While Meghan Markle may be making waves and cementing herself as a firm favourite with fans of the Royal Family, it turns out that not everyone is infatuated with her. Meghan's half-sister has a fair amount to say about her soon-to-be royal sibling, and it's not all positive. Samantha Markle has questioned Meghan's motives behind the humanitarian work that she has dedicated so much of her time to. Meghan has previously spent time in Rwanda, in order to support a clean water campaign, and has also been in India trying to get a better education for girls as part of her drive for gender equality across the globe. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BerBnjuA_Jc/?hl=en&taken-by=kensingtonroyal]] However, rather than praising her sister for her charitable work, Samantha has said that there may be a different, more cynical, motive behind Meghan's actions than simply trying to help the world. "I've seen in my lifetime a lot of situations where celebrities visit a place which is poverty stricken and they're wearing impeccable clothing, they themselves are wealthy. "And it really feels like just a photo opportunity, so that is a little exploitative in my mind." Samantha has also called for Meghan to 'step up to the plate' in order to help their bankrupt father rebuild his life. Thomas Markle, an award-winning lighting director, has been living a reclusive life in Mexico since going bankrupt in 2016 and Samantha has criticised Prince Harry's fiancee for not making him 'a priority.' It's reported that Mr Markle, who will be walking Meghan down the aisle on the big day, has just a few hundred dollars to his name and Samantha, who is one of two children that he had before Meghan, has said that the future royal 'owes' her father for helping launch her career. "I think he did help her a lot and he is very creative too and encouraging, so she made the most of her environment. "I don't think he feels that she owes him, but that is how I see it." Speaking about Meghan's attire in the couple's official engagement photos, Samantha said: "If you can afford $75,000 (£53,535) for a dress, you can afford $75,000 to help your dad. That's how I feel, what's who I am. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc9qWgCAXiD/?hl=en&taken-by=kensingtonroyal]] "Honestly - what she could spend in a weekend would greatly help dad, so that should be a priority. I think you need to step up to the plate and make sure he is well taken care of." Despite the negative portrayal of Meghan, Samantha says that she is still hoping for an invite to the ceremony and has said that she does not feel bitterness or jealousy toward her half-sister. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc94Q2PghQl/?hl=en&taken-by=kensingtonroyal]] “I was always very proud of her. I never felt bitter or jealous. I had made a similar choice. Because early in my life, that I wanted I took my career to the level in television as well when I made the decision and I quit to get my degrees. to go back to school when I made those choices, So how can I be bitter I had my successes.” It's a pretty scathing report from Samantha, who despite her thinking otherwise, can probably consider herself off the guest list for the wedding.

If you think your family has drama, then you should try life as a royal. Seriously; there's no group of people whose personal lives are more closely scrutinised than those of the royals, and their relationships are endlessly picked apart by the public and the media. It's extra difficult for them because the royals have to constantly appear unflappable and perfect at all times, and can't be seen to hold political opinions of their own. For many people, the idea of getting the chance to marry Prince Harry would seem like a dream come true. But I can't help but wonder how Meghan Markle is actually coping with the reality of being a member of the House of Windsor, especially when her relationship with her father and half sister is so ... strained.

For those who missed out on the drama, allow me to provide a recap. Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle provoked a lot of controversy when it emerged that he had staged a number of photographs for the paparazzi. Meghan's half-sister Samantha defended him and claimed that it was her idea, stating that her father wanted "to show the world that [he's] getting in shape and doing great healthy things." Not only this, but Markle's ailing health meant that he was not available to walk Meghan down the aisle during her wedding ceremony, and since then Thomas Markle has been vocal in his condemnation of the Windsors.

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Now Samantha has come forward to criticise Meghan even more, and has called her a "greedy, arrogant, fake humanitarian," who has treated their father "inhumanely." In a recent interview, Samantha didn't care to mince words, and stated: "There would be no just reason for her not to want him in her life, as he was good enough to use to make her everything she is."

Meghan's brother Thomas Jr was also quick to criticise her, stating: "It's heartbreaki... (truncated for brevity)"

When Meghan Markle got hitched to Prince Harry in a ceremony befitting of a fairytale, she instantly became the sort of Cinderella figure we all recognised from the stories of our childhoods. At the same time, however, Samantha Markle - Meghan's older sibling - found herself being cast as the wicked half-sister.

Over the past few months, the 53-year-old has gone off on Twitter rants, spoken out in TV interviews, and - to put it bluntly - basically done everything she can in order to steal a little bit of limelight from her kid sister.

And, in her latest television appearance, she's defended her so-called "cashing-in" of Meghan's newfound global fame.

The subject of Samantha's frequent TV interviews was brought up on Good Morning Britain when one of the hosts asked, "Do you think you're helping when you reach out on TV? Do you think you're helping to bridge the gap [between Meghan and her father]?"

"The only way to get your point across is to communicate," Samantha responded - which seemed fair enough.

However, the host then pointed out that Samantha had previously made comments about only keeping up public appearances in order to "cash in" - but she had a comeback for that, too:

"We all have to survive, money makes the world goes around – if you want to call that cashing in. For someone to say you should turn down a paycheck … tell your boss that you don’t want a paycheck.

"We’re not subject to royal protocol. We’re entitled to share that and be open about it. If we can shed some light on issues for the public that’s great, we can enjoy the process."

This comes just shortly after Samantha received a lot of media attention for publicly stating that if her father were to pass away anytime soon, it would be Meghan's fault.

In a post on Twitter, the Duchess of Sussex's older sister wrote: "Act like a humanitarian, act like a woman. If our father dies, it's on you Meg."

When asked if she regretted saying that, she responded: "To a degree I do, but I was really feeling that it is so critical and so unfair, if there’s a misunderstanding she should reach out to him and clarify. Because life is so short, and if something were to happen to him I don’t think anyone could live with the fact there was no closure."

But Samantha can hardly be credited with practising what she preaches, as she is often seen on social media spreading negative things about her sister. Earlier this month, she was publicly called out after tweeting: "Harry is a wuss to allow the Duchess of Nonsense to mistreat everyone who has been close to her, especially her family. Diana would be ashamed."

From her most recent statements, then, it's pretty clear to see that Samantha Markle is willing to cross the line if it means she'll get some publicity. She might claim to be doing so for the good of her sister and father but - really - it's easy to see that she will say anything for a quick buck.

When it was announced last year that Meghan Markle was getting married to Prince Harry, everyone was so excited to welcome the former actress into the royal family.

Well, almost everyone.

Samantha Markle - Meghan's half-sister - has always seemed resentful that Meghan has seen so much success and good fortune in her life, and she's been committed to calling her out ever since.

Over the past couple of years, the 53-year-old has given controversial television interviews, started writing a book, and even changed her surname to Markle (it used to be Grant) in order to wangle her way into the limelight and dish the dirt on the former Suits actress - but none of it has really had much of an effect on Meghan.

So, in what is probably her most dramatic gesture so far, she's gone to London.

"Samantha Markle is coming to the UK," tweeted Rob Cooper, Samantha's PR Manager.

He continued:

"After making numerous attempts in private to arrange a one on one meeting with The Duchess of Sussex to discuss their 74-year-old father’s health, Kensington Palace have refused to respond. I fear Meghan may not be made aware of these discrete attempts and therefore making this public is the only option we have left.

"I currently have Samantha in Europe with just one short flight away. This DOESN’T need to be public, we would prefer to keep this private.

"Samantha is coming to the UK this week, like it or not."

Samantha herself then confirmed its arrival in the UK yesterday by tweeting about how helpful she had found British people to be on her trip.

The last time that Meghan and Samantha spoke was three years ago: before the actress was in a relationship with Prince Harry. Since then, Samantha has reached out a number of times via public interviews, most often to discuss their father, Thomas Markle Sr.

The Duchess' father is now 74 years old, and apparently worries that he won't have many years left to be "happy and peaceful" with his daughter.

And yet, despite her claiming that she only wants the best for her family, Samantha has consistently proven to be downright offensive to her sister on social media.

Just a few weeks ago, she went on a long rant about Meghan, and at one point compared her to Donald Trump.

"I am not candy coating anything anymore! The DUCHASS should be humane to our father who has given her everything and this media crap can stop!" she wrote.

"He was the one who was always there for her. Fake waves and smiles can stop. The duchass can bow to the daddy.

"Trump thinks he can shoot someone and still get votes. She can dump an entire family both sides and a best friend of 30 years and ignore it and be popular. Sad."

It is highly unlikely that Samantha will actually be able to get any face time with her sister - not only because Kensington Palace don't often let people stroll in off the street to meet royalty, but also because Meghan and Harry are off to Sussex this week for the first time since the Duchess gained her title.

So it looks like Samantha may have been better off sticking to tweeting after all.

Over the last few months, it's become no secret that Meghan Markle doesn't exactly see eye-to-eye with her father's side of the family. First came the rumors from her brother that the now-Duchess had deliberately distanced herself from her father, then came months of speculation about the true nature of Meghan's relationship with her family - and then, finally, it all culminated with an astounding letter from Thomas Markle Jr., in which he accused his sister of being a fake.

He wrote:

"What kind of person starts out by using her own father until he's bankrupt, then forgets about him in Mexico leaving him broke, over mostly all her debts. And when it's time to pay him back she forgets her own father like she never knew him."

And if you thought that Meghan's new royal status would protect her from further criticism, you're wrong - because now her sister is joining in.

Last week, 53-year-old Samantha Markle lashed out in a petty attack aimed at her sister, saying that her newly-revealed coat of arms looked less than impressive. "[It] looks like it was drawn by someone in a kindergarten classroom," she said.

Samantha also recently revealed that she was writing an autobiographical novel about her life, and will be titling it: The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister.

Until that is released, however, Meghan's older sister is keeping herself in the headlines by launching yet more criticisms about the royal wedding - specifically the guestlist.

In a furious tweet, Samantha said, "it's not just the Markles folks" who weren't given the chance to attend, but that "Her aunt is lovely and uncles to [sic] and they were not invited."

Indeed, Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, does have two half-siblings: Joseph and Saundra Johnson. Joseph commented on the lack of an invite, saying, "We’re not invited unless our invitation got lost in the mail." Meanwhile, Saundra stayed quiet about the matter.

Back in April, Samantha commented on her disappointment at being snubbed in favor of "complete strangers". "Out of respect and humanitarianism, the Markles should be invited if 2,000 complete strangers are," she tweeted. "Our uncle, brother, me, best friend of 30 years, nephews. Our issue is not a matter of closeness. Family is family."

Meghan and her sister have not actually spoken in more than a decade; though their reasons for ignoring one another do not appear to have been anything malicious.

"I felt that we had drifted apart," Samantha said in an interview with the Daily Mail last year. "In retrospect, when I search my heart, maybe she just got very busy."

Regardless of what caused them to slip away from one another in the first place, though, it seems as if Samantha's recent actions have well and truly severed any ties the sisters did have. Her comments on the coat of arms seemed very personal, with Samantha saying:

"Our father is American but we have ties in the family tree to royalty in several places according to the college of arms. Our dad and even her mom are not represented there. It is an empty coat of arms so it makes no sense."

Perhaps the two will patch things up in the future but, for now, it doesn't look like there's a whole lot of love happening there.

Despite the majority of the world seeming to be in love with Meghan Markle and wishing her and Harry all the success in their future, her step-siblings seem to have taken to dragging her name through the dirt and spreading negative rumours about her through the press. Firstly, there was Meghan's half-sister Samantha, who questioned the morals behind much of Meghan's charity work - saying that it was more for the benefit of the former Suits actor, rather than the people in need. Now, Meghan's half-brother has claimed that she has been ignoring his pleas for help and even went as far to say 'I don't know these people' after he got in contact with her. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BerBnjuA_Jc/?hl=en&taken-by=kensingtonroyal]] Tom Markle Jr claims that he wrote to Meghan to congratulate her on her engagement to Prince Harry, but he says that the reply that he got back from her legal team was "a slap in the face". Tom, 51, says that his sister wants nothing to do with him after he had several brushes with the law, something that he claims embarrassed her. Speaking to In Touch magazine, Tom says that he contacted royal officials last year and asked for help dealing with false stories that had been published in the US press. “My lawyer had a phone meeting with her lawyer, and he emailed me some of her direct words. "She said, ‘That’s distant family and I don’t know those people.’ That’s pretty harsh.” Tom shares a father with Meghan and says that he has had to move three times after being hounded by the press. He wrote to congratulate the couple on their engagement back in November but received no reply. His note read: "I'm so proud of you, you're awesome. "I'm truly sorry that my private life may have caused you embarrassment. "I wish you and Harry all the best, you guys look amazing and happy together." [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BeGjT31gJu0/?hl=en&taken-by=kensingtonroyal]] He also asked for Kensington Palace to help him with seeking retractions for stories that he considered defamatory. However, despite his plea, Tom's lawyer warned him in October: "I don't think there will be any improvement with the media unless you talk to your sister." He told the magazine: "There was a time where people were following me around at work, taking pictures and posting horrible stories about me and my family saying I'm a white supremacist, a drug addict and a dealer, all this crap that just isn't true." Tom claims that he and Meghan "spent a lot of time together growing up" but admits that they have not been in touch since she took her role in Suits. Since then, Tom has had a fair amount of run-ins with the law and, just last year, he found himself being arrested for brandishing a gun at his partner during a drunken fight. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BdvMT_1gBq9/?hl=en&taken-by=kensingtonroyal]] Last month, Tom said: "It hasn't been easy. Meghan's relationship with Prince Harry has shone a spotlight on our family. "It doesn't help when you have issues and your sister is engaged to Royalty. It adds a whole new level of scrutiny. "We've been under a lot of stress because of all the attention. At some point you find yourself drinking too much to escape the pressure." Kensington Palace has refused to comment on the issue and it's believed that Thomas is still hoping to receive an invite to the ceremony. Just a hot tip for Meghan's family: If you want an invite to the wedding, it's probably best to not drag the bride through the press before the event.