After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed the impact the treatment of the British press had had on their mental health (as well as their disappointment in the palace for not protecting them), Oprah Winfrey asked Markle if it felt like a “betrayal” when her father Thomas Markle was “working with the tabloids.”
In further footage from their two-hour-long interview, Markle explained she had asked her father if it was true he was taking money from the press, but he was unable to admit it to her. “I look at Archie, I think about this child, and I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. I can’t imagine it, so it’s hard for me to reconcile that,” the 39-year-old told Winfrey.
When asked about whether her father holds any accountability for his actions, Markle added: “Everyone has accountability. (The tabloids) hunted my mom down and you’ve never heard her say a word.”
Following the interview, Mr. Markle decided to once again speak to the press. The 76-year-old made an appearance on Good Morning Britain, hosted by Piers Morgan—one of the country’s most outspoken critics of Markle—to speak about his daughter’s words, as well as the comments Markle and Prince Harry allege were made about their son’s skin tone. Mr. Markle also took the opportunity to blackmail his daughter by saying he will continue to talk to the press until she talks to him.
“I’m guessing and hoping it’s just a dumb question from somebody,” Mr. Markle said in regard to the comments made about his grandson. “It could be that simple, that someone has asked a stupid question rather than being a total racist.” He also said that while the conversation should be investigated, it could “just be a stupid question from someone” and that he doesn’t think the British are “racist.”
Though he says he regrets staging paparazzi photographs ahead of the royal wedding in 2018, Mr. Markle, who also leaked a private letter sent to him by his daughter, blamed it on being hounded by the press. “I wish I hadn’t done the whole thing. But here’s the other side of the coin. No one took any time to protect any member of our family. We were attacked by the press every day. Nobody was there to care for us, nobody looked after us.”
Asked about his daughter’s suicidal thoughts while she was pregnant he said, “I love my daughter very much. Had I known she was having psychological problems, I would have been there for her.”
“Biggest problem here is she has pretty much ghosted all of her family on her mother’s side and my side, so she really had no-one to reach out to,” he added.
#ThomasMarkle says that his daughter has cut out not just his side of the family but her mother’s as well. #MeghanMarkle pic.twitter.com/l0cXF2dmZO
— Perez (@ThePerezHilton) March 9, 2021
Mr. Markle also criticized his son-in-law and daughter’s interview being broadcast while Prince Philip is still in hospital. “They went way over the top with it, these stories with Oprah, and should have waited,” he said. “Considering the Queen’s age and Philip’s age, they certainly should have waited or tried to wait.”
Following the couple’s interview, officials in Buckingham Palace reportedly had a prepared statement highlighting the family’s love and concern for the couple, but it was not signed off by the Queen. According to The Times newspaper, the Monarch wanted more time to consider her response to the explosive interview. A response from the palace is likely to come later today.
