The Duchess of Sussex sympathised with her estranged father, Thomas Markle, according to an upcoming biography.

In Finding Freedom, royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand write that Meghan blamed the media for “corrupting” her father and viewed him as a “victim”.

Neither Meghan nor the Duke of Sussex have contributed to the upcoming book; it is based on interviews conducted by Scobie and Durand with sources close to the couple in addition to the authors’ own reporting.

According to an unnamed “trusted confidant” of the duchess, Meghan told them that her father never wanted the media attention he received.

“My dad never sought this out,” she reportedly said.

“I really believe that he’s the victim, and now I feel sad because I believe he’s been fully corrupted.”

The book recounts how Meghan and Harry had urged Mr Markle not to engage with the media but that he ultimately accepted a deal with a photographer Jeff Rayner, after being encouraged by Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha.

The photos showed Mr Markle reading a book on British history and were published globally, with Mr Rayner earning £101,000 while Mr Markle and Samantha shared 30 per cent of the proceeds, according to Finding Freedom, which is currently being serialised in The Sunday Times and The Times until its publication next month.

Scobie and Durand write that the palace tried to stop the photos from being published.

“Dad, we need to know if this is true or not, because my team is going to try and stop this story from running – if you are telling me it’s fake,” she reportedly told him over the phone.

“If they do that, they’re going out of their way to protect you, Dad. You’re telling me you’re being victimised, right?”

The book states that Mr Markle replied “Of course” but did not admit to having staged the photos, which were published the day after they spoke on the phone.

A spokesperson for the Sussexes confirmed that they did not contribute to the book.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom,” they said.

“This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”

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