Viral Tweet Comparing Prince Harry, Meghan to Thomas Markle Sparks Debate

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "ostracised Thomas Markle for giving press interviews," but they "are doing the exact same as him," according to a viral Twitter post.

Meghan has said her relationship with her father broke down after he was caught staging paparazzi pictures for money in the weeks before the Windsor Castle ceremony and lied to her about it. He went on to give a series of interviews about her, leading the royals to pressure her to intervene, which she attempted by famously writing him a letter begging him to stop.

Harry Maxwell, who describes himself on Twitter as a "tech leader," posted: "The irony is Meghan and Harry ostracised Thomas Markle for giving press interviews about their family. They are doing the exact same as him but expect different treatment #HarryTheInterview."

The tweet was liked more than 10.2k times and viewed more than 417k times in the aftermath of Prince Harry's interview with ITV in the U.K.

Not everyone agreed, however, with one account posting: "This is different. By birth, Harry was born into a public family. Period."

Meanwhile, Kevin Maguire, associate editor of U.K. tabloid The Daily Mirror, wrote on Twitter: "Prince Harry's turned into his wife's dad, Thomas Markle, by trashing his family publicly while simultaneously insisting he wants reconciliation.

"After this nobody can look up to a hereditary monarchy wilting in the sunlight."

Prince Harry's Book Delves Into Royal Secrets

The Duke of Sussex's memoir revealed personal information about royal family members including Princess Charlotte's tears at her "baggy" flower girl dress in the days before Harry and Meghan's May 2018 royal wedding.

Elsewhere, Spare said William physically attacked Harry during an argument about whether Meghan was "rude" and that Kate Middleton had been offended by Meghan saying she had baby brain.

Prince Harry said both he and William had as children considered the possibility Princess Diana didn't die during the 1997 Paris car crash that took her life and was simply in hiding, though William seemingly rejected the theory more easily than Harry.

Meanwhile, in an interview with 60 Minutes, Harry acknowledged that he no longer texts William and when asked about King Charles III said: "We haven't spoken for quite a while. No, not recently."

How Meghan Markle and Thomas Markle's Relationship Disintegrated

Spare details how Meghan "spent months trying to soothe her father" after "humiliating" pictures in the papers, including of him buying a "six-pack" or "with his belly hanging over his belt."

Kensington Palace's communications secretary, Jason Knauf, then told Harry and Meghan The Mail on Sunday was preparing to run a story saying that he had staged paparazzi pictures for money.

Thomas denied it and Meghan wrote him a message reading: "We might be able to kill this story, Daddy, but if it turns out you're lying we'll never be able to kill a false story about ourselves, or our children, again. So this is serious. You must tell us the truth."

Harry wrote: "He swore that he'd never staged any photos, that he hadn't taken part in any such charade, that he didn't know the pap in question."

The couple initially believed him, but when the MoS story was published it included CCTV images of Thomas and the photographer staging the pictures.

Spare read: "Soon after the story broke, Thomas Markle sent us a text: 'I'm so ashamed.'

"We phoned him. And texted him. And phoned again. 'We're not angry, please pick up.' He didn't answer. Then we heard, along with the rest of the world, that he'd apparently had a heart attack and wasn't coming to the wedding."

Her father did a series of media interviews in the weeks that followed and by August 2018, Meghan told Knauf that the royals were "constantly berating" Harry to do something about it, according to a message released to the Court of Appeal during a later lawsuit against the MoS.

During a visit to see King Charles III and Camilla, now the Queen Consort, Queen Elizabeth II rang Meghan to urge her to get the situation under control.

Harry wrote: "It seemed granny was calling to talk about Meg's father. She was responding to a letter Meg had written her, asking for advice and help.

"Meg said she didn't know how to make the press stop interviewing him, enticing him to say horrid things. Granny now suggested that Meg forget the press, go and see her father, try to talk some sense into him."

Meghan replied that there were too many press around his house in Mexico and, according to the book, the queen said: "In that case, perhaps write him a letter."

The duchess complied and Thomas Markle eventually leaked the letter to the MoS, which published it, citing inaccurate briefings by Meghan's friends to People as a public interest justification.

Meghan sued on grounds of privacy and breach of copyright and ultimately won the case in December 2021 after a long and arduous battle through both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.