Thomas Markle has told his daughter Meghan and her husband Prince Harry that it is the ‘worst time in the world to be whining’, following the publication of an explosive biography into their relationship with the royal family.
Speaking from his home in Rosario, Mexico, he criticised the Sussexes and said he doesn’t ‘really appreciate what Meghan has become’.
The biography, Finding Freedom, has laid bare the friction and tensions that led to Megxit following a breakdown in the relationship between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the Royal Family.
Now, Mr Markle, 76, who was also mentioned in the book by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, has criticised his daughter and her husband on its release.
Harry and Meghan have denied having anything to do with the biography, though questions about their participation have been raised by the high level of detail in the book.
Responding to the new biography of daughter Meghan and Prince Harry, Thomas Markle said: ‘I love my daughter but I really don’t appreciate what she’s become right now’
The biography, Finding Freedom, has laid bare the friction and tensions that led to Megxit following a breakdown in the relationship between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the Royal Family.
Mr Markle told the Sun: ‘This is the worst time in the world for them to be whining and complaining about anything — because people everywhere are suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘I love my daughter but I really don’t appreciate what she’s become right now.’
In an extract from the book published on Sunday, it claims that Harry and Meghan had ‘rejected’ the idea of getting help to protect her father as coverage of their romance grew.
Mr Markle said: ‘The fact the royals advised them to get me help and they refused to do it is incredible news.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s biography is already the bestselling book on Amazon UK, two weeks ahead of its release.
Finding Freedom, by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, is not released until August 11 but is already top of the media giant’s bestsellers list as royal fans rush to pre-order their copy. The book is at number 14 on the US chart at the time of writing.
Scobie and Duran they have spoken to more than 100 sources including ‘close friends of Harry and Meghan’s, royal aides and palace staff (past and present)’, with all the information in the book having ‘at least two sources.’
Extraordinary personal details littered throughout Finding Freedom include particulars of the moment the Meghan confessed she wrote her estranged father Thomas one final message while on FaceTime in a bathtub.
Thomas Markle has criticised Meghan and Prince Harry for a bombshell new biography
Finding Freedom, by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, is not released until August 11 but is already top of the media giant’s bestsellers list as royal fans rush to pre-order their copy. The book is at number 14 on the US chart at the time of writing. Left, the couple in March
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s is already the bestselling book on Amazon UK, two weeks ahead of its release. Pictured, the current chart
The book also claims that Meghan has not spoken to her father since he failed to attend her wedding.
A heartbroken Meghan sent Mr Markle one final text on the night before her wedding, the book claims.
Mr Markle didn’t attend the wedding and was unable to walk her down the aisle.
This was despite Meghan’s desperate attempts to persuade him to attend.
She reportedly left dozens of frantic messages for her father, even telling him a car would take him to Los Angeles airport so he could fly to London for the ceremony.
But despite the ‘barrage of voicemails and texts’, he refused to get in the waiting vehicle.
Finding Freedom then says he stopped responding to messages after she called him ‘at least 20 times’.
Mr Markle eventually said the stress of dealing with the media had caused him to have a heart attack.
Earlier, it was revealed that Prince Harry was so keen on quitting the royal family that he initially refused the offer of a trial period which could have seen him and Meghan return to the UK after Megxit, royal sources claimed.
The review was insisted upon by courtiers and other royals, with the Queen keen to let Harry know he could return to the fold if he changed his mind.
However, the Duke of Sussex was keen to make a ‘clean break’ and had to be persuaded to agree to the trial period.
A source said: ‘He was adamantly opposed to the review process.’
Harry is thought to have been against the idea because it came from ‘the institution’ and he feared that a review would lessen the impact of their departure, allowing the media to write they could return.
The Queen wanted to include a review period that would allow Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to return to the royal family following Megxit – though Harry initially refused the offer
According to bombshell biography Finding Freedom, Harry believed the ‘old guard’ at Buckingham Palace disliked Meghan and wanted to make her life difficult.
That belief is thought to have fuelled his desire to not include a review option in Megxit.
The latest claims come after days of revelation from the Finding Freedom biography, which has laid bare Harry and Meghan’s increasingly fractious relationship with the palace.
The book has aired the divisions between Prince Harry and other royals, including his brother Prince William, with a source admitting: ‘People are aware that this does not look good for anyone.’
However, some have suggested that the revelations aren’t as bad as expected, according to the Times.
The biography, written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, also revealed Harry had ‘grown frustrated’ that he and Meghan ‘often took a back seat to other family members,’ including his father and brother. Pictured: The royal family after the annual Commonwealth Service in March
It was reported that the book, which Harry and Meghan insisted had nothing to do with them, had ‘torpedoed’ their chances of returning to the royal family after the trial period.
However, sources have now refuted the idea, pointing out that the Sussexes have shown no sign of wanting to return from California while revealing that Harry had been opposed to the review in the first place.
One said that ‘under no circumstances would they ever admit ‘this was a big mistake’.’
However, a source close to Harry and Meghan said: ‘Do I rule out them taking on roles for the family in the future? Absolutely not.
‘But a full-scale return soon is not likely. That is not down to animosity or anything like that. They have not yet reached what they were seeking to do.’
They also insisted that Harry and William’s relationship isn’t as bad as portrayed by the book.