Who Is Samantha Grant? Meghan Markle's Estranged Sister Probably Won't Be at Royal Wedding

Meghan Markle's half-sister Samantha Grant, otherwise known as Samantha Markle, will not be in attendance at the royal wedding.

There are a number of reasons Grant will miss seeing her kid sister tie the knot with Prince Harry at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on Saturday, starting with the fact that the two are estranged.

In addition to being 17 years older than Markle, Grant was raised in a different household. The women have the same father, Thomas Markle Sr., but Grant and her brother, Thomas Markle Jr., are the children from their father's first marriage.

Thomas Markle married Meghan Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, in 1979, and Meghan Markle, now 36, was born two years later. The couple divorced in 1988, when Meghan was 6 years old. Meghan maintained a relationship with her father, but it was her mother who raised her.

Despite previously suggesting in TLC's special When Harry Met Meghan that all her siblings got along while growing up, those who know Meghan Markle, an American actress, said the sisters have never been close and haven't spoken in about three years.

Grant announced plans to publish a tell-all book about Meghan Markle called The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister. The 53-year-old insisted the memoir would not be as damning as its title suggests.

Grant, who is wheelchair-bound due to a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, previously condemned the former Suits actress for not helping her family financially. Speaking with the Australian news program A Current Affair in February, Grant criticized Markle for not aiding their father when he filed for bankruptcy in 2016. "Honestly, what she could spend in a weekend would greatly help Dad, so that should be a priority," she said. "I think you need to step up to the plate and make sure he is well taken care of."

Grant kicked up more Markle family controversy Monday when she revealed she was the culprit behind the staged paparazzi snapshots of her father. They were reportedly sold to publications worldwide.

Appearing on ITV's Loose Women on Monday, Grant took the blame for the photos, saying they were her idea. But the media scrutiny over the event was enough to convince Thomas Markle to pull out of the royal wedding, citing complications following a heart attack and his unwillingness to further "embarrass" Meghan Markle and the royal family. The following day, he said he would "like to be a part of history" and still walk his daughter down the aisle if his health improved.

Grant blamed the media for her father's decision to back out of the wedding during an interview with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, resulting in a sparring match. The news anchor said Grant's former comments about Meghan Markle being "narcissistic" and "selfish" might be the reasons why she wasn't invited to the wedding of the year. "How you can have the gall to come on here and talk about media vultures. You wrote a book called The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister. ... You've been trashing her for two years, you little vulture," Morgan said.

What might be most indicative of Grant's relationship with her sister is a message she posted in April, blasting Meghan on her now-private Twitter page: "Out of respect and humanitarianism, the Markles should be invited if 2,000 complete strangers are. Our uncle, brother, me, best friend of 30 years, nephews. Our issue is not a matter of closeness. Family is family."

In May, Grant told ITV that she and several other family members still had not received an invitation to Meghan Markle's wedding. "I have to say, I'm not taking it personally. It's not just me. None of the family have received invites, nor have Doria's family," she said. "So although we don't understand, we can only wish them well. I'm not taking it personally, nor am I holding that against her."