Oprah Winfrey played 'weak' Prince Harry and Meghan: Thomas Markle
Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, recently congratulated his daughter on the birth of Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor and said he was "very pleased" to have a granddaughter. And while he seems to be trying to mend fences with his daughter, he is still making controversial statements. Thomas has accused Oprah Winfrey of "taking advantage" of a "weakened" Prince Harry and using him to build her own network.
Earlier this year, Winfrey interviewed the Sussexes and the tell-all exchange caused nothing short of a political earthquake in the UK. Meghan, in the interview, spoke about suicidal tendencies and alleged that the royal family had racist members.
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During an interview with an Australian network, 76-year-old Thomas said that while Winfrey might sue him, he believes that she has been "playing" his daughter Meghan. He alleged that Winfrey tricked Harry into revealing things on TV that he shouldn't have said. "I have things to say. Oprah Winfrey, for one, I think is playing Harry and Meghan," he claimed.
"I think she is using them to build her network and build her new shows and I think she’s taken advantage of a very weakened man and has got him to say things that you just shouldn’t be saying on television,” he said. “She will disagree of course, and she may even sue me, I don’t care. But the bottom line is she is working Harry."
Thomas said that he was "disappointed" to have found out about his new baby granddaughter Lilibet's birth after Meghan and Harry put out their public statement. “I found out (Lilbet’s birth) after the face and I have to deal with that and that’s okay,” he said. “There’s always disappointment here. Lili is perfect and the other thing that makes me happy is that there is a lot more Markle blood in the royal family."
"All I can say is that I hope eventually I get to see these grandchildren of mine. I’m a pretty good grandpa,” he said. "August 4, 40 years ago, Megan was born by c-section and I was the first one to hold her in my arms. I fell in love with her and I’ve been that way ever since. I will be very disappointed if I don’t get to hold my granddaughter."
Asked if his separation from Meghan, Harry, and their two children bothered him, Thomas said, “Of course it hurts, there are ax murderers in prison and their family comes to see them. I’m not an ax 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.”
Thomas Markle has reportedly not spoken to Meghan since they had a highly publicized falling out before her wedding to Harry in May 2018. Photos of Thomas preparing for her nuptials became public. Soon after, tabloids alleged that the photos were staged and the photos allegedly sold for $1,41,656 (£100,000).
In an unexpected move, Thomas admitted to faking the pictures and also said that Harry had called him at the time about them. He later admitted, however, that he lied to Harry about staging the photos. He said: "Harry told me that I should never go to the press. That it would end in tears. He said, ‘They will eat you alive.’ He was right.”