Meghan Markle's sister hospitalised after alleged paparazzi car crash

Meghan Markle's half-sister Samantha has reportedly been hospitalised following an alleged confrontation with paparazzi in Florida.

According to Samantha's boyfriend "Mark", the pair were driving when their vehicle was run in to a concrete barrier as they tried to avoid a collision with a photographer.

Reports from TMZ claim Samantha sustained a fractured knee and broken ankle and was taken to hospital.

The news follows yesterday's "will he-won't he" saga where Meghan's father Thomas Markle went back and forth on walking his daughter down the aisle on Saturday. After announcing he was undergoing "major heart surgery", the latest verdict is that he will not be fit to fly to London for the event.

Thomas Markle has undergone heart surgery and is currently claiming he is unable to attend his daughter's wedding. Photo / Daily Mail

Samantha has also found herself pinned as the villain in her princess-to-be sister's fairytale after taking responsibility for the "staged" paparazzi photos of her father. She insisted it was for the benefit of the royal family and not a cheap grab for cash.

In a tweet, Samantha — who attracted headlines in the past when she announced she was planning a tell-all book called The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister — claimed it was her idea for her father to be photographed in a series of royal wedding shoots, where he lives in Mexico.

• READ MORE: Meghan Markle's father caught out 'staging photos with paparazzi'

"The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family," she wrote.

"We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money."

Photo / Getty

The images — which appeared to show a lonely Mr Markle browsing images of his daughter and Prince Harry in an internet cafe, lifting weights to get in shape for the wedding, and being fitted for a suit for the big day — have allegedly netted up to $180,000.

But CCTV footage obtained by Britain's Mail alleges to show the photos were set up.

In one frame, the Mail on Sunday reports, the photographer is seen aiming his camera at Mr Markle as he looks at an image on-screen of the royal couple.

Witnesses who worked in the businesses where the photographs were taken told the newspaper they saw Mr Markle and the photographer setting up the images.

• READ MORE: Who will walk Meghan Markle down the aisle now? 

The staged photos also come after Kensington Palace issued a statement weeks ago pleading for Mr Markle's privacy to be respected after the American claimed he was being "harassed" by the paparazzi.

The public is now torching Ms Markle online, taking to Twitter to label the 53-year-old as "selfish" and "pathetic".

Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan's nuptials will take place this weekend, on Saturday, May 19, at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle, where the prince was christened. It is said to have become a "very special place" for the couple in their relationship so far.

This article was first published on NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.