Meghan Markle’s sister clashes with Prince Harry

PRINCE Harry appears to have ruffled the feathers of his in-laws yesterday after claiming his fiancee Meghan Markle had found “the family she never had” while with the Royals at Christmas.

The prince revealed details of Meghan’s first Christmas at Sandringham during an interview on Radio 4 yesterday.

He said the Royal Family loved having her at the Queen’s Norfolk estate and that the American actress had a “fantastic” time before adding: “It’s the family I suppose that she’s never had.”

It was not clear exactly what he meant but Meghan, 36, like Harry, 33, is from a broken home.

Her parents divorced when she was just six and she has divided her time between her father Thomas Markle, who now lives in Mexico, and her mother Doria Ragland in Los Angeles.

The comment prompted an almost immediate response from her half sister Samantha Grant who strongly denied suggestions that the Suits actress had missed out on a big family while growing up.

Miss Grant, 52, who shares the same father as Meghan and claims to have helped raise her for 12 years, told the Daily Express: “Actually she has a large family who were always there with her and for her.”

The mother-of-three, added: “Our household was very normal and when Dad and Doria divorced, we all made it so it was like she had two houses.”

“Meg’s family (our family) is complete with sister, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and the glue of our family, our amazing completely self-sacrificing father. She always had this family. Marrying merely extends it.”

Harry’s feather-ruffling comment came during in an interview with Today presenter Sarah Montague during his stint yesterday as guest editor on BBC Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme.

Asked how his bride-to-be coped meeting the “in-laws”, the Prince replied: “It was fantastic. She really enjoyed it.”

He told how they had stayed with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Anmer Hall while visiting the Queen at Sandringham House, two miles away.

Harry, 33, said: “The family loved having her there. There’s always that family part of Christmas. There’s always that work element there as well, and I think together we had an amazing time. We had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running round with the kids. Christmas was fantastic.”

Asked if there were any family traditions that had to be explained to Meghan he replied: “Oh plenty. I think we’ve got one of the biggest families that I know of, and every family is complex as well. No look, she’s done an absolutely amazing job. She’s getting in there and it’s the family I suppose that she’s never had.”

During the three-hour radio programme, the Prince interviewed former US president Barack Obama, who in thinly-veiled criticism of his successor, Donald Trump – a prolific Twitter user - warned that the irresponsible use of social media was distorting the public’s understanding of complex issues and leading to the spread of misinformation.

Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have become close to the Obamas but there is no sign of a relationship between the Royal Family and the new US administration yet.

It has been reported that Theresa May’s Government is concerned that Britain’s relations with the Trump administration will be damaged if Harry invites the Obamas to his wedding, something the young royal yesterday declined to rule it out.

Asked if President Obama had been invited to the wedding at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, next May, Harry said: “I don’t know about that. We haven’t even put the invite or the guest list together. Who knows if he’s going to be invited or not? I wouldn’t want to ruin that surprise.”

Harry also interviewed Prince Charles for the programme, calling him “Pa”.

Charles, who called his son “darling boy”, warned that climate change was mankind’s biggest challenge but said he was encouraged by Harry’s optimism for the future.

Harry, who had express concerns about the direction in which the world had headed in 2017, told his father: “This pendulum is going to swing and 2018 is going to be a fantastic year and we all need to play our part.”