‘Embarrassing’: Meghan Markle’s dad slams Canada move
The estranged father of Meghan Markle has accused Prince Harry of being a “candy ass” and has challenged the royal to shoot out their differences.
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Meghan Markle’s estranged dad on has challenged Prince Harry to “man up” and finally meet him — saying he would be “happy to duel” with his “candy ass” and “whipped” royal son-in-law.
“Man up and fly down and see me,” Thomas Markle, 75, told Good Morning Britain during one of a series of extraordinary interviews he hopes will reach the royal couple after their “embarrassing” Megxit, according to the New York Post.
“I’d be happy to duel with Harry anytime,” Markle also told The Sun newspaper from his home in Mexico.
“One round in the chamber. Cocked. Ten steps, turn and fire. That’d settle the score.
“The way he’s been acting, I think he’d crouch on the ground before he gets to 10 steps. He’s a candy ass. He’s whipped,” Markle said of the royal son-in-law he has never met.
Despite his incredible challenge, Markle insists his explosive interviews are his “only shot” at getting through to his daughter, who has not spoken to him since he was a no-show at her May 2018 royal wedding.
“I’m at their mercy,” he told the morning TV show.
However, he bragged about being the key witness against his daughter in an upcoming court case — noting that it could prove to be the only way he could get in the same room as his estranged daughter and her husband.
“If it comes to meeting them in a courtroom, that’s great. At least I’d finally get to see them!” Markle told the UK TV show.
He insisted that he didn’t want a “face-off or a battle” — while bragging to The Sun that “everything will come out” about his daughter when he is a witness in her case against a British newspaper.
Still, he insisted, “If I saw her, I would say: ‘I’m sorry, I wish we could have sat down and worked this out.’
“I don’t like the idea of sides, of being in a battle with my daughter. I don’t like not being able to talk to her.”
Markle insisted he has written to the royals, as well as his ex-wife, Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland, in doomed attempts to contact his daughter.
Even while hoping his interviews would reach his daughter, he still kept turning the screw.
“I think they’ve hurt the Queen, I think they’ve hurt the royals,” he told Good Morning Britain. “I’m a little embarrassed for them and I’m feeling very sorry for the Queen.”
Rather than show contrition for his set-up paparazzi photographs, which almost derailed the couple’s wedding, he went on the attack over their decision to step back from their royal roles.
“What they have decided to do is to me embarrassing,” he told Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan.
“I think when they got married they married into royalty and they knew what they were getting themselves into.
“That’s been Harry’s life, Meghan has had a similar kind of life. I think they’ve hurt the Queen. I think they’ve hurt the royals – and it just doesn’t work to be going to another country and serving England. It’s never going to work.”
Mr Markle, a former Hollywood lighting director, revealed he does not believe criticism of his daughter for quitting as a royal is laced with racism.
“I’m having trouble buying that. There’s never been a problem with Meghan in terms of her race,” he said.
“I think England is far more liberal than the US, I don’t think she is being bullied in anyway, or any shape, because of racism.”
The interview came after a documentary about Mr Markle aired last week on Britain’s Channel 5.
The documentary, where he said he would continue to do paid interviews because the couple owed him, included a treasure trove of photographs and home movies.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have quit royal duties and were stripped of some roles when the Queen decided they could not be half in, half out of the royal family.
They are now plotting their new life in Canada with plans to become financially independent, likely through deals with Netflix and other media companies.
The couple are also suing the Mail on Sunday newspaper for publishing a letter from Meghan to Mr Markle where she discussed their estrangement.
Father and daughter were likely to be called to the witness stand if the case gets to court.
Mr Markle said he was now doing interviews to try to get Meghan to talk to him, as other avenues have failed.
“For me there is no other way to reach them like I say I pretty much give an interview and wait for 30 days for some kind of answer back, if I don’t get one back then I’ll try another interview that’s about the only shot I have,” he said.
“I can’t get through to the royals, I mean I can send a letter but I’m not sure it will get to them.”
He also revealed he tried to reach Meghan through her mother, his ex-wife Doria Ragland.
“I’ve spoken and sent letters to Doria [the mother of the Duchess of Sussex] to get to Meghan as well – and that hasn’t happened. So no, I’m at their mercy,” he said.
“If they wanted to get in touch with me that wouldn’t be a problem, I’m sure they could easily get in touch with me.”
MEGHAN WON’T GET CITIZENSHIP
Meghan Markle has abandoned her bid to be a British citizen – because she cannot live out of the country for 90 days.
According to The Sun, the Duchess of Sussex is thought to have started the five-year process towards naturalisation soon after her May 2018 wedding.
But a government source says her and Prince Harry’s move to Canada will dash efforts to show a “strong commitment to the UK and an intention to live here”.
The Sussexes have said they will split time between the two countries.
But any absence would be pounced on by immigration officials.
After five years Meghan could get indefinite leave to remain in the UK — allowing her to start her full citizenship bid.
Rules state she must not have left the UK for more than 270 days in the three years before applying for it.
This can be spread over the three years — but must include 90 days in the last year.
Experts say the Home Office can show discretion over an absence.
But Meghan Markle would have to put forward a convincing argument to continue her claim.
Michael Marziano, senior immigration lawyer at Westkin Associates, said: “the US citizen has to be living in the UK with the British partner when the application to extend the partner visa is made.
“They must intend to continue to live together permanently in the UK.
“If there has been any period throughout the first 2½ years where they have not lived together in the UK, government guidance states there must be good reason for this.
“It must be consistent with their continued intention to live in the UK permanently.”
Prince Harry left Britain on Monday to be reunited with Meghan Markle and son Archie in Vancouver.
The couple’s new status away from the formal royal spotlight will begin in the spring.
Prince Philip visited the Queen at Sandringham as she was spotted out for the first time since her cold.
According to The Sun, Sophie Wessex will be stepping up to attend more royal engagements in the wake of the Megxit crisis, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
Royal sources admitted that Prince Harry and wife Meghan’s decision to step down has left the Palace short of family members to represent the Queen.
This week saw the dedicated royal travel to Sierra Leone for a packed two day trip – the first to the continent since Prince Harry and Meghan’s last African tour.
PRINCE WILLIAM GETS A NEW NOD FROM QUEEN
Prince William has received a new title amid the Megxit fracas.
The Queen has appointed the Duke of Cambridge as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on Saturday.
The 37-year-old royal will be the monarch’s representative to the Church of Scotland, and will be required to attend official events and carry out ceremonial duties.
Prior to William being Lord High Commissioner, Richard Scott, Duke of Buccleuch and Queensbury, held the title.
Previous members of the royal family who have held the title include Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and Prince Charles.
GRAVY TRAIN ENDS FOR HARRY AND MEGHAN
Prince Charles will “drastically reduce” the payouts to Prince Harry and Meghan from the Bank of Dad when their commercial careers kick off, royal watchers say.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are striking out on their own, with the help of an annual A$4 million payment each year.
But the Prince of Wales, “an obsessive hard worker”, was likely to cut off the kids if they sign up deals with Netflix through their Hollywood friends including George Clooney and TV connections in Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.
Prince Harry’s decision, which he insists was his own despite many reports blaming wife Meghan Markle, means that he will rarely see his father.
However, there has been bad blood between them for years, often around disputes about how to deal with the media and the relationship with his stepmother, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Richard Fitzwilliams, royal expert and former editor of the International Who’s Who, said Prince Charles was hurt by Prince Harry’s defection.
He said that the relationship would be harder now that he was paying for the couple out of his Duchy of Cornwall funds even though they were not working royals.
“Will Charles put any pressure on them and in what way will that affect their relationship?
I would expect that Charles’ contribution will dramatically reduce. Charles will be feeling very let down,” he said.
“Harry and Meghan, as Harry said in that speech at the charity, were far from happy with the settlement.
“In the past few months it had clearly become toxic, giving it more time would not have made a difference.”
The world has been gripped by Prince Harry and Meghan’s royal saga.
The feud between the brothers, Prince Harry, 35, and Prince William, 38, has grabbed most of the headlines, along with the Queen’s reaction at her grandson’s decision to step back from his birthright.
However, a frost that Elsa from Frozen would have been proud of has swept between Prince Harry and his father Prince Charles, 71, for years.
This month’s events have strained relationships further, but there has been tensions bubbling under the surface.
A key moment, despite the obvious strain of Princess Diana’s death and her replacement with Camilla, 72, who was already in the picture anyway, was a story that Prince Charles’ minder leaked about Prince Harry going to rehab.
Royal biographer Penny Junor said Prince Harry was furious at the headlines that Prince Charles had ordered him to go to rehabilitation after he was caught smoking marijuana in 2002.
“The story said his father was decisive against drugs, he nipped it in the bud, chastised him and sent him to rehab to talk to all the addicts,” she said.
“It was not a true story, Harry had been to a rehab centre but not because Charles had discovered he was using drugs. He had gone to rehab with Mark Dyer.”
Mr Dyer, 53, was baby Archie’s secret godfather and he accompanied Prince Harry to The Ivy in London’s posh Chelsea suburb this week where he poured out his “sadness” at stepping back from the royal family during a speech for his HIV charity Sentebale.
He has been described as a steady hand for Prince Harry in troubled times.
Ms Junor said Prince Harry was angry that Prince Charles became the hero of the story.
A newspaper had more scandalous details on Prince Harry but did not publish them because of a deal with Prince Charles to make a statement about the rehab visit in exchange for dumping the report, she added.
Prince Charles was in Israel this week for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
He also warned that there was only 10 years to save the planet in a landmark speech in Davos, Switzerland, echoing the time frame that Prince William had used recently.
Ms Junor said that Prince Charles was an “obsessive worker”, which cut the time he spent with his children when they were young.
“He was there but he was working day and night, he’s always writing speeches or firing off memos,” she said.
“He’s absolutely obsessive, he works enormously hard, when he’s on tour he never even stops for lunch
“Camilla will stop and have a cup of tea or lunch to reboot the energy.”
Father and son relationships can be tricky at the best of times, but the death of Princess Diana, following her revelations in a TV interview that there were three people in her marriage, made it harder for Prince Harry and Prince Charles.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said Camilla was always a hard sell for Prince Harry.
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“I don’t think Harry was wild about Camilla or ever will be,” she said.
“At the beginning they (Prince William and Harry) were pretty good about it – the feeling was ‘she keeps dad happy but I don’t have to like her.”
Ms Seward added the friction came when he started therapy about three years ago.
Prince Harry has repeatedly spoken of his mother in recent public statements, and there was a sense that he was still struggling to cope with her tragic death in a car accident in 1997 when she was being followed by paparazzi.
Ms Seward said that Prince Charles and Prince Harry would struggle to patch up their relationship after this week’s earthquake exit.
“The problem I can see is the geography. When will he see Harry? That’s the trouble with being there (Canada). It’s not as if the family are doing nothing here. They didn’t see much of each other when they were all living close together.”
Originally published as ‘Embarrassing’: Meghan Markle’s dad slams Canada move