Meghan says Charles and the Queen advised her to write the letter to her estranged father

She details the family fallout in the Harry & Meghan documentary

Meghan Markle at Cardiff Castle
(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

The second instalment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix documentary has dropped and the Duchess of Sussex has opened up about why she sent a letter to her estranged father. 

The first three episodes have already revealed so much about the couple - giving us a sweet insight into their first few dates and also how they had a fun night out with some other well-known royals before the world officially knew about their relationship. 

These three new episodes offer further insight into Harry and Meghan's personal lives, with the Duchess finally commenting publicly on the headlines surrounding how she handled her relationship with her dad, Thomas Markle. 

During the new episodes, Meghan reveals it was the Queen and Prince Charles who advised her to send a letter to her father, which was famously leaked to the press. 

Explaining that she asked the royal family for advice, Meghan explained: "I reached out to her Majesty and said this is what's going on, what do you want me to do? I want to...Whatever advice you have.

"But ultimately it was suggested by the Queen and the Prince of Wales that I write my dad a letter and I had gone to great lengths to get that letter to my dad discreetly."

The letter said: “Please allow us to live our lives in peace. Please stop lying, please stop creating so much pain, please stop exploiting my relationship with my husband."

However, explaining how it got into the hands of the press she explains: "I can't put this letter in the mail with the return address being Kensington Palace and send it to Tom Markle and assume it's gonna get there.

"So I send it to my business manager in LA, I was like, 'He'll recognise that name.'

"Then I get the picture of the signature confirmation that it's been delivered, and it's not his signature. That's not my dad's handwriting. It just says 'Thomas.'"

The letter, which was supposed to be a private plea to her father, was published in newspapers all over the world, and led to the Sussexes legal battle against Associated Newspapers. 

The full series is available to watch now on Netflix. 

Sarah Finley
Sarah is a freelance journalist - writing about the royals and celebrities for Marie Claire, fitness for Women's Health and Tech Radar and travel for the Evening Standard and Woman & Home. She covers a variety of other subjects too and loves interviewing leaders and innovators in the beauty, travel and wellness worlds for numerous UK and overseas publications. Sarah can normally be found trying out the latest fitness class or on a plane to an exotic destination - and of course, writing about them.