Meghan Markle’s Sister Urges Duchess To Use U.S. Trip To Meet With Estranged Father

Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle has returned to the U.S. for a baby shower put together by some of her closest friends, but according to the Daily Mail, her estranged sister, Samantha Markle, thinks the royal should do something else with her time in the States.

The Duchess reportedly landed in New York City last week on Friday, February 15, and has been spotted out and about the Big Apple over the course of the last five days, catching up with friends ahead of a lavish baby shower put together by her pal Jessica Mulroney.

And while 54-year-old Samantha understands the importance of a baby shower, she also believes that Meghan’s trip would be the perfect opportunity to reach out to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, whom she has had a troubled relationship with for some time.

“You are on this continent, Meghan and I would just really love to see her have contact with my dad while she’s here,” Samantha told the Daily Mail. “Life is very short and you never know when you’re going to get that opportunity again so it would seem par for the course and I hope it happens.”

Meghan’s relationship with her father was particularly strained shortly before her royal wedding to Prince Harry in May of last year, when Thomas was caught allegedly staging photos for the paparazzi near his home.

Most recently, Thomas released a personal letter from his daughter sent shortly after the royal wedding in response to a report from People in which friends claimed the duchess felt “victimized” by her father’s interviews with the media.

Meanwhile, Samantha, who has not seen Meghan in over a decade since 2008, is working on two tell-all books about the duchess, with the first set to come out in April around the time when Meghan is expected to give birth to her first child.

Samantha explained to the Daily Mail that she is no longer upset about not being invited to her sister’s wedding and harbors no hard feelings about being left out of the baby shower, though she does hope to have a relationship with her royal niece or nephew in the future.

“All I can say is I cry,” she said. “With a baby coming, it might be time to look at things and try it again.”

She also insisted that Meghan is the one to blame for the estrangement, and that the ball is in her court to “do the right thing” in terms of resolving the conflict between her and her family members.

According to the Daily Mail, Meghan is expected to return to London within the next day to prepare for an official trip to Morocco over the upcoming weekend.