Intense media scrutiny of Meghan Markle鈥檚 extended family has left a sour taste for many Canadian tourists and expats observing wall-to-wall coverage of the impending royal wedding.

The voracious appetite for tidbits on the upcoming nuptials came as a shock to British Columbia tourists Karen and Bill Chandler, who say they were blindsided by reporters during a tour of Windsor Castle on Wednesday.

Rather than recounting the grand splendour of the historic home to more than 900 years of royals, the couple鈥檚 biggest memory was of journalists and camera crews preparing to cover Saturday鈥檚 nuptials.

鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy up there, it鈥檚 just crazy,鈥� Bill Chandler exclaimed Thursday after visiting the historic town where Prince Harry will wed Markle, about an hour and a half from London by car.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e right in your face.鈥�

The retirees didn鈥檛 expect their weeklong whirlwind through London to include a glimpse into the media circus surrounding the much-hyped union of Prince Harry and his California fiancee, but it鈥檚 a unique memory they will take back with them to Victoria on Sunday.

It鈥檚 certainly given Karen Chandler a much more sombre view of what could be in store for Markle once she officially joins the royal family.

鈥淛ust wandering through the castle I was thinking about how the press had affected Diana鈥檚 life 鈥� they ruined it,鈥� she says.

鈥淛ust the hounding. (But) I believe she probably is better equipped than Diana was, much better equipped.鈥�

A palpable backlash against unflattering stories about Markle鈥檚 family history 鈥� and in particular her 73-year-old father Thomas Markle 鈥� appeared to take root Thursday as the bride announced he will not walk her down the aisle as planned.

鈥淚 have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health,鈥� Markle said in a statement released by Kensington Palace.

The elder Markle is said to be recovering from an operation to clear blocked arteries after suffering a heart attack last week.

It was the latest turn in a gossip-fuelled saga that turned sadly dark in recent days. Of late, Thomas Markle has been mired in scandal over photographs of wedding preparations that were reportedly staged.

At least one outlet appeared to step back from mining estranged family members for dirt Thursday, with 鈥淕ood Morning Britain鈥� reportedly dropping Markle鈥檚 sister-in-law Tracy Dooley from their wedding coverage.

The morning TV show was widely reported to have hired Dooley and her kids as TV correspondents for its rolling coverage of the ceremony, despite the fact they were not invited and were believed to have had little contact, if at all, with Markle.

And on Tuesday, the same TV show featured a blistering attack on half-sister Samantha Markle, when Piers Morgan accused Markle鈥檚 half-sister of being a media 鈥渧ulture.鈥�

History student Clarissa Fehr of Leamington, Ont., says she鈥檚 been turned off by relentless gossip coverage of the 鈥淪uits鈥� actress 鈥� a successful biracial, divorced American who is challenging royal traditions on many levels.

鈥淎 lot of it just terrorizes her character,鈥� the 22-year-old exchange student says of the coverage she鈥檚 observed.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all about her history and what she did to be successful, but then in reality it鈥檚 kind of what everyone has to do to be successful.鈥濃��

Fellow exchange student Lauren Johnston agreed, also invoking the tragic death of the late Princess of Wales, who died in a Paris car crash in August 1997.

鈥淚 feel like the Meghan situation can turn into a Diana situation,鈥� says the 19-year-old Johnston, studying media and communications on an exchange with her school in Abbotsford, B.C.

鈥淲e saw what Princess Diana had to go through back when she got married and all the health problems that she had, which is unfortunate.鈥�

Canadian-born academic Susan Rudy points to a seeming preoccupation with socio-economic class in the British media, detecting an underlying narrative in which Markle is cast as a woman escaping a dark history.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a sad story and she鈥檚 鈥榚scaped鈥� that, that鈥檚 part of the class story 鈥� that if you escape that, that鈥檚 to be applauded, instead of: What would you lose if you lose contact with a particular group like a class-based group?鈥� says the London, Ont.-born Rudy, who moved to London in 2011.

However, not all British media is like that, she鈥檚 quick to add.

鈥淭he thing I like about Britain is that there鈥檚 an educated press here 鈥� the Guardian, particularly, a person can count on for actual information and facts,鈥� says Rudy, a senior research fellow in the English department at Queen Mary University of London

Still, there appears to be ravenous demand for salacious stories, notes Johnston, an aspiring journalist.

鈥淚鈥檝e looked online at job opportunities here versus Vancouver 鈥� and print journalism and newspapers here are really prominent, which I think differs from Canada, as well,鈥� she says.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e printing newspapers every day so they just need content constantly.鈥�

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press