Thomas Markle claims Meghan has ‘disowned both sides of her family’

The Duchess of Sussex’s father Thomas Markle today said that his daughter had ‘pretty much disowned both sides of her family’ and urged her to ‘grow up’.

Mr Markle, 77, also laid into his son-in-law Prince Harry, saying ‘all he does now is ride a bicycle around the neighbourhood he lives’ in Montecito, California.

He was referring to when Harry was photographed in March riding an electric bike followed by a security team soon after the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview aired.

Mr Markle also claimed ‘childish’ Meghan ‘changed’ when she met Harry and said it was ‘ridiculous’ that he had been estranged from his daughter for nearly four years.

The retired lighting director, who lives in Rosarito, Mexico, added that he and Meghan both needed to ‘grow up, talk, make up’ and mend their relationship.

Mr Markle has never met Harry or the couple’s children Archie and Lilibet, and did not attend their wedding in 2018 after he had a heart attack and needed surgery. 

Asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today whether television interviews were the only way he can communicate with Meghan, Mr Markle said: ‘I’ve made it quite clear that until I hear from her, until she does speak to me, that I will continue to do this. 

Thomas Markle today said that his daughter Meghan Markle (pictured together) had ‘pretty much disowned both sides of her family’ and urged her to ‘grow up’

The Duchess of Sussex’s father Thomas Markle speaks to ITV’s Good Morning Britain today

‘I will do a show at least a month, if I can get it through, and eventually sooner or later she’ll start talking to me. This is way too childish, this is kind of silly, it’s time to talk with each other, we’re family. 

‘The kids are going to grow up without knowing that they have two families. This is more than just me and my daughter now, this is me and my daughter, her husband and two babies involved now, so it’s time to do something. It’s time to talk.’

Asked if he has any communication with his ex-wife Doria Ragland, Mr Markle said: ‘I’ve tried a few times, I don’t even know where her mother is at this point, I don’t think she’s in Los Angeles, or with Meghan and Harry. I don’t know where she’s at. I have tried to contact her.’

Asked what is about Meghan’s character that is allowing her to keep him completely at arm’s length, he said: ‘You’re asking me a question that is four years old, and I can’t answer it. I don’t know what changed her. She’s never been that way before and once she hooked up with Harry, she changed.

‘I understand that she hooked up with Soho Club and a different group of people, but she’s pretty much disowned both sides of her family, and I don’t understand the reason for it.’

And asked if she had moved on and ghosted him, Mr Markle added: ‘It seems like that’s what happened. There are some reasons that she got upset with me and one was that she thought I was giving too much attention to her brother and sister – to her stepbrother and stepsister, but nonetheless she wanted me to stop talking to them and I couldn’t.

‘We’re at a point where, I think, both of us, we should grow up, talk, make up for the sake of the children right now and for ourselves. This is ridiculous, it’s being going on for almost four years – it’s crazy.’

He was also asked about his son Thomas criticising Meghan over her relationship with her first husband. And Mr Markle said: ‘I mean my son Thomas has been shunned just like I have been, and I’m sure he’s responding the same way others are that get ghosted. Piers (Morgan) was right – we all get ghosted, so somebody wants to respond.

‘If you go back in the history and read Meghan’s Tig that she had on the internet, you’ll find hundreds of things where she praises me and now suddenly it’s like she doesn’t know me. Take the time, read Tig, find Tig, and find out what she says about.’

In August, Piers Morgan’s ITV colleagues and a string of respected broadcasters hailed Ofcom’s ruling confirming his right to free speech after the watchdog dismissed 57,000 complaints about his criticism of Meghan. 

During Mr Markle’s interview today, he was also asked about seeing Lilibet and Archie. Mr Markle said: ‘I’m very concerned about that, I’d love to see my grandchildren and people have suggested in California that I sue to see my kids, but I think if I did that I’d be a hypocrite, I’d be doing the same thing that Meghan and Harry are doing. 

‘I don’t want to include my grandchildren in this kind of situation. I want to see my grandchildren with friendly parents and friendship all around. I don’t want hostile parents and then see my grandchildren. So I’ll wait until it works it’s way out.’

Asked if he had been given indication that legal action could be successful, Mr Markle said: ‘Yes, I have, I’ve been told by several lawyers that grandparents have sued to see their grandchildren and won in California, but I’m not going to do that.

‘I’m not going to do that. I don’t want to involve my grandchildren as pawns in a game – they’re not part of the game, I mean they’re my grandchildren, I want to see my grandchildren.’ 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are joined by her mother Doria Ragland as they show their son Archie to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle in May 2019

Mr Markle said Meghan ‘changed’ when she met Harry (above, at their wedding in May 2018)

And asked whether Harry and Meghan are now playing to the American market and don’t really care about what people in Britain say or do, Mr Markle said: ‘I think that’s true, I think Harry has abandoned the Queen, his grandmother, the Royal Family, the British people and the Army – he’s abandoned them all, and all he does now is ride a bicycle around the neighbourhood he lives in. I don’t know it’s much of a life for him either, it doesn’t make sense.’

Who are Meghan’s family members? 

Thomas Markle Sr: Meghan’s father is a retired lighting director living in Mexico, previously married to Roslyn Markle – with whom he had Thomas Markle Jr and Samantha Markle.

Doria Ragland: Meghan’s mother is a former make-up artist and married Thomas Markle Sr in 1979. They had Meghan in 1981 but divorced in 1987.

Samantha Markle: Thomas Markle Sr’s daughter and Meghan’s half-sister, also known as Samantha Grant, has been divorced twice and has three children.

Thomas Markle Jr: Meghan’s older paternal half-brother, was married for 11 years to Tracy Dooley until they divorced in 2001, and they had two sons – Thomas and Tyler Dooley.

He was also questioned by host Susanna Reid over whether he thought Meghan and Harry were happy. And Mr Markle said: ‘Well, money isn’t everything, but the book he’s writing should be not Finding Freedom – it should be Finding Money, that’s all they seem to care about right now.’

Finding Freedom is the biography of Harry and Meghan by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand released in August 2020. It was then announced this July that Harry will be writing a new book which explores his ‘adventures, losses, and life lessons’. 

‘Harry’s coming out with a book and that can’t be anything but cruel and to insult his grandmother the Queen, it’s a ridiculous idea. And it’s just something for money, that’s all they’re doing – everything they’re doing is for money. But to do that to your grandmother and the Queen, who is 95 years old, is shameful.’

Asked by Reid when he last tried to get in touch with Meghan, Mr Markle said: ‘About a month ago maybe. I really can’t go down to Montecito because I’ll be pointed out as a stalker, so I can’t do much like that.

‘But my message for the kids is that they have two loving families and their great-grandmother is the Queen of England, and I think that that’s important for them to know.

‘It’s important for them to know that they have two families, and eventually they’re going to grow up and they’re going to want to know more about them, so we’ll see what happens.’

Meghan has two older half-siblings through her father’s side – Thomas Markle Jr and Samantha Markle – from his previous marriage to Roslyn Markle. 

Thomas Markle Jr was married for 11 years to Tracy Dooley until they divorced in 2001, and they had two sons – Thomas and Tyler Dooley. 

Samantha Markle, also known as Samantha Grant, has been divorced twice and has three children. 

Thomas Markle married Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, a former make-up artist, in 1979. They had Meghan in 1981 but divorced in 1987.

MailOnline has contacted a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment on Mr Markle’s interview.