The Royal Family is reportedly giving support to Meghan Markle’s father Thomas after it emerged that he had paid the paparazzi to stage photographs of him in the lead up to the royal wedding.
The news emerged this weekend, when the Mail on Sunday shared CCTV images of Mr Markle speaking with photographers before posing for photographs of him Googling his daughter. Other faked pictures include one of him being measured for a suit, another of him exercising and one of him reading a book called ‘Images of Britain’.
It no doubt reminds the royals of previous issues between them and the press in the past - most notably Princess Diana's naive dealings with the media and photographers - something that her sons have often talked about.
It comes just a few days before he is due to fly to the UK to meet his future son-in-law Prince Harry for the first time, as well as the Queen, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Kensington Palace has already warned the media not to invade the privacy of Markle’s parents, who are private individuals. It also revealed their part in the upcoming nupitals, confirming that Thomas will walk his daughter down the aisle, and that her mother Doria will accompany her to the venue in the car before entering the chapel via a special entrance reserved for members of the royal family.
When news of Prince Harry’s new girlfriend first emerged in 2016, he made the unusual move of making a statement asking the press to leave her alone. In it, he said: ‘He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game - it is her life and his.