Prince Harry has said his wife Meghan ‘doesn’t have a father’, adding that he feels their relationship is the reason behind the estrangement.
The Sussexes have shared their side of the story of what happened with Thomas Markle, who has consistently spoken to the press about his daughter over the past few years.
Thomas’ ex-wife, Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland has also broke her silence on his behaviour, saying she was ‘absolutely stunned that he would become part of this circus’.
Speaking on his new Netflix show, the Duke of Sussex said: ‘Of course, it’s incredibly sad what happened.
‘She had a father before this, and now she doesn’t have a father.
‘And I shouldered that. If Meg wasn’t with me, then her dad would still be her dad.’
Former lighting director Thomas fell out with the royal couple when it was revealed he had accepted payments from paparazzi to stage pictures before the royal wedding.
Meghan said her father initially denied he had done this when she asked him in a phone call.
When she and Harry offered to get him out of his house away from the flocking media, he refused, she added.
‘He said “no, I have things to do”. It felt really cagey, I was like “it doesn’t make sense”’, the duchess said.
‘We hung up, I looked at H and I was like “I don’t know why, but I don’t believe him.’
Following this, Meghan said Thomas wouldn’t pick up her calls – but was speaking to the media about her.
She claimed to have found out that her father would not be coming to her wedding through a story published by TMZ.
Four days ahead of the ceremony, the news broke that Thomas had been hospitalised due to a heart attack.
A message apparently sent from Meghan to her father said: ‘I’ve been reaching out to you all weekend but you’re not taking any of our calls or replying to any texts… Do you need help? … What hospital are you at?’
Another read: ‘Please can I ask that you stop talking to any press… you haven’t returned any of our 20+ calls since we all spoke on Saturday morning; which only adds to the hurt you’ve been causing. We aren’t angry but we do really need to speak to u. Love M and H.’
Two days before the wedding, Meghan said she realised her dad’s phone had been ‘compromised’ when he sent messages that sounded unlike him.
Thomas, or someone impersonating him, had written that he had ‘done nothing to hurt her’, adding ‘I’m sorry my heart attack is any inconvenience for you’.
‘If only I had died then you guys could pretend to be sad’, they added.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Meghan’s mum Doria said: ‘I was absolutely stunned that Tom would become part of this circus.
‘I felt sad that the media would run with this. That he would capitalise.
‘Certainly as a parent, that’s not what you do. That’s not parenting.’
Thomas has previously spoken out saying he wishes he hadn’t staged the pictures.
He said he ‘got sucked into pictures believing they would make me look good’ after the press ‘made out I was an alcoholic, called me names, talked about the way I dress’.
The dad has spent the past few years doing interviews about his daughter, threatening to air ‘dirty laundry’ and begging to meet his grandchildren.
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