The Markles Aren’t The First Tricky In-Laws For The Royal Family

Thomas Markle and his two children from his first marriage are making things awkward for the new royal family member Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, and the rest of the royal family, but the Markles aren’t the first family to cause public embarrassment for the house of Windsor.

Fans of The Crown on Netflix remember that even Prince Philip’s family was a black mark at the time he married Queen Elizabeth and onward when it was revealed that members of his family were affiliated with the Nazi Party in Germany before and during World War II. Then there was the Spencer family, who battled with the royal family for years during Prince Charles and Diana’s divorce and after her death.

Then there is Gary Goldsmith, Kate Middleton’s uncle (Carole Middleton’s brother) who showed up in the headlines for much of 2017 after he assaulted his wife while they were getting out of a cab in front of their house.

The cab driver, Daniel Shepherd, tried to get Goldsmith off Goldsmith’s wife, Julie-Ann.

“He was screaming and swearing at her and she slapped him round the face and his glasses fell off. He then turned and hit her in the face with a left hook. She fell and cracked her head on the pavement.”

Prince William Visited His Great-Grandmother's Tomb On the Final Day of His Latest Tour https://t.co/0qzKu2Jlv8 via @POPSUGAR

very interesting that Prince Philip, with all his Nazi connections, is the son of a woman that sheltered Jews during WWII.

— Cherry Lee Davis (@CherryLeeDavis3) June 28, 2018

Gary Goldsmith was held over for trial when he initially wouldn’t take a plea, and Kate Middleton was devastated that she was dragging the royal family through the mud.

Town & Country cataloged generations of troublesome inlaws of the royal family, including Prince Philip’s family, the Markles, the Middletons, and more.

Prince Philip was Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark before he married Queen Elizabeth, and he had a tumultuous childhood. His father remarried and his mother struggled with mental health issues after the family was driven from Greece.

Family sources admit that Prince Philip’s life was unstable for years.

“Philip’s older sisters later married men with Nazi connections, while Philip was raised predominantly in Britain by two of his maternal uncles—Georgie, second Marquess of Milford Haven, and Lord Louis Mountbatten.”

Kate Middleton’s Uncle Sentenced for Assault on Wife: He Acted ‘Like a Nasty Drunk,’ Says Judge https://t.co/OvKpyfWZpZ

— People (@people) November 28, 2017

The royal family reportedly wasn’t pleased when this spring, Pippa Middleton’s father in law, David Matthews, was arrested in France on suspicion of rape of a minor at his resort.

“I confirm that David M [David Matthews] was placed in police custody on March 27 at the Brigade for the Protection of Minors. The Paris public prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation, overlooked by an examining magistrate, who charged him with the rape of a minor. He was placed under judicial supervision. The investigation alleges that the crimes were committed in 1998 and 1999. The investigations will now continue as a judicial investigation and will be led by an investigating judge.”

The French authorities are still deciding whether Matthews will be held over for trial.