange to bring Harry in to meet her father as soon as she has spent a little time with him.  This could be later in the same day, or the next day of her trip to LA. If this had been done long before the wedding, it would have saved  many hurt feelings .  Meghan may have been so afraid and insecure that if she introduced her fiance to her dad then,  Harry might have turned and bolted, and broken the engagement.  Still, an introduction early on, like between her mother, Doria, and Harry would have gone a long way towards making things less stressful. And less embarrassing.  Thomas was clearly too stressed and out of his element to go to the wedding cold and give her away.

3) Sometimes later, Harry and Meghan could invite Thomas to a very private visit to see them in England.  If things are calmer they could slowly introduce her father to several of the royal family who might be less stressful for him to meet. They could then go from there to plan another get together down the road.

4)  The queen and the palace should stay out of this completely.  It would be a terrible, unwise mistake for them to put themselves and the queen ahead of Meghan's need to connect privately with her father. Putting the queen before and above any and everything else would be a disastrous, sellfish mistake.  Meghan's family is just as important as the royals.

All of this would take some maturity and courage.  And time.  But I strongly advise this before it's too late. Frankly,  I am surprised the queen was not  smart enough to tell Harry to get all this handled about the time of their engagement.

No comments: