Prince Harry’s plan to move his family to Canada for a quieter existence isn’t exactly going to plan, as his wife’s father continues his relentless media campaign against them.
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This week he repeated his threat to face her in court, where “everything will come out”.
For the documentary Thomas Markle: My Story, shown on Nine Network on Tuesday, the 75-year-old invited a film crew into his home in Rosarito, Mexico. He revealed he hasn’t spoken to his daughter since her wedding in May 2018, nor met his grandson, Archie. He was also critical of Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back from royal duties.
“Every young girl wanted to become a princess, and she got that, and now it looks like she’s tossing it away for money,” he said.
“Apparently $3 million and a 26-bedroom home isn’t enough for them. When they got married, they took on an obligation, and the obligation to represent the royals, and it would be foolish for them not to. This is one of the greatest long-living institutions ever, and they’re destroying it. They’re cheapening it and making it shabby. It’s kind of embarrassing to me.”
Markle spoke of his heartbreak that Meghan, 38, refuses to contact him, but he seems determined to continue to take swipes at her.
“After this interview, if I don’t hear from someone in 30 days then I will try again,” he declared. He previously said Harry should “man up” and fly over to see him.
Part of the fallout is down to a five-page letter the duchess wrote to him, pleading for him not to keep talking to the media and saying he had “broken my heart into a million pieces”. He responded by releasing some of the letter to the media. Meghan then launched a breach of privacy suit against The Mail on Sunday for publishing it.
Now Markle says he will testify against his daughter when the case comes to court, and has warned her she is in for a bruising battle.
“I wish it hadn’t come to this, but I will certainly testify against the things that have been said about me, the lies,” he
says. “When me and Meghan end up in a courtroom together, it will be quite stunning for everybody!”
The retired TV lighting director, and two-time Emmy winner, claims he has tried to heal the rift. “I have apologised several times. There’s not much I can offer, but I would love to make peace with Meghan and Harry and meet my grandson. If I [saw her] I’d say ‘I love you and let’s sit down and work this out’. She was the closest thing to me for years and years and years until she went off to college. I just think this is kind of silly; it’s gone on too long.”
But his conciliatory tone didn’t last long as he talked about her plans for a new life. “It’s never going to work – I’m embarrassed for them and feel sorry for the Queen,” he told Good Morning Britain last week.
In the doco, he is scathing about their plans. “They are cashing in on the Sussex name. That is exactly what they told me I shouldn’t be doing. They’ve gone commercial. They should be just called Harry and Meghan now. Leaving the royal family is the dumbest thing they could have done. I don’t think they thought this through … they’re turning [the royal family] into a Walmart with a crown on it.”
Elsewhere this week, Buckingham Palace took the rare step of issuing a denial that Meghan had engaged a media company to help her secure endorsements after LA-based Sheeraz Inc. claimed they were “taking appearance and endorsement requests” for the royal couple. The firm also claims to represent Kim Kardashian West and Jennifer Lopez.
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