Five birthdays have passed for Thomas Markle since he last talked to his daughter, Meghan Markle, and today, July 18th, is going to mark his 6th birthday. He's 79 years old now, and this is an age when a man likes his affairs to be all completely in order.
But for poor Thomas Markle, the problems with the girl he used to bring into the Hollywood studios, where he read lighting for some of the most popular shows on TV, are as bad today as they have ever been.
There are many broken relationships that have marked Meghan and Harry's life since they split from the royal family, but the cruelest has to be how they just threw away Meghan Markle's father. There haven't been any sophisticated palace operations or nice words to protect the elderly Thomas Markle, as there have been, for example, for Prince William or his father, King Charles. Mr. Markle has had to deal with all of this by himself, and no wonder he's been a bit bitter about the whole situation.
But there is also a deep sadness to his bitter feelings - a regret at what may have been. Not only did he never get to meet his son-in-law, but he's also been robbed of his role as grandfather to the invisible Archie and Lily. Today, it's only a little more than a year since Thomas Markle lay so ill in the hospital, unable to even speak after he had a stroke.
Things could have been so incredibly different, not only for Thomas Markle but also for Harry. Now, he's far away from home, and it probably really would have helped him to have the kindly figure of his father-in-law to turn to. Maybe that would have given Harry the stability he has so obviously been lacking since he abandoned his own family. And who better than Mr. Thomas Markle to guide Harry in the realities of life in a mixed-race marriage?
But unfortunately, Thomas Markle has not been available to Harry. Instead, their relationship has been one marked by mistrust. It certainly hasn't helped matters either that Thomas Markle has offered up his own uncompromising views of Meghan Markle and Harry. He's accused Harry of being snotty and an idiot, and he said that Harry's been whipped by Meghan, which is probably never going to endear him to his son-in-law anyway.
Even so, this is no excuse for Harry's nasty behavior. To understand the cause of this situation, we need to look at the weeks leading up to Harry and Meghan's royal wedding back in 2018. Thomas Markle was revealed to have worked together with a paparazzi photographer in staging some photos of him getting ready for the marriage ceremony, from reading up on British history to being measured for a wedding suit. It was a naive move, sure, and foolish, well, yes.
But there were no bad intentions. The irony was that this kind of invading of his own privacy came at the very time the palace officials were sending strict warnings to the media not to bother him. It was hard to escape the conclusion that royal advisors had really failed to understand that this lonely but good man would struggle to deal with the enormity of his daughter marrying into Britain's royal family.
Back then, it seemed, and it still seems now, pretty interesting that proper efforts were not put in place to prepare Mr. Markle for the news. Maybe they could have provided him with an A-to-Z briefing, or better yet, they could have flown him to London and accommodated him in a royal home where he could have gotten used to things ahead of the wedding. But perhaps the most confusing failure of all was Harry's.
Even now, four years later, it's not easy to understand why Harry didn't meet him beforehand. For the life of me, I cannot understand why Harry did not insist on meeting his own fiance's father before they got married, as any prospective son-in-law would want to do. There had to have been so many opportunities for Harry and Meghan to have paid a visit to her father in private a long time before he ever started giving any interviews.
Now, by the time the wedding rolled around, Thomas had revealed that he didn't want to give his daughter away because he was experiencing some heart problems. But by then, the relationship between the two men was turning really toxic. Mr. Markle said that he hung up on Harry during some telephone call in which they had an argument, even though he accepted that Harry had every right to reprimand him about the staged photos.
He described the timing of the call as rude. He admitted that he had lied about the incident, but he also said there is a time and place to say what he said, but not when I'm lying in the hospital after a heart attack. He claimed that he had ended the call after he told Harry, "Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead, then you could pretend to be sad." Resentment had already been building for quite some time at that point.
Now, he claimed that when he found out about the couple's engagement, a couple of representatives from the British Consulate in LA had visited the home of his ex-wife, Doria Ragland (Megan's mother), to give her a copy of the official statement.
The bitter feud between Meghan and Harry and Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, has had a profound impact on their family. From the beginning, it was evident that Thomas felt slighted when he didn't receive the Queen's announcement scroll about their engagement in person. While it may seem a bit entitled, one can understand his disappointment, given the significance of the occasion. However, things took a turn for the worse as the relationship continued to deteriorate.
During the infamous Oprah interview, Meghan expressed her feelings of betrayal regarding the staged photos incident. She claimed that she directly asked her father if he had spoken to the tabloids, to which he replied with an adamant denial. This lack of honesty from her father was deeply hurtful for Meghan, and any chance of reconciliation seemed to fade away.
By December 2018, the situation had worsened, with Thomas Markle claiming that he had been ghosted by Meghan. His attempts to reach out went unanswered, further escalating the tensions between them. Matters became even more contentious when details of a handwritten letter Meghan sent to her father were published by a newspaper, leading to a legal battle over copyright infringement.
Despite the bitterness between Meghan and her father, Thomas still expressed a strong desire to see his grandchildren, Archie and Lily. The feud has not only affected their lives but also impacted Harry's relationship with Meghan's father. Harry's late mother, Princess Diana, never had the opportunity to know Meghan well, and he now faces the prospect of never truly getting to know Meghan's father while he is still alive.
It's clear that Thomas Markle played a significant role in Meghan's formative years, with cherished memories of customized Barbie dolls and other meaningful gestures. His influence on her childhood is undeniable, and a complete picture of Meghan's past would undoubtedly involve his perspective as well.
While it may not be too late for reconciliation, the path to healing seems challenging. Harry's decision to put the past behind them and reach out to Mr. Markle could have a profound impact on their family dynamics. If he chooses not to, he may eventually regret it.
