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Meghan Markle has said she is 'deeply distressed' after a series of allegations were made about her estranged father Thomas.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Thomas Snr denied possessing child sex images, calling the accusations "sick lies".
Authorities in the UK had previously told the Duchess that allegations made about her father in a 2018 letter sent to Scotland Yard and subsequently shared with her by police were being investigated, it is understood.
Shelagh Fogarty takes to the phones to see what our listeners think of the matter.
00:09 | Debate with caller Susan
07:09 | Jan thinks Britain should be ashamed at how we treated Meghan
10:51 | Beth draws parallels to Princess Diana
#shelaghfogarty #harryandmeghan #royalfamily #princessdiana #meghanmarkle #royals #uknews #news #princeharry #meghanmarkle #royalfamily#lbc
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0:00
I don't believe a word this person says
0:01
It has been disgusting the way this country has treated this young woman
0:06
Why are you berating them? I think it's just racism. Susan in Harrogate
0:11
You can tell it's Friday, can't you? Hello. Hello, Sheila. Hi. I think we have a little insight into Meghan's personality
0:19
When she demanded of the late Queen that she could borrow the tiara with the emerald in it
0:26
And when the Queen refused, Meghan threw a hissy fit, apparently. Apparently
0:31
Yeah. Who told you that? People who witnessed. Oh, isn't there all the newspapers
0:35
Exactly, exactly. There's all kinds of nonsense in the newspapers. Yes. Well, yes
0:40
And I think this is all nonsense. I don't believe a word this person says. I don't think these letters
0:45
I don't believe anything. Meghan Markle. Oh, OK. Because if I write a personal letter to somebody, Sheila
0:51
I promise you no one else will see it. How come all these personal letters have been leaked
0:56
I don't believe they existed. I don't believe, therefore, they were written at the time
1:00
I think this is yet another attempt of Meghan Markle, because her ratings with the public is on the floor
1:07
to raise that standard. I don't believe anything. Hang on, hang on, hang on. And the reason people like Kate..
1:11
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Just stop for a second, Susan. Yes, yes. This revelation about the allegations against her father
1:20
did not come from Meghan Markle. She's known about them for nigh on a decade
1:26
and did not speak about them in public or write about them in public ever
1:31
despite being interviewed by some of the best in the business. They did not come from her
1:36
That's not why they're in the public domain today. Right. Well, the letters, she's leaking personal letters
1:44
They're in the... Or someone's leaking personal letters. I don't believe any of it
1:47
I believe what the police are saying, obviously. But the reason, Susan, the reason your letters and my letters
1:53
don't matter one jot to people is that we're just Sheila and Susan
1:58
If we were the Duchess of Sussex or the Princess of Wales or the Prince of Wales
2:02
or the future King or whatever, people want to get their hands on your letters. They want to get their hands on an email
2:07
you sent to somebody complaining about something. Of course they do. This is not an email. No, I'm talking about in general terms
2:13
Yeah, it's a personal letter. Yes, I know. If I wrote you a personal letter
2:16
I would make damn sure nobody else saw it. I promise you that. I think most people would
2:21
Well, but how would you do that? How would you do it
2:24
If I decided to leak it. Well, do you know what I'd do? I'd probably destroy it after I wrote it
2:30
It was so personal. No, you sent it to me. I physically got the letter
2:35
Well, why would anyone expose that? A whole demeanour throughout this. All she's done is seek publicity
2:44
Susan, if you send a letter to somebody and it turns out your father
2:49
and it turns out he cannot be trusted to keep anything private, as it turned out
2:56
and she was learning that slowly but surely around this time, then it not her leaking the letter is it OK OK Well OK somebody else has leaked the letter But I don Why aren you berating them Sorry Why aren you berating them
3:13
Well, you shouldn't... Nobody should leak anything, in my opinion. Yeah. Unless it's in the public interest
3:20
Well, you know, even then, maybe. It depends on the context. It's always about the context, isn't it
3:25
Yeah, yeah. Not private letters, but... No, from day one, all she's done is seek publicity
3:31
And, you know, with respect, Sheila, you're saying leave her alone. You're devoting two or three hours to her
3:36
So I don't know why you don't follow your own good advice. You know, just leave her alone
3:41
All she wants is more and more publicity. Leave her alone. You know, the reason, can I just say finally
3:46
the reason everybody likes Kate is because Kate keeps her mouth shut
3:51
Meghan can't do that. What's Meghan said? said oh well let's say the oprah infrey oprah whatever her name winfrey interview when she
4:03
intimated she's very careful isn't she she never actually said racism was used about the color of
4:08
the unborn child she never specifically said that she just intimated it that's what she does
4:15
she intimates things she doesn't say anything she'd be sued for but she intimates well listen
4:20
And that's the danger of it all. You say Kate keeps her mouth shut. A, I think that's, you know
4:26
I don't think it's great for people to keep their mouth shut all the time. And B, she doesn't
4:31
Let me explain why I mean that. What I mean when I say that. As Princess of Wales
4:37
and I think before she was Princess of Wales as well, she made the subject of children's early years
4:43
a topic that she wants to talk about. And she does talk about it. And she talks about it well, I think
4:49
and she's clearly brilliant with kids. That's evident every time she meets them
4:55
But she doesn't keep her mouth shut. She actually says what are quite, I think
5:00
political things about education and child rearing. And I mean, she has to do it carefully, but she does it
5:07
She doesn't keep her mouth shut. So when Kate speaks and talks about what she's interested in
5:12
we praise her to the hilt. And I do praise her to the hilt for choosing that topic
5:16
It's a brilliant topic to focus on and to bring her attention to. Why doesn't Meghan do that then
5:20
Well, Meghan's done lots of different things. As you know, think of the, she just met up with them again
5:26
the Grenfell Kitchen and the people who made the cookbook with her. Because it's all about her. It's not about them
5:31
Well, hang on. Oh, my God. This is a classic. I'm going to finish it there, Susan, just for time reasons, I promise you
5:38
It's all about them. It's all about them. What do you think the royal family are about, Susan
5:44
It's a deal, isn't it? They do the good stuff. come and visit and open the thing and da da da da and you know focus on child rearing and all that
5:52
and they get good publicity because of it that is the deal because the deal must be maintained that
5:58
we wish them to be in our public life that's the deal you can like it or loathe it but that's the
6:02
deal if you think prince william um or kate or any of them going to you know launch something or talk about something or give their attention to something is purely about their desire to do it I mean Prince Philip said it himself
6:20
we don't always do this for our own good. We're not doing this for our own good
6:25
There is a duty there, without a doubt, for a working royal. No doubt there is
6:30
But it's also about keeping them relevant and in the public eye. Kate gets good publicity
6:35
and dresses beautifully and looks amazing and does the right thing. And she does all of those
6:40
things and power to her. And she gets praise for it. Meghan does what she does and gets trounced
6:46
for it. It's just, I'm sorry, Susan, I think it's just racism. I really do. From many quarters
6:53
I don't know whether race is driving yours, but you've obviously decided, perhaps from reading
6:58
too many tabloids, that she's evil and Kate is an angel. And this is the madness that we do
7:04
Jan in Hammersmith, hello. Hello. Hi, Sheila. I just wanted to say, I think right from the get-go
7:11
it has been disgusting the way this country has treated this young woman
7:16
who has done absolutely nothing wrong, pulverised her before they knew her character
7:22
made judgments, ridiculed her, and obviously she was carrying the burden, not only of the entire country practically hating her
7:31
She's carrying the burden of her father, yet she couldn't go public at that time
7:35
because obviously it was being, in inverted commas, investigated. Well, it doesn't need to be in inverted commas, it was being investigated
7:44
Yeah, but I mean, you know, they like to keep these things privately while they're investigating
7:48
Yes, exactly, quite right. So she couldn't share that with the general public
7:53
On top of that, the press were pitting her against her father, against her siblings
7:58
and I just think, it's disgusting. I tell you, Sheila, I cannot put words around
8:05
I had the most heinous father who was a bully, he was violent and he completely destroyed five daughters and three wives
8:15
And I can tell you now, I'm absolutely, he's dead, I don't care
8:21
And how she has kept her dignity is nothing but amazing. And if I may say as well, at this moment in time in this country, we need every bit of niceness and kindness
8:36
The fact that I don't care if they do hybrid. I don't care if they're part time earning money and part time supporting the royal family because there will be loads of people
8:46
But I think underneath, people are a little bit worried she might do a Diana and be very successful and overshadow William
8:54
And I honestly think that because Harry is a warm person. He's open. He doesn't hide
9:00
But I don't think we need to do this to the two brothers either
9:04
You know, I've got siblings. I don't need to be exactly like them to love them
9:08
I don't need to have the same successes that they have to be functional. You know sibling bonds can be complex but they don need to be They don need to be super complex as long as everybody accepts that they just you know you have the privilege of being born by the same parents
9:24
and then you go and you do with your life what you wish to do with your life
9:28
and hope they have happiness and success as well. Totally agree with you there
9:34
And I think as well, she could be a fantastic, if she could face it
9:38
a fantastic supporter of people that have been in situations of abuse
9:46
But, I mean, you know, that's devastating news. But she is a supporter of people in all kinds of situations
9:51
whether it's about abuse or not. But what she could do, I'm just saying, this is hypothetical
9:56
I'm not saying she should in any way, shape or form, but she could be such a wonderful person to highlight
10:04
It's OK to tell. It's OK to come forward. It's okay to report because, you know, I've got so, honestly
10:12
I don't know why people bullied her the way they did. I cannot understand that
10:18
And shame on the press, shame on social media, shame on the British public who, like yourself
10:25
I saw shocking stuff written about her. And I thought, what, I can't even put into words
10:31
because I've been the victim of bullying. I was bullied at school
10:35
It was vicious, absolutely vicious. I'm sorry you were bullied at school Jan that's horrible and it still goes on far too much doesn't
10:40
it thank you very much Jan in Hammersmith and I think an important point Jan makes there is we do
10:44
need to be kinder to one another we do and I don't know why I'm talking about that in relation
10:51
to tabloids it's never going to happen Beth in Putney hello Beth. Hello I would just like to say
10:57
it seems to me that it's very strange that people have forgotten what is now called Diana's book it
11:04
It was written by Andrew Morton, but we know it's her word. It nearly brought down the monarchy because people were shocked to read
11:11
that she had made several suicide attempts while she was living with Charles
11:17
And she criticized in the book also a lot of the royals
11:21
especially Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, because it was in her home that Charles and Camilla met for, shall we call it, she
11:31
and then she complained about not being supported by the palace and then also said that it was actually them who decided
11:41
it was the courtier who decided what went on with the family
11:47
And Fergie went twice on Oprah and also wrote a tell-out book
11:51
And the one that Harry wrote, the Netflix first came after over 50 books
11:59
about written royal barcofellas and everything with all different kinds of things
12:04
Yeah, and Charles did it as Prince of Wales, didn't he? Remember? He had a book written about him
12:09
and gave a long interview to Jonathan Dimbleby. Thank you very much, Beth, for your call, Beth, in Putney
12:14
Is it time to leave Meghan Markle alone in terms of character assassination
12:18
And maybe try once in a while to believe what she says to you
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