If Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was hoping that her dad’s New Year’s resolution was to stop mouthing off about her and her in-laws, she must be sadly disappointed.
Thomas Markle has kicked off 2019 with yet another rant about his estrangement from his pregnant daughter, promising that until Meghan and her husband Prince Harry stop ignoring him, he won’t shut up about their treatment of him.
“I’ll keep talking and I’ll probably get louder,” he told The Sun newspaper.
“I only speak because of the deadly silence from Meghan and the royals. No-one was standing up for my family – so I had to. I’ve been quiet long enough.”
Thomas insists he has always been a good father to Meghan.
The former TV lighting director, now retired and living in Mexico, is unhappy Meghan (37) and Harry (34) haven’t been in touch with him since shortly after their wedding and won’t return his phone calls or messages.
“If they ever want to speak to me, maybe I’ll quieten down a little bit. But in the meantime, I’m not going to become a monk in a monastery and take a vow of silence.
“The bottom line is that I’ve done nothing to deserve this kind of treatment. I cannot cut my tongue out and never speak again. I can’t shut up because they have opened the door for a million people to criticise me and my family.”
Thomas (74), who is also dad to Samantha (53) and Thomas Jr (51), says Meghan and her in-laws could end the whole sorry saga by simply calling him.
“To this day, I cannot think of anything I’ve done to deserve how I am being treated now,” says Thomas. “I’ve been a good father; I’ve done nothing wrong. Axe murderers kill 19 people and their daughters still come to visit them in prison. It’s just incomprehensible for Meghan to treat me this way.”
Thomas has also hit out at the son-in-law he’s never met, describing Harry’s behaviour as arrogant and telling him to get over any upset feelings he may have regarding what Thomas has said about him and the royals.
“Man up and get over it,” says Thomas. “If I’m the first person who’s insulted you or hurt your feelings, you’ve got a long way to go.”
Thomas has been speaking out to anyone who will listen.
Thomas, who hung up on Harry following a row on the phone over Thomas’ collusion with a photographer before the royal wedding, has described the royals as “stuffy” and “cult-like” adding, “He’s human just like the rest of us. I feel that he feels he is above everyone else and that he has a right to talk down to people. And I cannot accept that.”
Meghan’s dad has also shared his opinion on reports of a rift between his daughter and her sister-in-law Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
He says if there is any animosity between the two women, they should “put their differences aside”. He can’t believe his daughter has fallen out with mum-of-three Kate or that she upset her so much during wedding preparations that Kate (37) was in tears.
“I’m very upset by the criticism Meghan is getting,” says Thomas. “I don’t think she deserves it and I don’t think she is doing one third of the things she is being accused of.
“I’m not buying that she made Kate cry. First off, I think Kate is a stronger woman than that. I think Kate also knows she is in a stronger power position than Meghan is. Kate’s the hero mother; I can’t see her being that weak. No woman who pops out a kid, then walks out of hospital the same day is.
“I don’t believe that Meghan is trying to hurt her. But at the moment, I cannot call Meghan and say, ‘What is going on? How can I help you?
“I need to know what the hell is happening and why it is happening. I need to know why she is being bashed every day.”
Thomas says Meghan was a big part of his life before she met Harry
But as things stand at the moment, he’s not going to get that information from Meghan, unless she has a sudden change of heart.
A royal insider says Meghan feels her father has burned his bridges with her completely by speaking out and her decision to cut all contact with him is supported by the palace, which frowns on public spats.
“The family will let her deal with [her father] as she sees fit,” says former royal correspondent Jennie Bond. “She’s just doing what she feels is right.”
Thomas, meanwhile, says he hopes things are resolved soon – especially as he would love to get to know Meghan and Harry’s baby, which is due in a few months. He misses his daughter terribly, he says.
“She was a big part of my life up until she met Harry. If she called me right now, I would simply say, ‘How have you been? I am glad to hear from you.'”
