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Thomas Jnr, 51, who is the American actress' half-brother, claims the 36-year-old has forgotten her roots by refusing to invite close relatives to the royal wedding
Mr Markle, from Oregon, accused his sibling of turning her back on the family and said she is 'falsely' trying to portray herself as the new Princess Diana
He has not seen his sister since 2011 when the pair at their grandmother's funeral

Published: 01:51 EDT, 19 April 2018 | Updated: 15:54 EDT, 19 April 2018

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Thomas Jnr, 51, who is the American actress' half-brother, claims the 36-year-old has forgotten her roots by refusing to invite close relatives as she prepare to tie the knot with Prince Harry

Meghan Markle's brother has revealed that her royal wedding snub has 'torn the family apart'.

Thomas Jnr, 51, who is the American actress' half-brother, claims the 36-year-old has forgotten her roots by refusing to invite close relatives as she prepare to tie the knot with Prince Harry.

Mr Markle, from Oregon, accused his sibling of turning her back on the family and said she is 'falsely' trying to portray herself as the new Princess Diana.

He told the Daily Mirror: 'She's clearly forgotten her roots. It's torn my entire family apart. Meg likes to portray herself as a humanitarian, a people's person and a charitable person but she is none of those things to her family.

'She is giving the greatest performance of her life. She is acting phoney. I've read that Meg wants to be like Diana. Diana was worshipped by everyone in the world. She was loved for the right reasons.

'That's what Meg wants, but I don't think that's going to happen. She's not genuine like Diana.'

Mr Markle has not seen his sister since 2011 when the pair – and Meghan's film producer ex Trevor Engleson, 41 – attended the Los Angeles funeral of their grandmother, Doris.

But speaking exclusively to DailyMailTV last month, the 51-year-old said: 'I haven't got an invite yet but I do expect to get one. It would be really nice [to get an invitation] and it would mean a lot.

'I do expect one and I'm looking forward to going. I don't see why not. It is what it is. I am family, estranged or not.'

Of the letter mailed to Kensington Palace, Markle Jr added: 'I sent a letter. Just basically [saying] I'm really happy for you, congratulations, you're amazing, you're going to do well and congratulations.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a reception with delegates from the Commonwealth Youth Forum at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, yesterday

Meghan attended a reception with Prince Harry and delegates from the Commonwealth Youth Forum at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in her first major event with the Royal Family

Extended family: Meghan has been estranged from most of her dad's side of the family for years. Above she is pictured as a young girl with her father Thomas Markle, Thomas Markle Jr's son Thomas and Tyler Dooley, and his ex-wife Tracey Dooley

'No, I didn't hear back but I'm sure she's busy. She's got a lot on her plate right now – she's in a whirlwind. She's becoming a princess.

'It's probably really hard for her to think about anything else except for her wedding and everything like that.'

Meghan, 36, will marry Prince Harry, 33, at the 14th century St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19.

Of the 36-year-old's own family, only her mother Doria Ragland, 61, of Los Angeles, California, and her reclusive father Thomas Markle Sr, 73, are likely to be part of the 600-strong congregation.

Ms Grant, pictured, uses a wheelchair after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis

Meghan is also understood to be close to her niece Ashleigh Hale, 31, and her graphic designer half-uncle Joffrey Ragland, 34, who may also travel to England for the nuptials.

Half-sister Samantha Grant, 53, is not thought to have received an invitation while Markle Jr's ex-wife Tracey Dooley and son Tyler, 26, have already admitted to being left out.

Yesterday Ms Grant questioned Harry's humanitarian work and accused him of being a hypocrite by 'allowing Meg to ignore the Markles'.

Her tweet came as Meghan was embarking on her first major event on behalf of the Royal Family today when she joined Prince Harry for a Commonwealth reception in London.

She wrote: 'It's time to 'man up' @HRHHenryWindsor. 'Shout outs' about humanitarianism, don't work when you are allowing Meg to ignore the Markles. It is s (sic) contradiction.

'Someone must point out that the "Emperor is not wearing any clothes".'

However the account she was directing the message at is not actually the Prince, but a fan account pretending to be him.

Samantha Grant took aim at Prince Harry on Twitter today, telling him to 'man up' and 'stop Meghan ignoring the Markles'

According to Markle Jr, his uncle Frederick, 76, a self-styled bishop who runs his own tiny church in Sanford, Florida, is likely to go to Windsor, whether or not he receives an invitation.

Although Meghan's brother is still hoping to make the guest list, he admitted that his and fiancée Darlene Blount's run-ins with the law could have left the former Suits star 'embarrassed'.

Markle Jr was arrested in January 2017 for drunkenly holding a gun to Blount's head while his fiancée, 37, was collared on New Year's Eve for allegedly assaulting him while in a booze-fueled rage.

Blount was released without charge two days after her arrest while the case against Markle Jr was dropped before it went to court.

He told DailyMailTV: 'I'm a private citizen - just so happens, my sister's marrying Prince Harry so all I do now is look round the corner to see if someone with a camera is following me around.

'I'm human and mistakes happen and drinking happens and fights happen and it is what it is. If she's embarrassed about that, then I'm sorry.

'But that's why I did reach out and say, hey, let's do something about this because you should want to get along anyway.'

Princess-to-be: Meghan did not respond to her half-brother's congratulatory letter, he claims

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Meghan, 36, will marry Prince Harry, 33, at the 14th century St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19. The two announced their engagement in November

According to Markle Jr, he contacted the Palace for help with dealing with his new-found fame late last year, only to be told that he is on his own.

He said: 'I don't know if it [the email] ever got to her, I don't know if she ignored it, but she didn't reply back, I guess.

'It's not that it hurts, it goes with her schedule - she's extremely busy all day, all week. Her agenda is planned out weeks in advance, I'm sure of it.

'But it would be nice of her to drop a line and say hello once in a while.'

Markle Jr, whose parents are Meghan's father Thomas and his first wife Roslyn, 72, says he hopes the upcoming wedding will lead to a family reunion – and an end to the feuds that have rocked the Markle clan.

Illinois-born Markle Jr is currently estranged from his son Tyler, as well as sister Samantha and half-sister Meghan.

His mother Roslyn, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, does not speak to Samantha, who has also fallen out with her daughter Noel, 19, her ex-husband Scott Rasmussen, 57, and Meghan herself.

Like Samantha, of Ocala, Florida, Markle Jr says he is planning a book or a movie about his famous half-sister and contributed to Diana biographer Andrew Morton's upcoming book, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess.

Nonetheless, the 51-year-old says he is sure he will see Meghan again, whether on May 19 or not, and bristled at suggestions that he is a 'distant' relation.

'Gosh, I'm not that distant,' he insisted. 'But like I said before, when she took off to start her career [in Toronto], everybody becomes distant – even my father got it.

'He probably got a little upset because he wasn't needed so much anymore.'

Markle Jr added: 'She could never forget me. Her and I always got along really good, we spent a lot of time together before she left [Los Angeles in 2011].

'She knows who I am and I'm not distant, I may be distant distance wise, as in 4,000 miles, but that's it.'

And if he doesn't travel to London for Meghan and Harry's wedding, Markle Jr says he won't feel too bad about being left off the guest list because he's busy planning his own nuptials.

'I won't be heartbroken, it'll be OK,' he told DailyMailTV. 'I won't be upset. I've got my own wedding to plan. We haven't set a date yet but it's coming up pretty soon.'