Meghan Markle Struggling With Family Drama

Meghan Markle is a royal by marriage, but her biological family has been causing a lot of drama since her wedding to Prince Harry in May.

First there were the reports that her father, Thomas Markle, had staged adorable paparazzi photos leading up to the royal wedding. Then, Thomas gave several tell-all interviews about his daughter (other family members, like Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Markle, have also gotten in on the tell-all game) and reports surfaced that he may have faked the heart surgery he said kept him from attending his daughter’s wedding.

Meghan has remained totally silent on her family’s public drama—but not totally by choice, apparently. A source close to the royal told Us Weekly that Meghan is frustrated she’s not able to do anything about the onslaught of negative press.

“She’s essentially not able to prevent these kind of stories. Now, everything has to go through official Palace,” the source said. “She doesn’t have her own publicist, she can’t make any comments on Twitter and she can’t reach out to him to tell him to stop speaking to the press. Her father’s comments have an effect on everything.”

Talking to Thomas directly also doesn’t seem to be an option for Meghan, who is reportedly afraid he would leak any communication she had with him.

“Meghan is so upset over Thomas. She doesn’t even know how to communicate with her dad without knowing he won’t exploit her,” the source said.

Silence appears to be the royal family’s plan on the issue going forward. Royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET, “The strategy at Kensington Palace, I understand, is, ‘Say nothing, don’t dignify these comments, these interviews, these articles with a response.’ The royal family has had more than their fair share of scandals. This won’t faze them.”