On the eve of his 80th birthday, Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle shared that his only wish was to receive a call from his daughter. However, deep down, he knew that the hope of mending the relationship between father and daughter was extremely fragile.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday , Mr. Thomas Markle opened up about his feelings as a father on the threshold of 80 years old. He confided in his wish to talk to his daughter Meghan Markle and grandchildren – Archie (5 years old) and Lilibet (3 years old).
“I never thought I would live to be 80 because none of the Markle men live that long. My father died at 61,” said Mr. Thomas. Even though he was preparing to celebrate his birthday with his son Tom Jr. and received a call from his eldest daughter Samantha (who has multiple sclerosis and cannot walk), he still couldn’t help but feel sad when thinking about Meghan.
The father’s pain was deepened by seeing the happiness of the British Royal Family at Trooping The Colour. Mr Thomas expressed sympathy for King Charles III, who both faced health problems and were unable to see their grandchildren. “They had two grandfathers who wanted to see their grandchildren, one of whom was the King of England. Never in my 80 years of life did I think I would be in the same situation as the King,” he said.
Mr Thomas also shared his wish to talk to King Charles III: “I would love to talk to him because I am sure he has as many unanswered questions as I do. Neither of us deserves to be treated like this.” He believes that both will find sympathy in each other, especially when facing health problems and not being able to see their grandchildren.
The relationship between Mr. Thomas and his daughter broke down before Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding in 2018. The cause was due to Mr. Thomas staging some paparazzi photos. The incident caused him to be unable to attend his daughter’s wedding due to health reasons.
Sharing about the broken relationship with her father in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan Markle choked up: “I was very sad. I mean, I lost my father.” Since then, Mr. Thomas has not once met his two grandchildren Archie and Lilibet.
Looking back, Mr. Thomas – a former Hollywood lighting director who worked with many big stars such as Elizabeth Taylor – could not help but feel regretful. “The only thing I never imagined was that Meghan would turn her back on me at this point in my life. I thought she would always be by my side,” he confided.
Paparazzi photo causes Meghan’s father-daughter relationship to crack.
Mr Thomas admitted he made a mistake in staging the paparazzi photos before his daughter’s wedding and said he had apologised repeatedly for it. “Meghan was angry with me because I posed for some paparazzi photos before the wedding. I was completely alone and being hunted. A photographer approached my daughter, Samantha, and convinced her that the photos would improve my image. It was a mistake and I have apologised repeatedly for it,” Mr Thomas said.
However, Mr Thomas said his actions were nothing compared to what Meghan and Harry have done, such as accusing the Royal Family of racism. “When you look at what Harry and Meghan have done since then, like accusing the Royal Family of racism, it’s far worse than anything I’ve done,” he said.
At 80, Thomas doesn’t want pity or let his daughter’s story overshadow his life. “I don’t want pity and I don’t want this episode to define my life. I don’t want to be a footnote in history,” Thomas said.