Meghan Markle's father Thomas accuses daughter of 'cheapening' royal family: 'This is not the girl I raised'
Meghan Marke has been accused of "cheapening" the royal family and "turning it into a Walmart with a crown on" by her own father Thomas Markle. In a TV documentary, the estranged father, 75, said Meghan and Prince Harry's conduct had been embarrassing and that they were "turning into lost souls."
Thomas's comments surfaced after the bombshell news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would no longer be using their HRH titles or receiving public funds for royal duties, Mirror reports.
"When they got married they took on an obligation, and the obligation is to be part of the Royals and to represent the Royals," Thomas told Channel 5. "And it would be foolish for them not to. This is one of the greatest long-living institutions ever."
"They are destroying it, they are cheapening it, making it shabby. They are turning it into a Walmart with a crown on it, they shouldn’t be doing this," he added. "This is not the girl I raised," he said.
'Thomas Markle: My Story' is a 90-minute documentary that sheds light on the "complicated" relationship he has with Meghan as well as their fallout prior to the royal wedding in May 2018. "With Meghan and Harry separating from the Royals...it's disappointing because she actually got every girl's dream," he opined. "Every young girl wants to become a princess and she got that and now she's tossing that away...it looks like she's tossing that away for money."
Thomas said he was embarrassed that they used public funding to renovate their home at Frogmore cottage even though Meghan and Harry have now agreed to repay the cost of refurbishment. "Apparently $3 million and a 26-room home isn’t enough for them… it is kind of embarrassing to me," he added.
Thomas's relationship with his daughter and his son-in-law is next to non-existent. The couple has not spoken to him since their wedding and even he couldn't make it to their big day because of heart surgery. Their relationship soon became the talk of the town and now it is being considered beyond repair. Even he doesn't think his daughter or Prince Harry will reach out to him after their move to become independent of the monarchy.
Coming to the royal exit, the couple recently declared they would relinquish their public funding as they seek to become financially independent. Experts suspect it will help them strike commercial deals as part of their Sussex Royal brand. Some experts predict the brand could be worth at least £400 million ($5.2 billion).