Samantha Markle arrives in London for her 'showdown' with Meghan

Meghan Markle's half-sister Samantha says she has arrived in the UK days after her publicist made it clear she wanted to meet with the Duchess, whether she 'liked it or not'.

Samantha tweeted the news of her arrival and said she is having a 'wonderful time in London'.

The 53-year-old, who hasn't seen Meghan in more than a decade, wrote: "Having a wonderful time in London! British people have been so lovely and helpful! If I can survive the roundabouts it will be a miracle LOL!"

Five days earlier, Samantha's publicist Rob Cooper said she had been in Italy and that the pair were not quite ready to head back to the US.

He wrote on Twitter: "Samantha Markle is coming to the UK. 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.

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"I fear Meghan may not be made aware of these discreet, 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."

The length of Samantha's stay in the UK is unknown, but it is thought that she intends to confront Meghan over their father's ill-health.

Meghan is believed to have last seen her father Thomas Markle around two years ago.

The 74-year-old did not attend his daughter's wedding after reportedly suffering a heart attack in the lead up to the big day.

Despite Samantha's apparent determination to see Meghan, her friends believe the Duchess will not see her half-sister.

A few days earlier, Meghan's friends exclusively revealed to DailyMailTV that she has no intention of meeting with Samantha when she comes to the UK.

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One told DailyMailTV: 'There is not a chance in hell that Meghan is going to lower herself and meet with her half sister.

"Samantha is kidding herself if she thinks there is any possibility of getting together with Meghan, or anyone from the Royal family for that matter."

Earlier this month, Samantha went on a furious social media tirade about her sister and her new husband.

Branding the Duchess the 'duch***', she slammed Prince Harry on his 34th birthday, saying: "Happy Birthday Harry! As you "Mack down" on your birthday cake, think about the birthday wishes you never extended to your FATHER-IN-LAW."

In a separate post, she fumed: "I am not candy coating anything anymore!

"The DUCHA** should be humane to our father who has given her everything and this media crap can stop!

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

She also earlier went on an extraordinary Twitter rant, proclaiming Meghan "wasn't much different than Trump".

She wrote: "He] 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."

The friend explained that Meghan has long been dealing with Samantha who is "very jealous"and "always kept tabs on how much their father spent on her".

She said: "Samantha has always tried to drive a wedge between Meghan and her father, and this is no exception. It's no surprise that Meghan doesn't have a relationship with her.

"And as far as her dad's health is concerned, Meghan is not worried.

"Her mom would be the first to know if there was some serious health issue with her dad, and she would tell Meghan."

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is reproduced here with permission.