Meghan Markle's Dad Thomas Has A Shady Take On Archie And Lilibet's Futures

Meghan Markle's relationship with her father, Thomas Markle Sr., is basically nonexistent at this point, and surprise, surprise — his relationship with her kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, is pretty much the same. Not that this stops him from offering his two cents on their upbringing by Meghan and Prince Harry.

Meghan and Thomas used to be close, but things went downhill fast right before her wedding to Harry. Thomas's staging of paparazzi photos with a British tabloid and then lying to Meghan about it was apparently the last straw. He told "Good Morning Britain" that he had apologized "at least 100 times or so," but Meghan wouldn't have it, which was especially painful for him as he couldn't console her when she was depressed, largely due to how she had been treated by the Royal Family and the British media. "I love my daughter very much," Thomas said. "Had I known she was having psychological problems, I would have been there for her... Biggest problem here is she's pretty much ghosted all of her family."

Thomas claims he wants to patch things up, but his actions — and words — scream otherwise. Since their falling out, he's been on a rampage, spewing scathing remarks about Meghan's marriage to Harry and throwing in his unsolicited opinions about how Archie and Lilibet are being raised. According to Thomas, his grandkids are missing out on all the royal perks because their parents decided to step down as senior royals without considering the impact on their children.

Thomas Markle Sr. doesn't see the point of Archie and Lilibet being made prince and princess if they won't be able to enjoy being royals anyway. Plus, the kids likely won't have much of a relationship with their cousins, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, and Prince George, Prince William and Kate Middleton's children.

Speaking with New Zealand Woman's Weekly, Thomas lamented how Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are depriving their children of the royal experience. "It struck me as very sad that Meghan and Harry's kids are being denied the right to know their cousins... Or take part in things like Trooping the Colour, which is their birthright," he said (via The Express), adding that he's curious if the two kids will grasp the gravity of what they've missed. "They are getting to the age where they will start to ask questions, as all kids do."

As of this writing, Thomas has yet to meet Prince Harry, let alone Archie and Lilibet, and he's not shy about expressing his bitterness. "I'm heartbroken. I am very upset. This is a cruel thing to do to a grandparent, to deny the right to see a grandchild," he said in his "Good Morning Britain" interview, adding that while he could take legal action, he refuses to do so. "In California, I can actually sue to see [them], but I don't want to do that. The other thing is I've done nothing wrong. There's nothing that points to say I'm a bad guy."

Thomas Markle Sr. is also of the mind that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are not model parents. He once blasted his own daughter for going on a trip to Europe when Lilibet was only a few months old, telling GB News that no good mother would do such a thing.

"To fly all the way over and not bring the children. That's ridiculous. Most mothers don't leave a nine-month-old child behind. They usually hold on to that child until the child gets a little older," he said (via Newsweek). "That's one thing that really bothers me." Then, in an interview with Fox News, he claimed that Archie and Lilibet have been unfairly bearing the brunt of their parents' decision to leave the Royal Family. "Archie and Lili are small children. They're not politics," he remarked. "They're not pawns. They're not part of the game."

But it seems he's come to accept he'll never be part of his grandchildren's lives. He mentioned that he no longer expects to have a relationship with them but hopes to meet them at least once. "I know the one person I most want to hear from, Meghan, won't be in touch," he told The Daily Mail prior to his 80th birthday. "I would love to meet my grandchildren, but I would be happy with a photograph at this stage."