Prince Harrysays he has “shouldered” responsibility for his wifeMeghan Markle’s fractured relationship with her father,Thomas Markle.
The Duchess of Sussex and her dad became estranged in 2018 days before her wedding toPrince Harrywhen Thomas staged paparazzi photos with a British tabloid and, according to Meghan,lied to her about talking to the press. (Thomas, 78, laterexpressed regret over the incident.)
Thomas decided not to attend the wedding after the arrangement with paparazzi to stage several photoshoots ahead of the big day was revealed.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry; Thomas Markle.Samir Hussein/WireImage; Splash
SaidPrince Harryin the third episode ofHarry & Meghan, “Of course, it’s incredibly sad what happened. She had a father before this and now she doesn’t have a father.”
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“And I shouldered that because if Meg wasn’t with me, then her dad would still be her dad,” the prince added.
From left: Doria Ragland, Thomas Markle and Meghan Markle.Netflix
Meghan said in the series that she was urged to call Thomas to find out if he was colluding with paparazzi for a story.
“H and I called my dad. I said, ‘Look, they’re saying you’retaking money from the tabloids to stage photos. Is this true?’ He says no,” she recalled, adding that they offered to have someone come and get him from Mexico before media could swarm his home as a result of the story that would come out.
“And he said, ‘No, no, I have things I need to do.’ And it felt really cagey,” Meghan said. “I was like, ‘It doesn’t make sense.’ And when we hung up, I looked at H. I was like, ‘I don’t know why, but I don’t believe him.’ "
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Meghan’s motherDoria Raglandsaid she was “absolutely stunned” that her ex-husband “would become part of this circus.”
“And sad that the media would run with this. That he would capitalize,” she added. “Certainly as a parent, that’s not what you do. That’s not parenting.”
Meghan alleged that her father “wouldn’t pick up [her] call” in the week leading up to her nuptials, saying, “Instead, you’re talking to TMZ. And I’m finding out that you’re not coming to our wedding, through a tabloid.”
“And then suddenlythey were saying he was in the hospital,” she went on. “What’s going on? Please just pick up the phone. Like, what’s going on? We’re not mad. Just please pick up the phone.”
“Even once it was said in the media, [we] just kept calling, [saying] you know, ‘What’s going on? Don’t understand what’s going on. Are you okay? What hospital are you at?’ I mean, all of us, we’re just trying to understand what was going on,” the Duchess of Sussex continued.
Meghan and her father have not spoken since the images were printed in the U.K. and last communicated via text while he wasrecovering from heart surgeryin the lead-up to herMay 2018 weddingat St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
“Me laying in a hospital bedafter I’d had a procedureand getting a stent put here and a stent put here (points to his chest), felt that that was kind of snotty, so I hung up on him,” Thomas added. “And that’s the last conversation we ever had.”
The first three episodes ofHarry & Meghanare now streaming on Netflix.
source: people.com
