His grandson is arguably the most famous newborn in the world and his daughter is revolutionising the British royal family, but Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle says he is yet to meet little baby Archie – and he hasn’t seen his daughter in years.
The 75-year-old has given a heartbreaking new interview from his home in Rosarito, a small coastal town on the US-Mexico border, lamenting how his once tight bond with his daughter is now broken, with the Duchess of Sussex refusing to communicate with her father.
Thomas and Meghan have a tragically fraught relationship. He famously did not attend her royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 and has since given dozens of interviews bemoaning his lack of contact with Meghan and the royal family.
Heartbreaking letters written between the father-daughter duo, published earlier this year, reveal the extent of their communication problems.
But now, Thomas says he wants to reconnect with Meghan and her new family.
“I love my daughter,” he told The Daily Mail UK.
“We were so close. I would come home from work and I would hold her against my chest and we would walk around for hours and hours,” he said.
“Sometimes I get the feeling people think I don’t love my daughter. I do love her very much. I would love nothing more than to put a picture of Archie in a frame and place it beside the one of Meghan.”
He claims his attempts to contact her have gone unanswered and he has been misrepresented in the media.
“I sent her a card via her financial adviser in LA but received no acknowledgement. I have no idea if she got it,” he said.
“I’d like to do a piece saying the ten things people don’t know about me but there are way more than ten. What upsets me is when people who don’t know me say negative things about me. Until you know me, what gives you that right?”
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of every grievance Thomas aired in his sit-down interview.
Thomas Markle has been estranged with his daughter Meghan for years.
(Credit: Supplied)Thomas says he hasn’t met his grandson Archie
Thomas says he’s chosen to speak out again now, because he is desperate to meet his grandson Archie.
“Of course I’m disappointed not to see Archie. I had hoped becoming a mother would mellow Meghan and she would reach out,” he revealed.
“I would like them to send me a picture of Archie so I can frame it and put it on my wall beside the one of Meghan. Isn’t that what any grandfather would want? I’d love to know if he’s got the famous Markle nose.”
He also claimed that the royal family is trying to distance Meghan from her father.
“There was never any problem between Meghan and me until recently. I’ve stayed quiet because Meghan was pregnant with Archie but I’m speaking out now because they and their PR people are continuing to ghost me out of her life,” he claimed.
READ NEXT: Meghan Markle’s downfall: Why the world turned against the Duchess
Harry and Meghan pose with baby Archie in May, just days after he was born.
(Credit: Getty)Thomas claims he never received an invitation to the royal wedding
In the lead up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018, there was intense speculation as to whether Thomas would attend the nuptials.
At the last minute, he revealed he was suffering from severe heart health issues and would be unable to attend.
“Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding. I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health,” Meghan said in an official statement just days before the wedding.
But Thomas now claims he was never actually invited in the first place and never received an official wedding invitation in the mail.
“How would you feel if your father had a heart attack? I texted them [Harry and Meghan] from my hospital bed and told them where I was. I have the texts to prove it. Yet never once has Meghan ever asked me how I’m doing. Not then, not since,” he told The Daily Mail.
Meghan and Harry on their way to their wedding reception in 2018.
(Credit: Getty)He says Meghan didn’t pay for her college tuition on her own
Last year, when speaking to a group of Fijian college students about her own education, Meghan said the only way she was able to attend university herself was with the help of financial aid.
“I am also fully aware of the challenges of being able to afford this level of schooling for many people around the world, myself included,” she said.
“It was with scholarships, financial aid programmes, and work study from my earnings from a job on campus that went directly towards my tuition that I was able to attend university, and without question it was worth every effort.”
But Thomas claims this is not true, arguing he put Meghan through college himself.
“I’m sorry but that is completely untrue. I paid every penny of her tuition and I have the bank statements to prove it,” he said.
“I told Meg I would pay for her education and I did. It’s what any father would do. I paid for her trips to Spain and England. I paid for her internship in Argentina.”
Meghan says she had to fight for scholarships and work an on-campus job to pay for her education.
(Credit: Getty)Thomas slammed Harry and Meghan for taking a private jet on holidays
Meghan and Harry caught multiple private planes to Ibiza and France.
(Credit: Getty)Remember the furore last week when Harry and Meghan were slammed for taking private jets on their lush European family holiday?
Well, now Meghan’s father has joined in on the pile-on.
“I feel sorry for them in a way because they brought this on themselves. You can’t say one thing and do another,” Thomas said, referring to the couple’s campaigning on environmentalism and conversation.
“Everyone raves about how gracious and wonderful they are, but they are not wonderful to their own family. That’s hypocritical,” he said.
“You can’t portray yourself as being charitable and bringing people together and then ghost your own father and your entire family. Their treatment of me has left a lot to be desired.
“I’ve still never met my son-in-law. Why couldn’t Prince Harry have got on a plane and flown to see me to ask for her hand? He obviously has no problem getting on private jets.
“If he wants to come and see me on a private jet, there’s an airport near here in Tijuana [in Mexico], and San Diego is just over the border. There are dozens of commercial flights from England to San Diego and Los Angeles every day.”
WATCH BELOW: Thomas Markle apologises for staging paparazzi photos. Story continues after video.
He revealed how those staged pap shots went down with the royals
Perhaps Thomas’ biggest gaffe was posing for staged paparazzi photos just days before Meghan and Harry’s wedding in 2018, where he arranged for a photographer to pap him looking at stories about the wedding online in an internet cafe and reading a book called Images of Great Britain.
Thomas was heavily criticised at the time for staging the shots – and has now apologised.
“I was approached by a photo agency which said it would be a way to improve my image because the press were making me look like a homeless guy,” he revealed.
“It was a huge mistake. I wanted to apologise to the royal family publicly but Meghan and Harry told me not to.
“So I texted Jason Knauf, who was Harry and Meghan’s then press secretary, and he asked me what I’d like to say? I said I wanted to apologise to the Queen and the Royal Family and that I meant no harm. That apology never came out. I don’t know why.”
