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Should palace officials have done more to prepare Meghan Markle's family for the royal wedding?

The world's gaze falls on the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. But that intense scrutiny has been on Markle's family for months, says a veteran royal biographer, and the palace could have done more to help them cope.

Family ill-prepared to deal with media attention, says author

CBC Radio ·
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Feb. 13, 2018. (Andrew Milligan/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

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The royal wedding has been "hijacked" by Meghan Markle's family, but palace officials should have done more to prepare them for the inevitable media storm, according to a veteran royal biographer.

"Meghan's family are very normal people, living very normal lives," said Penny Junor, whose books include Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son.

"She has now stepped into a totally, totally abnormal life and they have been drawn into it."

Thomas Markle, the bride's father, generated headlines this week over apparent staged paparazzi photos. He was set to walk her down the aisle but will not be able to travel from the U.S. to attend the wedding due to health problems. Prince Charles will instead walk her down the aisle.

Markle's half-siblings, Thomas Markle Jr., 51, and Samantha Grant, 53, were not invited to the wedding. Her mother, Doria Ragland, will be in attendance.

Comedian Gina Yashere had one piece of advice for Meghan Markle: 'Get out, it's not too late!" (ginayashere.com/press-photos)

They were ill-prepared for the media attention that came with the engagement, Junor said, and the palace "missed a trick" in not advising them.

"The palace could, or should, have extended some kind of help," she said.

"How to deal with with paparazzi on your lawn, being followed by them. How to deal with all the offers of money to be interviewed.

"I think that ordinary people don't really quite know what hit them when they get doorstepped by the media."

This segment was produced by The Current's Julie Crysler.

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