Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle wants to take her and Prince Harry to court to over grandchildren

The Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father has threatened legal action against her - the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for their relationship.

Meghan Markle’s estranged father Thomas Markle has claimed he wants to take her and Prince Harry to court to gain access to his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet.

“I will be petitioning the California courts for the rights to see my grandchildren in the very near future,” Mr Markle told Fox News.

Speaking from his home in Rosarito, Mexico, Mr Markle added that he hoped the Queen and other members of the royal family would not “punish” his grandchildren for Prince Harry and Meghan’s “behaviour”, a report in the New York Post stated.

“Archie and Lili are small children,” he said. “They’re not politics. They’re not pawns. They’re not part of the game,” he said. “And they’re also royal and entitled to the same rights as any other royal.”

Meghan Markle’s father is again speaking out in the media. Picture: AFP

Thomas Markle said Archie and Lilibet should “not be punished” for the “bad behaviour” of their parents. Picture: 60 Minutes/Nine Network

But Mr Markle didn’t stop there, saying he wants his granddaughter Lilibet to be baptised.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to ask Her Majesty the Queen, the British family, the royal family, to allow Lily to receive her baptism and first christening at the Queen’s church,” he said, referring to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

A royal expert said “furious” Meghan and Prince Harry “will respond aggressively” after Mr Markle’s legal threat, The Sun reports.

Mr Markle’s vow to force his estranged daughter and son-in-law to let him meet his grandchildren could be the “final nail in the coffin” for their relationship, it was also claimed.

However, relationship expert Tina Wilson told The Sun Online: “The Sussexes are likely to respond aggressively with legal paperwork back, if and when Mr Markle files his officially with the court of California”.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have publicly distanced themselves from Meghan’s family. Picture: AFP

Meghan Markle with her parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland. Picture: Thomas Markle: My Story

“I am sure Meghan is furious with her dad’s latest interview and comments.

“And they won’t appreciate him sticking his nose in and asking the Queen to accept Lily into the church through the media.”

“Bringing the grandchildren into the public eye is stepping on sensitive ground although not seeing his grandchildren must hurt an awful lot,” Wilson said.

“One thing that father and daughter have in common is that neither are good at letting the dust settle, so likely this isn’t the last drama we’ve heard from them.

“I fear for their relationship; this may well be the final nail in the coffin for any form of reconciliation.”

California-born Meghan recently opened up about her strained relationship with her father, saying that she could never “reconcile” with him for staging photos for the media and leaking a personal letter from her to the tabloids ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.

Markle then backed out of attending their wedding after the embarrassing debacle.

Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding was marred by drama with her family, played out in the press. Picture: AFP

“I look at Archie, I think about this child, and I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child,” Meghan — pregnant with Lilibet at the time — told Oprah Winfrey in March. “I can’t imagine it, so it’s hard for me to reconcile that.”

Mr Markle also slammed Prince Harry’s announcement earlier this week that he will be releasing a memoir in 2022.

The book – with a reported $US20 million ($A27 million) advance – will, according to Prince Harry, cover the “highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned” of his life as well as last year’s Megxit crisis.

But Mr Markle suggested that “after three sessions with the psychiatrists and Oprah Winfrey”, Prince Harry would not “have too much more to tell”.

Last month Mr Markle launched an attack on his daughter and Prince Harry, calling them “cold” for refusing to see him.

“Of course it hurts, there are axe murderers in prison and their family comes to see them,” he said in an interview with 60 Minutes.

“I’m not an axe murder. I made one dumb mistake and I’ve been punished for it. This show they’ve been on, they talk about compassion, there’s no compassion for me, no compassion for my family, and no compassion for the world.

“If I had done something terribly wrong, that would be fine, but I haven’t.

“I’ll be very disappointed that I don’t get to hold my granddaughter,” he said.

Meanwhile, Meghan is close with her mother, 64-year-old Doria Ragland, and told Winfrey, “You’ve never heard her say a word. She remained in silent dignity for four years watching me go through this.”

Meghan and Prince Harry, who both officially resigned from the royal family in February after stepping back last year, welcomed Archie in May 2019 and Lilibet this June.

The former actress said in her interview with Winfrey that her son was a topic of conversation for the royals as the family had allegedly voiced concerns over his skin colour. She additionally discussed her mental health struggles and said she experienced suicidal thoughts.

– with the New York Post

Originally published as Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle wants to take her and Prince Harry to court to over grandchildren