Speaker 1The Telegraph A tearful Meghan
Speaker 2finally emerged in public this week, just as her father's police mugshot was released following his arrest on suspicion of possessing child sex abuse images.
Speaker 3The case against Thomas Markle continues to haunt the Duchess of Sussex, but the question remains, why did she never follow up with police after first hearing about the claims eight years ago?
Speaker 2Welcome to The Royal Tea with me, Camilla Tominey. And me, Hannah Furness. My one issue with the handling of this is as follows, and doubtlessly I'll be trolled to high heaven for this, but hey, what changes? I'm not sure whether they should have briefed that Meghan was not strong enough to give the child safety speech in Brussels. Why? Because, this is the source quote, she's just not strong enough emotionally to be doing any public speaking right now, a source told The Telegraph. Well, I think that makes it. That makes it a little bit too much about her and not about the actual victims here. I'm sure it is, but I can't even begin to imagine how emotionally bruising it would be to have these allegations come to light about your father, but she's known about them for eight years. It's news to the public, it's presumably not come as much of a surprise to her, because this is the reason she broke off contact. So, the headlines have caused her. Emotional turmoil, but this wasn't the revelation for her that it was for the rest of us. Hannah, normally we speak about royal matters on the royalty, and it's all quite fun and slightly twee and a little bit whimsical, as the royals are. And then we find ourselves confronted with Thomas Markle's mugshot, which has been released as he returns to custody for cutting off his tag. This is father of Meghan, of course. He is there staring down the lens in an orange. It should be stressed that he vehemently protests his innocence against allegations that he has been in possession of child sex abuse material. He's back in Florida, having moved from California via Mexico to the Philippines. This follows his own son, Thomas Markle Jr., saying he found a cache of images at his father's home. He had been released on bail. Last week, he was wearing this monitoring device. He tried to take it off, and so he's now back in custody. And we are waiting for the proceedings to continue. And meanwhile, what's Meghan's reaction to all this been?
Speaker 3I mean, we saw her for the first time, didn't we, in Brussels this week, where she was out with the Duke of Sussex. She was supposed to be delivering a speech about child safety online, of all things. She pulled out of speaking. She said she wasn't up to it, effectively. She's too distressed to do it. Harry went ahead and did it. But you just need to look at the footage and photographs of those two to see the strain they're under at the moment.
Speaker 2I thought they looked tearful, but was that just the camera angle?
Speaker 3Yeah, no, it wasn't. I mean, look, I'm no case study in pale, ginger-haired English people looking a bit puffy and tired. Sure. But Prince Harry looked like, you know, there have been some sleepless nights in that household, is what you see. He has recently looked a little bit tearful on a few occasions, actually. You remember in New York? I remember in New York, when he did that speech, when his autocue failed, there was something at the well charred towards. He does seem to be a man who's got his emotions quite close to the surface at the moment.
Speaker 2I mean, they're dealing with pretty serious issues because they're talking about protecting children online. And this is from things like cyberbullying and people coming forward, testimonies that their children have taken their own lives because of what's happened on the Internet. Also, you and I know that you do become more lacrimose when you have kids. I mean, I used to be tough as nails. And then I had three kids. So the next thing I'm. I'm crying at episodes of DIY SOS. I can't keep my emotions in check. What's wrong with me? So there's all that in the background. They're under pressure, aren't they? Because they've left California. They're now living in the UK. It was a very bumpy landing because they had to change the children's school. We've had reports that their accommodation is somewhat in flux at the moment. They might be moving out of one property into another, whatever, in the Cotswolds. But then all this going on in the background. And it's quite hard to discuss all this. Because, A, proceedings are active and we need to be very, very careful about how we handle an ongoing case. Because, as I say, Thomas Markle Sr. has not been found guilty of anything in a court of law and protests his innocence. But there's also this big question mark over what did the Sussexes know and when and what did they tell others? So she claims that she received a letter from the Metropolitan Police in 2018-19-ish, which made allegations against her father. And then what happened?
Speaker 3Well, and then it seems to have disappeared. So it was shown to her, we're told, by a Royal Protection Officer who said words to the effect of, we're looking after this, we'll take care of it. She says, or her team say, that she believed entirely that it was being investigated somehow. Eight years on, all this stuff comes to light via a Sun investigation in the Philippines. They found material, you know, again, these are all allegations. But this is not a grave crime. This is a very, very disturbing images that are being found about Thomas Markle. And for the Sussexes, you know, this is close to home because it's her father. But also there's an element of these are children. They have young children. There's a human element here. There's a family element. And as you say, there is this new level of questioning. Very gently, I would say. I don't think anybody is criticizing Meghan for this. But there is a level of misunderstanding or at least a feeling that people don't. I understand what's happened through all these eight years between when the letter was sent and now. Thomas Markle has moved across two continents. He went from California when Meghan was little. He's lived in a border town in Mexico, and he's now been in the Philippines. Most recently, there are a lot of children along the way, allegedly, who could have been harmed by the right.
Speaker 2So let's drill into that because we received an interesting letter. And just to put that into context, we have had a statement from Meghan. And it basically made clear two things. Her absolute horror at the latest developments involving her father. And secondly, an explanation of sorts as to why she did not maintain contact with him after the wedding. And at the time, we thought that was because he was doing set-up shots with paparazzi trying on his wedding suit. And then he has some heart condition and the whole relationship implodes. We didn't really know why or for what reason at the time. And she basically said in that statement, "The reason I cut off contact was to protect my children."
Speaker 3And don't forget subsequently, if we're looking at the timeline, after this letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police, Meghan and Harry have done multiple interviews and there are various accounts, including in his memoir of their relationship with Thomas Markle, where he's describing him as a complicated man, a complex man. But it's the British press that are in the frame for ruining this relationship between Meghan and her father. Yes. Colluding with these paparazzi shots and putting so much pressure on. Yes. A difficult relationship.
Speaker 2And this sheds a bit of light on it. But I have always questioned, since all this came to light, you give a very hard-hitting, candid interview to Oprah Winfrey, which shocks her so much she spends most of the interview completely open-mouthed in astonishment at the stuff coming out of these couples' mouths. You then do a Netflix documentary where you're laying bare, Beyoncé's texted, Williams texted. Poking a degree of ridicule at the Queen for needing to curtsy. And that's all laid bare. It's inside the home. You then have Spare, which, my goodness me, I mean, couldn't lay more bare. At one point, he's written about his frostbitten penis. And yet, at no point during that entire period, that Glasnost, the royal Glasnost that was the post-Mexit interview series period, do you not mention this?
Speaker 3Well, they say that they trusted that an investor. They trusted that the investigation was happening, that they knew that the police had this material, that they had been told by somebody along the way not to talk about it because it might compromise an investigation into Thomas Markle. What we now know is that that investigation just wasn't happening.
Speaker 2I mean, there wouldn't have ever been an investigation into Thomas Markle in this country. It couldn't have contempted any proceedings here. Any investigation would surely have been taking place in either Mexico, the Philippines or California. So, I'm not sure if that makes sense. Of course, they could have been in danger of defaming him with allegations that weren't proven. And therefore, he could have feasibly turned around and tried to sue them, I guess. It's a thought. This letter has been sent by a royalty listener and viewer, and it's quite extensive. And it lays bare some really quite heartfelt and deeply personal experiences. But let's just give the thrust of it. Basically, this correspondent is saying that they themselves have been a victim of child sexual abuse. And they're making the point that they are questioning why Meghan and Harry weren't more up front with this information. Let me just quote from the letter directly. Subsequent reporting citing unnamed sources speaking on her behalf, this is the Duchess, indicated that she had refrained from speaking publicly in part to avoid the risk of legal action. That is not a good enough reason to fail. bail to protect children. Seven years passed while the Duchess father remained at liberty and the Duchess never once followed up to establish whether an investigation was actually taking place. We don't actually know that. She may well have done that privately and not discussed it publicly until now. She protected her own children, which was certainly a good choice, but she chose not to protect countless other children who then likely suffered horrific abuse during the time her father was living, first in Mexico and then in the Philippines. Again, to caveat, no, we don't necessarily know if any abuse has taken place full stop, let alone if it took place since Thomas Markle Sr. left California, but no matter, we get the overall thrust of this. I conclude, I share this not to judge circumstances I cannot fully know, but because I believe the protection of children demands more than public statements and advocacy. It demands accountability, difficult questions and action, even when doing so comes at tremendous personal cost. I think what she's saying here is, she doesn't find, so far, the Sussexes' explanation for why they sat on this for almost a decade to be convincing. And she says that's all well and good in terms of protecting your own children, but what about other children that could have come into contact with Megan's father? And I think that's, it's a well-made point. I think there will be some who say, goodness me, that's harsh. I mean, under no circumstances can a daughter or a son take any vicarious responsibility for the actions of their father. She clearly made the decision she made at the time, probably under legal advice as well as police counsel.
Speaker 3Well, I think if you remember at the time, so this is all happening in the aftermath of the wedding. So you've got Thomas Markle, who posed up for those paparazzi pictures. They had a big falling out. They couldn't persuade him to come over, sort of with the palace's help for the wedding. He then had a heart attack. He never arrived. Then you have this letter that she wrote to him that was subsequently published in the Mail on Sunday, where she said words to the effect of, I love you. You've hurt me. I forgot about the letter.
Speaker 2Did the letter mention any? No. But we don't know whether she wrote that letter that was leaked to the Mail on Sunday. She must have written it before the police informed her of the allegations against her father.
Speaker 3So initially it seemed that she had got the letter from the first wife making these allegations after the wedding, but before what I'll call the Mail on Sunday. Mail on Sunday letter for shorthand. It's transpired later that actually the Met say they received the letter in January 2019. So a long time after she wrote to her father in this sort of farewell letter that eventually was made public. And the couple sued the newspaper group
Speaker 2for breach of privacy for publishing that letter.
Speaker 3Yes. And when you think back to the atmosphere at the time and you try and put yourself in Megan's shoes. So she is effectively just arrived from America. She's already a divorcee, biracial, as she referred to herself. She's come into the new, to Royal Family as a newcomer. She said she wanted to hit the ground running in the UK. They had this incredible welcome. But if I think if you're Megan and Harry at this point, you don't want to put a foot wrong. She really wants to prove herself that she could work for the Commonwealth and she'd be this huge asset to the Royal Family, which is what it was the atmosphere at the time. It's what we were all writing. And just on a human level, you can understand, I suppose, that if you hear these allegations, I think we're led to believe that she did instinctively. And I think that's what she did instinctively believe them and she wants them to be investigated. But you can also understand kind of the absolute crushing horror, not only as a daughter about allegations, very serious allegations about your father, but also what does it mean for you as the wife of the fifth in line to the throne, who's already under an enormous amount of scrutiny, who doesn't want to upset the establishment, what doesn't want to put a foot wrong in the eyes of the late Queen and the Royal Family. This is just such a mind-blowingly difficult position to be put in. And on a human level, you can understand that kind of, I think she's called it in different circumstances, turtling, this wanting to withdraw.
Speaker 2Well, she's also under a barrage of assault by her half siblings, who at this point are supporting the father. So this also makes it very curious. They're queuing up, all three of them. So Thomas Markle Senior, Thomas Markle Junior and Samantha Markle are all queuing up to give interviews, bashing Meghan. She feels tainted by her association with this side of the family, let's be honest. You then throw into the mix child pornography allegations. I mean, reputationally, she would have feared that this would have been extraordinarily damaging. On a human level, that's what one would imagine.
Speaker 3And you know that since these allegations have become publicly known, it was the Sussexes themselves that put the existence of this letter into the public domain. And I think there has possibly been an overcorrection on their part through fear that she will be criticised for not doing enough and not following it up. Because we do know that if there's one thing we do know about the Sussexes, it's that they're not going to be at the palace. You know, they were not shy of following up with their staff on matters. And you know, this does seem to be the one thing that they haven't pushed and pushed and pushed with the police to check in on the investigation. But I think there is so much worry now that she will be criticised for that, which I don't think she really is, particularly apart from in certain courts of the internet, that they have wanted to spell out kind of how much she can, how much she felt blocked by the police in speaking out. Fair enough. My one issue with the Sussexes
Speaker 2with the handling of this is as follows. And doubtlessly, I'll be trolled to high heaven for this. But hey, what changes? I'm not sure whether they should have briefed that Megan was not strong enough to give the child safety speech in Brussels. Why? Because this is the source quote. She's just not strong enough emotionally to be doing any public speaking right now, a source told The Telegraph. Well, I think that makes it a little bit too much about her and not about the actual victims here. I'm sure it is. I can't even begin to imagine how emotionally bruising it would be to have these allegations come to light about your father. But she's known about them for eight years. It's news to the public. It's presumably not come as much of a surprise to her because this is the reason she broke off contact. So the headlines have caused her emotional turmoil. But this wasn't the revelation for her that it was for the rest of us. Point one. Point two, you aren't the victim here, right? We are talking about allegedly the most grotesque images of children you can possibly imagine. Little people have been allegedly abused. They have been photographed. It's the most disgusting and deplorable crime. Every sin you should be strained for them, for what they went through, for what they're now going through, for what their mums and dads are going through. How is anyone who is now. Imagine the investigation and how this now plays out. The FBI and others are going through an entire cache allegedly of images. They're having to track these kids down. Where are these kids? Who are these kids? How old are these kids? How the hell have these kids come to be photographed or videoed in this way? They then got to go to the police. They got to go to the police. They got to go to the families. These kids are going to have their whole lives ruined by this. So I'm not sure Megan's entirely at the centre of this story, but am I just being typically cynical and sceptical because I'm on a horrible old cow, but the propensity of this couple to constantly bring it back to them when actually it's about something so much bigger. It's so much bigger. And to the point of the fact that they've been talking to us about their own personal experience. You can't hide away from all this now. You've discussed everything else. You've discussed every other aspect of your life. So in order for us all to try and make sense of this, including the actual victims, we really do need you to be strong enough to have an open dialogue, because that really would be helpful.
Speaker 3There is an awful lot they can do with their platform, isn't there, as this investigation reaches completion, when there is a very, very strong dialogue? There is a very strong dialogue. There is a verdict when we know exactly what we're talking about, and we're going to stop saying allegedly at some point. At that point, Megan will be free, I think, to talk.
Speaker 2That's a fair point. It may be, listen, we're in the middle of a legal case.
Speaker 3In the same way that we can't come on air and hear and say all the things that we kind of know in the background, not in relation to this, by the way, but you sometimes have to wait for due process to happen. And this is going to happen. He's currently in jail. We've got this mugshot. The FBI are on the case. The Philippines are on the case. There is now finally progress here. And it's when that reaches the conclusion, I think, that that will be the measure. What happened to the whole,
Speaker 2he's in a dementia unit and therefore isn't fit to be questioned or stand trial? That seems to have fallen by the wayside now.
Speaker 3It does. I'm not clear quite how much store the FBI puts in that sort of thing, whether they are just justice first. But we will see, you know, we saw him being taken out in an ambulance, in a wheelchair, in handcuffs, in a fairly bleak image in all of this. It seems like they are taking it very seriously and they are acting very fast, actually.
Speaker 2Okay. Before I'm cancelled, let's just quickly discuss the other royals in the piece, and that is the Prince and Princess of Wales, who are doing something exciting. And I think, are you, Dustin, off the passport once again. I am very excited. Call this work, Hannah Furness.
Speaker 3What's happening? I'm at the coalface. I don't know what you're talking about. Where are you flying to then? What's going on? We're going to India. Lovely. We're going to Mumbai. I've been there. They've been there 10 years ago. Well, you probably went with them in 2016. I was with them.
Speaker 2That's it. Remember it well. You know cricket, Taj Mahal? Oh, yeah. I played cricket with Sachan Tandulkar. There you go. Try and find that video before the producers ask. Yep. I'm high-fiving you virtually, Emma. We'll find that. Yes, Mumbai. Very nice, too.
Speaker 3It's been known for nearly a year that the Prince of Wales is going there. It's about his Earthshot Prize, his big environment prize. That's been scheduled for a long time. What they haven't confirmed until now is that the Prince of Wales is going to accompany him, which is a big relief to me because I've been writing that she's going for about six months. So I was a bit worried as we got very close to actually flying this weekend. So nice to improve flight, isn't it? Yeah, great. That why aren't you confirming it? I think there's been a big delay in confirming it. Obviously, this is a massive step for her health-wise. She did that little trip to Italy earlier this year, but that was less than 24 hours. This is a much bigger thing. Global scale. There'll be huge crowds. She'll be in the spotlight for the first time properly since illness overseas. It should be great.
Speaker 2She must be delighted with that drawing of a kingfisher that Prince George has done. Oh, isn't he talented? That's good, isn't it? I looked at it and I thought, you know, like as a mum, you get sent, I mean, I get weekly newsletters from school and somebody, they always post up somebody's GCSE art and I'm like, what? What? This is brilliant. And then thinking, why can't my children do it? I hope they don't listen to this, can I? Well, to be fair, I've got one creative genius, but nobody can done pencil drawings like that. But mine are all sporty and all that jazz. Listen, I'm not denigrating my own children here. I mean, I've already portrayed myself as an evil witch. I love my children. They're great. But I don't think they could have produced that kingfisher drawing. I'm going to say that for them, OK? I haven't spawned any wannabe Tony Hartz. And I looked at it and actually, we can link it to the show notes, our own art critic has done a little critique of it and said how well drawn it is, but also how it reflects the different colours and how the kingfisher's fur is slightly ruffled and there's a sense of mischief. I mean, you can read so much into these things.
Speaker 3This is what happens when your kids aren't on screens. They're in the great outdoors learning to draw.
Speaker 2I'm just going to say, I was very impressed with this drawing. I was the mum in me. I was proud on their behalf. And this was because Prince William did a kind of guest editing of Country Life magazine and then said to the editor, listen. My son's done this drawing, but only include it if you think it's good enough. And he said, I mean, imagine him going around going, no, we don't want it. This is rubbish. Has Louis got anything? Got anything from Charlotte? Yeah, exactly. And it's also proof, isn't it? I bet they, did I ever tell you the story about how when William and Kate got engaged? You probably have, yes. I'm just thinking, like, I wonder how Kate as a mum is like storing this art. Because I have got three massive portfolios. I'm in the attic now of my kids art. And my youngest recently said to me, I'm increasingly saying, what should we do with this? Should we put it in the bin? And they're like, mum. So I keep stuff. I reckon Kate has got really organised, possibly like, could it be some kind of oxygen controlled vault with this art in it? And it brings me back to just to conclude, because it's been a serious episode. When they got engaged and we all headed down to St. James's Park, I was on maternity leave. I've told you all that. I later realised. I was wearing my dress inside out and I had maternity underwear showing. And she turned to me with a cup of tea and I'd commented on the ring. I was like, bloody hell, that's a big ring. She was like, yeah, it's William's mother's, so it's very special. I was like, holy. Anyway, I was rather overwhelmed by the whole event. And then I said, oh, God, the wedding planning. Then I started launching into a conversation about when I planned my wedding. Doesn't sound like you, Camilla. When I planned my wedding, I said, I tell you what, can I just give you a piece of advice for wedding planning? What you need to do is you need to get one of those. You need to have an accordion files and you need to have like a section for floristry and a section. She's looking at me going, who is this mad old bird? So, you know, I've got a team. I then stopped in the middle of it all and I went, oh, you're going to have someone to do that for you, aren't you? She was like, yeah, very probably.
Speaker 1Not in a horrible way, just in a, I was like, right. Anyway, you move on. Move on to the Daily Mail and the Telegraph. I've had my moment in the sun and I've made a complete arse of myself.
Speaker 2But she's got an accordion file now. If she doesn't have an accordion file, what's she thinking? I've got files for certificates, Hannah. I've got files for school reports. I've got files for all sorts. I'm just saying, I like the Kingfisher. And if Prince George would like to be commissioned to do a little painting for the royalty wall, maybe us. Maybe a little picture of us. Who knows? Anyway, Hannah, enjoy India. Thank you. Look forward to hearing about all that. I'll bring back the gossip. Juicy gossip on the next royalty. Thank you very much.
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