The heartbreaking extent of Meghan Markle’s strained relationship with her father Thomas Markle has been laid bare as confronting letters between the pair are revealed.
Earlier this month, it was revealed the 37-year-old pregnant royal had penned a letter to her father shortly after her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018.
In the letter, Meghan begged Thomas to “stop victimising” her through the media.
But now, the estranged father has hit back in his own right, and it’s only heightened the feud.
Meghan Markle and her estranged father are not on good terms following the royal wedding. (Images: Getty (L) and Good Morning Britain)
In February 2019, five close friends of Meghan gave anonymous interviews to People magazine to defend the Duchess who has been under intense public scrutiny over the past few months.
In the interviews, they divulged information about a heartfelt letter written by Meghan to her father which stated: “Dad, I’m so heartbroken. I love you. I have one father. Please stop victimising me through the media so we can repair our relationship.”
But Thomas has revealed more extracts from the letter, which were published by the Mail on Sunday, and he says it’s left him feeling “devastated”.
WATCH: Meghan cried when Thomas Markle said he couldn’t be at Royal wedding. Story continues after video…
The heartbreaking five page letter written by Meghan details her despair over interviews he gave to the press, as well as his fabricated stories against Prince Harry.
“Daddy, it is with a heavy heart that I write this, not understanding why you have chosen to take this path, turning a blind eye to the pain you’re causing,” she penned.
“Your actions have broken my heart into a million pieces – not simply because you have manufactured such unnecessary and unwarranted pain, but by making the choice to not tell the truth as you are puppeteered in this. Something I will never understand.”
She futher details the times he had lied to the press, writing that he told the press he had called Meghan to let her know he wouldn’t be coming to the wedding.
“That didn’t happen because you never called,” she wrote.
The letter also states that her father had snubbed Harry’s offers to help him when he pulled out of their wedding.
“You’ve said I never helped you financially and you’ve never asked me for help which is also untrue,” she wrote.
Meghan wrote that her father had snubbed Harry’s offers of help. (Image: Getty)
Meghan’s letter goes on: “I have only ever loved, protected and defended you, offering whatever financial support I could, worrying about your health.”
She then described hearing about his heart attack through a tabloid a week before the wedding as “horrifying”.
“I called and texted… I begged you to accept help – we sent someone to your home”.
Despite their efforts, she claims Thomas stopped answering his phone and chose to only speak to tabloids.
Meghan ends the letter with a desperate plea to her father: “If you love me, as you tell the press you do, please stop.”
“Please stop creating so much pain, please stop exploiting my relationship with my husband… on a daily basis you fixated and clicked on the lies they were writing about me, especially those manufactured by your other daughter [Samantha Markle], who I barely know.”
“You watched me silently suffer at the hand of her vicious lies, I crumbled inside.”
WATCH: Samantha Markle Is Called Out By British Reporter. Story continues after video…
Thomas’s response to the letter
Thomas claims the heartbreaking letter made no attempt to mend things between the pair.
“I thought it would be an olive branch. Instead, it was a dagger to the heart,” he told Mail On Sunday.
In fact, Thomas kept the letter concealed in a briefcase because it was “just too painful” to share.
“I was expecting something that would be a pathway to reconciliation. Instead, it was deeply hurtful.”
“I was so devastated I couldn’t show it to anyone and never would have had it not been for the events of last week.”
And while her friends appeared to come forward to People with their pleas for Meghan in their own right, Thomas believes the interviews were orchestrated by his daughter.
“Assuming – and as these sources are anonymous we don’t know for sure – that this was done with her agreement, it has opened a Pandora’s box. The issue with her father is an open wound and I’m not entirely sure it is the best idea to aggravate that,” he said.
He said it was unfair of Meghan’s friends to “spin a line”, particularly given they claimed Thomas responded to her letter asking her to pose with him in press photos.
Thomas Markle has spoken out on live TV about his fractured relationship with Meghan. (Image: Good Morning Britain)
And Thomas’s reply to Meghan’s letter didn’t beat around the bush.
“The last time we talked was about three days before the wedding because I was in a hospital bed and had just had my procedure,” he wrote.
“When you sent all the help to my home, I was in hospital with my 2nd heart attack!”
He also disputed Meghan’s claims that he had turned down Harry’s offer of help.
“When did I attack Harry? The only thing I said is if we had disagreements and he was protecting you from, me, but I didn’t feel that I was attacking him??”
He then suggested his daughter and Harry take a photo with him, whether they wanted it or not.
“I wish we could get together and take a photo for the whole world to see. If you and Harry don’t like it? Fake it for one photo.”
During his interview with the Mail on Sunday, Thomas attempted to dial Meghan’s cellphone.
It returned an automated message telling him the service was “restricted or unavailable.”
“The number worked until a couple of weeks ago,” Thomas said.
“I sent them numerous text messages and I tried calling. That recording is the message I get now on the number she says hasn’t changed.”
Thomas’ letter to Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland
Thomas also penned a letter to Doria Ragland following his daughter’s correspondence, writing “I don’t know why Meghan is being so hateful and sending me such a hateful letter.”
While he admitted he had made a “couple of stupid mistakes”, he said he had apologised to his daughter “100 times or more”.
WATCH: Meghan Markle and Doria Ragland arrive at the Cliveden House Hotel ahead of the royal wedding:
