He’s long remained tight-lipped on his daughter’s relationship with Prince Harry but this week, Thomas Markle finally broke his silence in his first televised interview.
Sitting down with Good Morning Britain, the softly-spoken 73-year-old lifted the lid on everything from Prince Harry’s view on Donald Trump, to exactly how the royal asked him for his daughter’s hand in marriage.
While the interview showed the world just how much of a loving father Thomas is, the fall-out from his tell-all is reportedly causing shock-waves back at Kensington Palace.
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According to a new report from ET, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had no idea Thomas had spoken to the British press.
“It came as a surprise. They were not given advanced warning,” the source tells the website.
“They understand he has been harassed by the paparazzi 24/7 but it’s hard for them to accept his apology when he’s again taking cash.”
The insider also claims Thomas’ latest decision has harmed his relationship with his daughter and new son-in-law, who he has only ever spoken to over the phone and not yet met face-to-face.
Sources say Meghan and Prince Harry had no idea Thomas was doing the interview.
“Meghan loves her father deeply and Harry and Meghan have tried to offer him support and guidance adjusting to the media attention. But the relationship is fractured and it will be interesting to see where they go from here,” the source notes.
This latest update comes amid confirmation the retired lighting director was paid around $AU13,435 for his half-hour interview with the morning show.
However according to Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, who interviewed Thomas, Meghan’s father was more concerned about sharing his side of the story as opposed to making money.
“Well, it was a small amount of money, a few thousand pounds,” Piers explained to ET.
“He was offered stratospherically lots more money by different media organisations. He could’ve made a lot more money doing what he wanted to do.”
“The relationship is fractured and it will be interesting to see where they go from here.”
“It wasn’t about money for him, you can tell that,” he explained.
“The real motivation was setting the record straight, having his say.”
During Thomas’ tell-all, he apologised for staging paparazzi photos that would ultimately end up backfiring in spectacular fashion.
“I thought it would be a nice way of improving my look, but obviously that all went to hell,” he explained to the show’s hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
“I feel bad about it, I apologised for it, it was a mistake. This was a presentation to me to change my image.”
WATCH: Thomas Markle says Meghan Markle cried when he told her he couldn’t come to the royal wedding. Post continues…
Thomas also opened up about how he felt about Prince Charles stepping in on his behalf and walking Meghan Markle down the aisle as he recovered from heart surgery.
“I was honoured, I can’t think of a better replacement that someone like Prince Charles, he looked very handsome and my daughter looked beautiful with him,” the father-of-three revealed.
“I cried about it and I regretted it because I really wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle.”
“The unfortunate thing for me now is I’m a footnote in one of the greatest moments in history rather than the dad walking her down the aisle.”
After the drama of the royal wedding, reports surfaced that Meghan and Prince Harry were planning a trip to Mexico to visit Thomas but so far, the couple are yet to make the journey.
Thomas, pictured with a baby Meghan, said he was “honoured” Prince Charles walked his daughter down the aisle.
