Revealed: Meghan begged father Thomas Markle to stop 'victimising' her

Meghan Markle wrote to her father and told him she loved him - but his response devastated her. Photo / AP

The Duchess of Sussex wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle to tell him she "loved him" and beg him to stop "victimising" her — and he responded by asking her for a photoshoot, says a bombshell report.

Meghan, 37, sent the emotional letter to her father, a former Hollywood lighting director, not long after her wedding to Prince Harry in May last year.

Mr Markle, 74, pulled out of the big day after he was exposed setting up paparazzi pictures, and then gave a series of damaging interviews in which he called her "controlling" and accused her of ignoring his daily calls and texts.

US magazine People today quoted five close friends of the duchess who revealed she contacted him in an effort to repair their relationship.

Prince Harry and Meghan have been the subject of several of Thomas Markle's media interviews. Photo / AP

One friend told the publication: "After she and Harry got back from honeymoon, Meg sat down and wrote Thomas a long letter. She told him she loved him, she was heartbroken and wanted to put everything behind them."

She purportedly said she "forgave him for everything" and wanted to put the family drama behind them. "Meg asked him to stop victimising her through the media and talk to her, not them."

But his reply is said to have left her "absolutely devastated".

"He replied in a very long letter, saying he loved her and wanted to make amends. But he finished the letter with the suggestion that the two of them should pose for a picture or stage a picture to show the world they'd made up."

Meghan was said to be devastated by her dad's response to her letter. Photo / AP

The friends — who People claims are close to Meghan and privy to her views and feelings — said she couldn't understand the response.

"It was posing for pictures that had started this mess, and now he wanted to do the same thing with her?

"She just couldn't believe it so she didn't reply."

They also suggested his claims of constant calling and texting Meghan were false.

"He has her number, she hasn't changed it. But he's never called or texted, despite what he says."

Meghan's friends told People magazine of the letters exchanged between the Duchess and her dad. Photo / AP

In other revelations, the friends said:

• Meghan called him on the day of the wedding and was "genuinely devastated" by what he had done.

• Denied she had ignored her family and had always cared for her father, who has battled heart problems.

• Rubbished the reports of a feud with her sister-in-law Kate Middleton.

The friends also dismissed "preposterous" reports of Meghan supposedly "ghosting" her father.

"The fact that this could be flipped around, that she was acting out or not caring for him, is preposterous," one said.

They said she had remained unchanged from her rapid rise through the acting world, and fame on hit show Suits, to a senior member of the British royal family.

"She is the same person though everything around her has changed. There is nothing behind the feud with Kate. It's completely untrue."

Kensington Palace declined to comment — but the report has fuelled speculation it was organised by palace aides who want to correct the record after months of damaging headlines about Meghan, who is due to give birth to her and Prince Harry's first child in late April.

Thomas Markle with Meghan as a baby.

Mr Markle told a British breakfast show in December his royal daughter was ignoring his daily texts and letters and told of his fear he'll never get to see her baby.

He told Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan that Meghan was a "controlling" figure who enjoyed being in charge and confessed he hoped the Queen would intervene in their escalating feud.

He has had no contact with the Duchess of Sussex since just before her wedding to Prince Harry in May and agreed with Morgan that she had "ghosted" him.

"I'm very disappointed by it. I'm not sure why it's happening. I'm reaching out ... every day I try and text her and just haven't had any comment back."

He told the program his texts to Meghan were simple: "I just keep asking her to respond back to them."

That interview led to calls for Meghan to speak to him to stop the escalating drama.

Thomas Markle has given several major interviews. Photo / ITV

A source told The Mirror Mr Markle's interview sparked "crisis talks" between Meghan and Kensington Palace aides, who were "enraged yet exhausted" and believed he had "gone a step too far" by drawing the Queen into the drama.

"The Queen is a dignified woman. Even if she disagreed with the way her grandson's wife or indeed her staff were dealing with the matter, she would certainly not become involved on this level," the source said.

Courtiers are reported to be "deeply concerned" about Mr Markle's vow to carry on making public statements in a bid to reconnect with his daughter.

The family tensions exploded just as the world was gripped by royal wedding fever. The fact he posed for pictures, trying on a suit and reading an online article about Meghan and Harry, was reported around the world — and according to the friends quoted by People, came after he denied "up and down" to Meghan it was true.

"The next day, the pictures come out."