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Meghan Markle's estranged father wants to make up, meet Archie

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Meghan Markle's estranged father Thomas Markle recently insisted that he wants to reconcile with his daughter and her husband Prince Harry and meet the couple's son Archie.

Thomas recently called his daughter and her husband "hypocritical" in a new interview but said that he wants to resolve their differences and meet Archie, reported Us Weekly.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, for the first time since the Duchess of Sussex welcomed her first child with Harry on May 6, the 75-year-old former lighting director said in the interview, that he has been unfairly cut out of his grandson's life.

"I would like them to send me a picture of Archie so I can frame it on my wall beside the one of Meghan," Thomas said, referring to a photo of himself and his daughter together at a football game.

 

"Isn't that what any grandfather would want? I'd love to know if he's got the famous Markle nose," he added.

Thomas has been estranged from the former 'Suits' actor since her May 2018 royal wedding at Windsor Castle, England. He didn't make it to the nuptials after suffering a heart attack in the aftermath of a paparazzi photo scandal.

The father claimed that the royal couple didn't reach out to him in the hospital and "never once has Meghan ever asked me how I'm doing. Not then, not since."

He told the Mail in the interview that he has apologised repetitively for staging the photos and most recently sent the Duchess a card for her birthday last month when she turned 38 years old.

"I sent her a card via her financial adviser in L.A. but received no acknowledgment. I have no idea if she got it," he revealed.

Thomas, who has called out his daughter, her husband and the royal family in several interviews since she became the Duchess of Sussex, told the outlet that he still hopes to meet Archie one day.

"There was never any problem between Meghan and me until recently. I've stayed quiet because Meghan was pregnant with Archie but I'm speaking out now because they and their PR people are continuing to ghost me out of her life," he said.

"Of course, I'm disappointed not to see Archie. I had hoped becoming a mother would mellow Meghan and she would reach out," Thomas continued.

The 75-year-old also opened up about the recent headlines criticising Meghan and Harry for flying on a private jet to France, where they and their son vacationed at singer Elton John's mansion.

Several celebrities later defend the royals, and the Grammy-winning singer said that he had paid for the flight and for carbon offsets.

"I feel sorry for them in a way because they brought this on themselves. You can't say one thing and do another," Thomas said.

Calling the royal couple "hypocritical, he said, "Everyone raves about how gracious and wonderful they are, but they are not wonderful to their own family. That's hypocritical."

"You can't portray yourself as being charitable and bringing people together and then ghost your own father and your entire family. Their treatment of me has left a lot to be desired," he added.

Still, he said that he hopes to reconcile with his only daughter Meghan, who he shares with ex-wife Doria Ragland, one day.

"I believe all family differences can be resolved and I believe that can still happen for me, Meghan and Harry. I always hoped I would be as close to Meghan's child as I was to her when she was a child," he said.

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First Published: Sep 01 2019 | 2:03 PM IST

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