Meghan’s estranged dad says his ‘deprived’ grandkids should see the Queen
Meghan Markle’s estranged father has made another public plea to meet his royal grandchildren Archie and Lillibet, claiming they are being ‘deprived’ of seeing their relatives.
Thomas Markle accused Meghan and Harry of being ‘terribly unfair’ to their children by keeping them away from him, their other granddad Prince Charles and great-grandmother, the Queen.
The 77-year-old said he has still not met Archie, 2, and three-month-old Lili.
Speaking to Australian TV from his home in Mexico, he said he only lived around 120 miles south of the couple’s £11million mansion in Montecito, California.
But although he is desperate to meet his grandchildren, he said he will ‘wait patiently until [Harry and Meghan] are ready to bring them to me’.
He told Channel 7’s Sunrise: ‘I don’t want to be a stalker.
‘As long as my daughter has the attitude she doesn’t want me to see them that’s the way it’s going to be.
‘I think they (Archie and Lilibet) are being deprived of seeing all their grandparents and I think they are being deprived of seeing all their relatives and I think that’s terribly unfair to them.’
Thomas revealed he had been approached by lawyers who said he has the right to sue to see his grandkids.
But he vowed not to go down that route, saying he did not want the children to be ‘used like pawns’.
Asked if he would take legal action he said: I’ve had offers from several lawyers – pro-bono – because we do have the right to sue to see our grandchildren.
‘But to me that’s like trying to descend into a game and using them like pawns and I won’t sue to see them because I just think that’s using them and it’s not what I plan to do.
‘They shouldn’t be used, they are just babies. So no, I will wait.’
During the course of the 15 minute interview, Thomas also urged Harry and Meghan to move back to England and make amends with the Royal Family.
The couple moved to the US last year after making the shock decision to quit as senior members of the monarchy.
They have since accused the royals of neglect and racism in a series of bombshell interviews about life in the firm.
Thomas, who fell out with Meghan after he staged paparazzi photos ahead of the Royal Wedding in 2018, said he hoped he could make up with his daughter once she healed her rift with the royals.
He said: ‘I would like them all four of them to go back to England and fulfil their duties. It’s better for the children and it’s better for them.
‘I would like to see them maybe make up with the Queen and make up with his (Harry’s) father, and then we can make up.’
Despite repeatedly expressing his wish to make up with his daughter, Thomas has also been publicly critical of her.
He has described her as ‘controlling’ and accused her of ‘ghosting’ all her family.
He has also taken numerous swipes at her husband Prince Harry, who he has never met.
In his latest interview with Sunrise he accused the 37-year-old as ‘failing as a husband’ over his handling of Meghan’s mental health struggles.
Thomas said: ‘I think Harry was a total failure as a husband, because if a wife or child of mine came to me and say I have a psychological problems and was thinking about suicide I would get them directly to a doctor.
‘I wouldn’t have to go and check with someone first.’
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, Meghan revealed how she had considered taking her own life and claimed the Royal Family did nothing to support her when she reached out for help.
The same interview saw her speak openly about her relationship with her father for the first time.
Oprah, also a friend and neighbour of Meghan’s, asked how it felt when she found out he had been working with tabloids.
After weighing up if she was ‘comfortable’ delving into the issue, Meghan said her father had assured he had ‘absolutely not’ spoken to the press before her wedding to Harry.
She said: ‘If we’re going to use the word betrayal it’s because when I asked him, when we were told by the comms team this was a story that was going to be coming out which, by the way, the tabloids had apparently known for a month or so and decided to hold until the Sunday before our wedding because they wanted to create drama, which is also a key point in all this, they don’t report the news, they create the news.
‘We called my dad, and I asked him, and he said no, absolutely not. I said, you know, the institution has never intervened for anything for us, but they can try to go in and kill this story.
‘But if they do this once, we’re not going to be able to use that same leverage to protect our kids one day.’
She said she pleaded with her dad just to tell her the truth, adding: ‘He wasn’t able to do that. And that for me has really resonated, especially now as a mother.’
The duchess, who was pregnant with Lilibet at the time of the interview, added: ‘I look at Archie, I think about this child, and I go I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. I can’t imagine it. So it’s hard for me to reconcile that.’
In response, Thomas publicly apologised but said he would not stop talking to the press until she spoke to him.
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