Meghan Markle's brother has announced his intention to invite the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry to his upcoming wedding, but she shouldn't have any obligation to go.
Families can be awkward (we've all stared silently into a starter as Auntie Una brings up that thing from 1995). But they can be really awkward when you're Meghan Markle, who despite being five months pregnant still has the daily joy of people like Piers Morgan chipping in on her personal affairs. Now her half-brother Thomas Markle junior has announced his plans to invite The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry to his wedding to his fiancé Darlene Blount.
Speaking to the Daily Mail__ Thomas jr said 'absolutely I think our wedding will bring the family closer together.' and 'My dad would really enjoy that. Possibly it will bring the family closer – especially if everybody shows up.' He has also revealed plans to arrive at the ceremony by parachute and dressed as Elvis. On the surface it seems like a reasonably sweet and benign gesture - but hang on a second, isn't this the same man who wrote an open letter to Prince Harry calling Meghan a 'jaded, shallow, conceited woman that will make a joke of you and the royal family heritage'?
It's also worth remembering that Thomas Markle jr was jailed in January last year for allegedly holding a gun to his fiancé, Darlene Blount's head during an argument that resulted in a domestic violence call. Blount allegedly locked herself in the bathroom during the assault and the police report details that ‘In his drunken state [Markle] grabbed a gun and pressed it to Blount’s head in an attempt to get her to leave.’ he was charged by the police with menacing, pointing a firearm at another person, and unlawful use of a weapon.
Thomas Markle jr is not a quirky press gimmick, or an interesting media anecdote. There's demonstrable evidence that he's a violent individual. This only supported more solidly in the way that he has spoken about Meghan Markle in the past. Because Meghan in the public eye and protected by Royal family status, it's easy to forget that when you say derogatory, unpleasant and offensive things about a member of your family, it's actually a form of abuse. But if a family member said those sort of things to you that Meghan's half brother said about her, would you still want to go to their wedding?
To appear to extend an olive branch - like Thomas jr has done - after the things he's said about Meghan is an intrinsically manipulative action. Even more so, perhaps - because it's played out in such a public forum. It demonstrates that Thomas still believes he has total control. That he can dictate the narrative simply through the message that he decides to put out in the press. One minute his is the whistle-blower revealing Meghan's 'true nature' to the public, the next the penitant sibling waving a white flag, and we're not buying it.
This type of behavior is also consistent with gaslighting - which Psychology Today defines as being an instance between two people in which one person is 'manipulative, self-centered, low on empathy, and has a vested interest in always being right.' Gaslighters consistently 'twist facts' to position themselves as the victim and the other person as the other person at fault. They will perpetually change the story and then change their position completely to present themselves as the victims of the situation.
'It would be kind of exciting if they came' Thomas jr said 'Maybe they can start their New Year off in a better tradition and actually be more family involved.' But we wouldn't blame Meghan for throwing the invitation in the bin.