Meghan Markle’s half-sister, Samantha Markle (also known as Samantha Grant), spoke to Us Weekly exclusively about the Suits star and Prince Harry, who announced their engagement on Monday, November 27.
“It was really exciting for me, I am so happy for her,” Samantha tells Us Weekly exclusively. “It was kind of funny, it was like my boyfriend showed it to me and I was on the phone with my father and I got to let him know too. We didn’t know it was going to come out this soon, so it was nice to wake up to.”
The bride-to-be’s parents, Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle, released a statement after the engagement news broke saying they were “incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry.”
During the couple’s first joint interview on Monday, Meghan confirmed Harry has spent time with her mother, but revealed her new fiancé has not yet met her father. A source confirmed to Us Weekly exclusively that Harry asked Ragland for her daughter’s hand in marriage in Toronto when they were in town for the Invictus Games in September.
Samantha also spoke to Us about their father’s reaction to the engagement: “He’s very excited, just like the statement he released, he is truly happy about their union, but what’s important if it’s Prince Harry or anyone else, you want to make sure someone you love gets married, that they know enough about the person they’re marrying and they’ve had a while to get to know each other. So now my father and I are both so excited because they’ve had a long to time get to know each other and they know what they want to do. That’s really important for us.”
Royal palace officials confirmed Meghan and Harry plan to wed in Spring 2018. According to Samantha, Thomas wants to walk his daughter down the aisle.
“I’m sure he wants to walk her down the aisle, I know he wants to do it,” Samantha told Us. “My brother said, in error, that he’s a recluse, but he’s not, he’s a shy guy now, he’s a quiet man, but he’ll speak when he feels it’s appropriate. He gave me permission to say how happy he is, but he’ll talk when he’s ready.”
As for Samantha’s relationship with Meghan, she told Us it has “been a bit” since the pair have spoken.
“It’s been such a whirlwind with us and I’m sad she believed some of the other interviews I did where words I never said were taken out of context, so it’s been a bit since we’ve spoken,” Samantha explained.
As previously reported, Samantha confirmed she is writing a memoir, The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister, last month.
“Everyone assumes my book is a slamming tell all, which it is not, now it can be egg in their faces and everyone can say what they think, my book is not a slam piece and it is important historically,” Samantha told Us about her forthcoming book. “I wasn’t in a position to release what it was about, they assumed the worst and I think that’s unfair and our family members who spoke about my book shouldn’t be doing so.”
Reporting by Travis Cronin
