Bringing the drama! Lifetime released an explosive new clip from its upcoming royal film sequel, Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal, in which the Duchess of Sussex has it out with her father, Thomas Markle.
In the two-minute, 12-second clip, released on Friday, May 17, we see a dressed-down Meghan, played by Tiffany Marie Smith, in tears while speaking to the lighting director on the phone after reading that he had a heart attack in the tabloids.
“What happened?” she demands. “How are you feeling?”
“It was heart palpitations,” the fictional Thomas explains. “Fatty arteries. You always did nag me about eating healthier.”
The former Suits star’s mood quickly changes from one of concern to anger. “We had to hear about it in the tabloids,” she cries. “And you did … you did stage those photos!”
Thomas points to his elder daughter, Samantha Markle, as the mastermind behind the paparazzi scandal. “Samantha thought it would be a good idea to have the paparazzi take staged pictures of me so I could look better in the eyes of the public,” he says.
Prince Harry (Charlie Field), who is listening via speakerphone, then interjects, telling his bride-to-be’s father that he’s made a mistake. “Talking to the paps, getting paid by the paps is not the answer, Tom,” he says. “If you’d listen to me, none of this would’ve happened.”
“You lied!” Meghan adds.
The real-life Duchess confronted her father in August with a five-page letter that was published by the Mail on Sunday in February.
“Your actions have broken my heart into a million pieces — not simply because you have manufactured such unnecessary and unwarranted pain, but by making the choice to not tell the truth as you are puppeteered in this. Something I will never understand,” Meghan wrote in the note.
The royal also discussed Thomas’ health issues, which prevented him from attending her May 2018 wedding to the Invictus Games founder at the last minute. “I have only ever loved, protected, and defended you, offering whatever financial support I could, worrying about your health … and always asking how I could help,” she wrote in the letter. “So the week of the wedding to hear about you having a heart attack through a tabloid was horrifying. I called and texted … I begged you to accept help — we sent someone to your home … and instead of speaking to me to accept this or any help, you stopped answering your phone and chose to only speak to tabloids.”
Thomas disputed his daughter’s claims to the Mail on Sunday, saying that “Meg and Harry knew what was going on.”
Meghan’s letter went on to say that comments her dad made about Harry to the press were the icing on the cake. “To hear about the attacks you’ve made at Harry in [the] press, who was nothing but patient, kind, and understanding with you is perhaps the most painful of all,” she wrote.
A source told Us Weekly in May 2018 that the California native was also hurt by remarks made by her siblings. “Meghan is disappointed that her father hasn’t spoken up and stopped his children from trashing her in the press,” the source told Us. “Instead, she sees his collaboration with Samantha, who Meghan feels he is much closer to, and it hurts her.”
Thomas was caught staging photos of himself for the paparazzi that same month.
Samantha, 54, later took the blame for the incident in a now deleted tweet, writing, “The bad press over my father… is my fault. The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family.” She added, “We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money.”
Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal will air on Lifetime on Memorial Day at 8 p.m. ET.
