Thomas Markle thinks his daughter Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, have been disrespecting Queen Elizabeth II, Harry’s grandmother, and the British people as a whole.
The retired lighting designer, 75, gave his take on the royal drama in an interview with TMZ on Monday, February 24, when asked about the news that the couple will no longer be able to use the “Sussex Royal” trademark.
“I’m very upset with Meghan and Harry right now,” Thomas said. “I don’t think they have a right to use the word ‘royal.’ I don’t think they have a right to speak to the queen the way they’re talking to her. I think it’s an insult to the queen and to the British people.”
Thomas also spoke out about his estrangement from Meghan, claiming that she has cut herself off from not just his side of the family but also his ex Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother.
“My daughter dumped me one day before she got married,” he said, referring to the drama surrounding the couple’s May 2018 nuptials. “She dumped my family, she’s dumped Doria’s family, she’s dumped every family, and now she’s dumping the British family.”
Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, announced last month their plans to “step back” from their roles as senior members of the British royal family and split their time between the United Kingdom and North America as they continue raising their son, 9-month-old Archie, and focus on their charitable efforts.
In a press release posted on Friday, February 21, Buckingham Palace asserted that the duo’s forthcoming nonprofit organization “will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation” and that Harry and Meghan “do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ in any territory post spring 2020.”
That same day, the couple responded to the news with a statement on their website. “The trademark applications that had been filed as protective measures and that reflected the same standard trademarking requests as done for The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been removed,” the statement read. “While there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word ‘Royal’ overseas, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘Royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.”
Thomas previously criticized Harry and Meghan in a January 27 interview with Good Morning Britain. “What they have decided to do is, to me, embarrassing,” he said. “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’s had a similar kind of life. … I think they have hurt the queen. I think they have hurt the royals, and it just doesn’t work to be going to another country to be serving England. It’s never going to work.”
