Thomas Markle has blasted Prince Harry for not asking his permission to marry his daughter.
Markle, 77, has been estranged from his daughter Duchess Meghan, 40, and her husband Prince Harry, 36, ever since he was caught colluding with the paparazzi to stage photographs of himself before Meghan and Harry’s wedding in 2018.
But Thomas – who missed Harry and Meghan’s wedding because he was in hospital recovering from heart surgery – blames Harry for his rocky relationship with his daughter.
Speaking to GB News, he said: “I’m blaming Harry for this mostly. Harry has this saying: ‘If you look at the paparazzi, you’re done.’ I’m surprised Harry never bothered to come and visit me, or ask for my daughter’s hand in marriage.
“I was lying in hospital, talking to them from hospital, telling them I couldn’t come to the wedding and they haven’t talked to me since.”
Thomas claimed Meghan has “changed” since she met Harry, with whom she now has two children.
He said: “She’s changed, she’s not the daughter I knew. My daughter was a much more loving person than she is now. I don’t know if he’s the one behind it, but I really think that Harry and some of her friends have changed her. I love my daughter, but I don’t always like what they’re doing.”
Thomas also accused Meghan of “lying” for years, referencing her claim that she and Harry married privately in a secret marriage ceremony officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby in their “backyard”, three days before their public wedding.
The Archbishop previously insisted their public wedding was their only legal wedding and Thomas said: “She’s been lying for years. She’s been lying on and off over different things for years, lying about the Archbishop? How can you lie about the Archbishop? How can you say we got married three days before the wedding when they didn’t?”