Thomas Markle interview: Meghan Markle’s father accuses her of quitting royal family for money as he admits lying to Prince Harry
Thomas Markle admits to lies and says Meghan and Harry stepping away from royal life is ‘embarrassing’ for him
Thomas Markle has spoken out about his fractious relationship with his daughter, the Duchess of Sussex, for the first time since she and the Duke of Sussex revealed their decision to walk away from the royal family and pursue a life in Canada.
In Thomas Markle: My Story, which aired on Channel 5 on 22 January, Mr Markle discusses his absence from the May 2018 royal wedding, the way in which he has been portrayed in the media and how he learned the news of his daughter’s pregnancy over the radio.
The 90-minute long programme was filmed at Mr Markle’s home in Mexico in October 2019 over a six-day period.
In the documentary, Mr Markle confessed to lying to Prince Harry about staging paparazzi photographs of himself in the days prior to the royal wedding.
The 75-year-old also said that the last time he spoke to Meghan was over the phone shortly after he had suffered a heart attack. It was during that phone call when he told the couple he was too unwell to attend the wedding.
At the end of the film, in a clip that was filmed just days ago, Mr Markle speaks about Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down from the royal family, which he claimed they did “for money” before going on to describe it as “embarrassing” for him.
Channel 5 states that the Sussexes did not respond when approached for comment on Mr Markle’s claims.
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Meghan lived with Thomas between the ages of 11 and 16, which Thomas describes as the happiest years of his life.
"I think I gave her a sense of duty and work. I think Meghan would say that I did a very good job as a father. She was growing into a very nice young lady."
Thomas started helping with scenery in lighting for Meghan's school plays. He says she was in almost all of the shows.
We are watching a clip of Meghan playing Little Red Riding Hood in a High School play. It's not clear how old she is but she looks like she might be in her late teens.
Both Doria and Thomas attended Meghan's High School graduation in 1999. We're seeing footage from the ceremony, where other family members are in attendance.
Thomas has paid a visit to Meghan's High School drama teacher.
"We worked on her listening skills," she told Thomas. "I'm extremely proud of Meghan. I think as the Duchess she is doing an amazing job."
When asked whether she thought Meghan would miss acting or not, the drama teacher replied: "She's got the biggest acting job of anyone in the world. She's out there being the Duchess of Sussex, and that's a big role."
There is a video of Meghan driving in Beverly Hills. In the clip, she says she's not going to see her dad that day because they "aren't on the best of terms".
Speaking about the video, Thomas said that dispute was "nothing" and it was exaggerated in the press. He claims that Meghan was living with him at the time.
However, Channel 5 clarified with a note on the screen that Meghan was in fact living with Doria at that time and that it's not clear what kind of relationship she had with her father at this time.
We're watching a clip of Meghan on Deal or No Deal, a job she landed shortly after starting her acting career.
Channel 5 briefly mentions Meghan's two-year marriage to Trevor Engelson.
In 2007, Meghan landed a lead role in the US legal drama Suits. Thomas said she was making $40,000 per episode at the time.
Mr Markle claims he received $5,600 a month from his retirement fund. He is now addressing reports that Meghan has funded his lifestyle.
"She has given me some money. She gave me $5,000 for Christmas. Most of what has been given to me was a gift. Only on one or two occasions have I asked her for help, and it was only a couple of grand. She did at one point claim to have given me $20,000. The bottom line is I paid for her college and everything to get her to where she is."
Mr Markle described it as "picky" for Meghan to call him up on the money she has given him over the years.
Mr Markle is talking about how Meghan told him she was dating Prince Harry over the phone. At first, she said she was dating someone British. Then she told Mr Markle he was part of the royal family. Mr Markle confessed he didn't really know what that meant exactly.
Meghan then handed the phone over to Harry so he could speak to her father.
"He said 'hello' in a very British way and we talked a bit and that was nice," Mr Markle remembers.
"But very shortly after, the press started looking for me."
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