Days after celebrating Christmas with his fiancée Meghan Markle and the rest of his family, Prince Harry got chatty while interviewing former President Barack Obama for a BBC Radio special. While the prince’s discussion with Obama covered important views on the role of social media, he turned to slightly more personal topics while talking with the BBC team in a separate portion of the program. PEOPLE reports that Harry spilled about how he and Meghan enjoyed their Christmas together, and what he revealed didn’t please Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Markle Grant.
“There’s always that family part of Christmas [where] there’s always that work element there as well,” Harry said, referring to the royals’ traditional public walk to and from Christmas Day services. “We had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running round with the kids…[Meghan’s] done an absolutely amazing job, she’s getting in there and it’s the family that I suppose she’s never had.”
Samantha, who is 17 years older than Meghan and reportedly hasn’t spoken to her in nearly a decade, was quick to respond to Harry’s suggestion that Meghan experienced a broken family. Replying to a random commenter on Twitter, she wrote, “She has a large family. She always did. Our dad is amazing and completely self sacrificing. We made it so that she had two houses. How fun it was!”
She has a large family. She always did. Our dad is amazing and completely self sacrificing. We made it so that she had two houses. How fun it was!
— Samantha Markle (@SamanthaMGrant) December 27, 2017
Actually she has a large family who were always there with her and for her. Our household was very normal and when dad and Doria divorced, we all made it so it was like she had two houses. No one was estranged ,she was just too busy. Read my book complete with facts and photos
— Samantha Markle (@SamanthaMGrant) December 27, 2017
According to Good Housekeeping, Meghan’s parents divorced when she was six years old, and she lived with her mother following their separation. She has two half-siblings, including Samantha, from her father’s first marriage, and E News reports that 52-year-old Samantha is wheelchair-bound due to multiple sclerosis. Sources also suggested to E News that, because of their age gap, Samantha and Meghan never had a close relationship.
To top it off, Samantha is also writing a tell-all book about her sister’s childhood, which she seems to be emphasizing to have her own moment in the spotlight.
Excited for my book coming out and wait until you see what our home life was like!
— Samantha Markle (@SamanthaMGrant) December 25, 2017
It’s hard to say whether or not rumors about the sisters’ relationship are true, but if there’s anything that’s clear, it’s that Samantha may need to be a little more discreet about sharing family-related comments. Here’s hoping that she can patch things up with Meghan before the wedding rolls around.