I refuse to be buried by Meghan while I’m still alive
The The Duchess of Sussex’s estranged fatherThomas Markle has said he won’t allow her to ‘bury’ him while he’s alive after Prince Harry claimed she was ‘mourning’ his loss.
Mr Markle, 78, and his other two children, Meghan’s half-siblings Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle Jnr, have teamed up to take part in a television documentary in which they revealed the extent of the rift between the two sides of the family.
Mr Markle, who suffered a debilitating stroke last May, said his daughter has not called him in four years.
“If she doesn’t show up because of a stroke, if she doesn’t move that, then what?” he said.
In his memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex said it was Meghan “Mourning the Loss of Her Father”.
But Mr Markle told Channel 7’s Australian Spotlight programme: “She killed me and then mourned for me.”
He added, “I refuse to be buried by her.”
“I was her hero”
The family released several videos of Meghan, 41, from her childhood, showing her swinging a baseball bat in different ways, jumping in the snow and fishing at a lake.
Mr Markle admitted he watched the videos on occasion.
“She loved me, I was her hero, and suddenly I got kicked out,” he added.
“She has to ask herself every day, ‘Why am I doing this to my father?’
“Is it worth leaving me for the rest of my life? Is it worth denying me my grandchildren? Is it all worth it? Is it worth getting rid of her father?”
The former director of lighting said he may have hoped the Duke had suffered casualties after his mother’s deathDiana, Princess of Wales understood the importance of staying connected.
He said he was sorry pose for paparazzi pictures before the wedding of the duke and duchess and also for revealing part of a letter Meghan had sent him to a newspaper.
He did so after five of Meghan’s friends spoke to People magazine and gave the first public reference to the letter.
Meghan sued Associated Newspapers for publishing five articles that reproduced excerpts of the handwritten letter.
Mr Markle said in an attempt to explain his actions: “People magazine came out with it and Meghan had shared it with six other people.”
He added of his estrangement from his daughter: “It’s just very sad from a father’s point of view. It’s a big disappointment and it’s sad every day.”
He said he would “love to” meet his grandchildren Prince Archie, three, and Princess Lilibet, one, adding: “They will have my nose, they will have my eyes.”