Meghan Markle's Father Threatens to Take Her and Prince Harry to Court to See His Grandchildren
The former Hollywood lighting director has had a strained relationship with his younger daughter ever since it became known that he had collaborated with tabloids to stage a photoshoot showing him preparing for Meghan and Harry's wedding. Thomas Markle has also criticised his daughter for "ghosting" her whole family.
Meghan Markle's father has threatened to sue her and Prince Harry for not allowing him to see his grandchildren. In an interview with Fox News, the 77-year-old branded the couple "bad" parents as he revealed that he plans to take the matter to court "in the very near future".
Mr Markle previously said he hadn't seen two of his grandchildren – Archie, 2 and Lilibet (born last month) – and fears he may never meet them due to his ailing health. "There are axe murderers in prison and their family comes to see them. I'm not an axe murder. I made one dumb mistake and I've been punished for it".
The 77-year-old Markle also called on Queen Elizabeth II to allow Lilibet to be baptised in the Queen's church.
"We shouldn't be punishing her for Megan and Harry's bad behaviour. Archie and Lily are small children, they are not politics, they're not pawns, not part of the game. And they're also royals. They're also entitled to the same rights as any other royal", he told Fox News.
Nothing More to Tell
During the interview, the Emmy winner scorned Prince Harry's plans to release a tell-all memoir about his life as a royal. According to the Duke's statement, the book, which will be released in late 2022, will cover the "highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned" of his life as well as the controversial decision to step down from senior roles in the Royal Family in January of 2020.
Mr Markle believes Harry has nothing more to tell after numerous interviews he's given this year, including the bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which the Duke criticised his family, while Meghan accused the Palace of perpetuating falsehoods about her and Harry.
Last month, Thomas Markle claimed Oprah Winfrey is taking advantage of the Duke of Sussex, whom he described as "weakened man", in order to promote her own shows. "[She is] getting him to say things that you just shouldn't be saying on television. She will disagree of course, and she may even sue me, I don't care. But the bottom line is she is working Harry", he said.
Mr Markle's relationship with his younger daughter has been strained since 2018, when it became known that he arranged a photoshoot with a tabloid, showing him getting prepared for her wedding. He said he did that to improve his image as previously the media published photos of him doing menial tasks. He missed the festive event after suffering a heart attack.
Thomas Markle claimed he's apologised 100 times to Meghan and Harry, but maintains his daughter still doesn't talk to him. Meghan, for her part, described her father's behaviour as a "betrayal" during the aforementioned conversation with Oprah Winfrey and said she "found it hard to reconcile" with him.