By Sam Greenhill | Daily Mail |
London – Thomas Markle on Monday vowed to speak publicly every 30 days until estranged daughter Meghan contacts him.
The father of the Duchess of Sussex also urged her husband Harry to “man up” and meet him.
Mr Markle went on to confirm publicly for the first time that he was willing to testify against Meghan in her legal battle against the Mail on Sunday for publishing a letter.
He was speaking in his first TV interview since the couple’s bombshell decision to quit the Royal Family and move to North America.
This left him ‘embarrassed’ and was “hurtful” to the Queen, said Mr Markle. He also spoke of how talking to the media about his rift with Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, was now his best hope of a reconciliation.
“If after this interview, if I don’t hear from somebody in 30 days, I’ll give 30 days and I’m going to try again because 30 days is enough time to get back to me,” he said.
“I don’t want to sit in silence in my living room for the rest of my life waiting for someone to get in touch.”
The 75-year-old, who lives in Mexico, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain show how he has tried to speak to Meghan’s mother Doria but his ex-wife has also not replied to letters.
When asked what he would say to Meghan if she was watching, he replied: “I would tell her, “I love you, let’s sit down and work this out”.
“[That] they are making this a big drama for the world is kind of ridiculous. It’s a family problem. It should be solved as a family problem.”
Meanwhile his message for son-in-law Harry would be: “Man up and fly down and see me and we will talk.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son Archie, eight months, now live in Canada after making a deal with the Queen over stepping down as senior royals.
But Mr Markle said: “I think they’ve hurt the Queen. It just doesn’t work to be going to another country and serving England. It’s never going to work. I’m a little embarrassed and feeling very sorry for the Queen.”
In the looming “Markle vs Markle” court case, the Duchess is suing the Mail on Sunday, sister newspaper to the Mail, for publishing extracts from a letter she wrote to him.
Mr Markle said: “If it comes to meeting them in a courtroom, that is great – at least I finally get to see them.” He went on to say, however, that he did not want a “battle”.
Meghan claims the letter was private. The Mail on Sunday counters that she effectively invaded her own privacy by allowing friends to reveal the existence of the letter and criticise her father via anonymous interviews in the US magazine People. Therefore, it says, Mr Markle was entitled to defend himself.
In the interview, he said: “The letter was sent to me, it was described in People magazine as a loving letter. But the word “love” never came in except when she said her “loving husband”, she never asked about my health, how I felt or anything.
“I reached out to the Mail on Sunday – they didn’t come to me. I said I want to publish part of this letter to make some things straight.”
Asked how he would respond if people criticised him for speaking out, Mr Markle said: ‘Try being in my position and see what it’s like – have a family member ghost you and not speak to you. It’s always on your mind. It’s very hard to deal with.
“I love my daughter, I’d love my grandson and I’m sure I’d love Harry if I met him. It’s silly it’s gone on for too long, I would like to make peace with Meghan and Harry.” Daily Mail
