The Duchess of Sussex's father also claimed that he lied to Harry when the prince asked if he had staged his photos.
Meghan Markle's dad, Thomas Markle, is sharing new details about past conversations with his daughter and Prince Harry.
In a new interview with The Mail on Sunday, published on Saturday, the Duchess of Sussex's 74-year-old father claims that he lied and "hung up" on Meghan's now-husband after a phone call about his photo scandal. Prior to his daughter's royal wedding, it was revealed that the retired TV lighting director had worked with paparazzi to arrange photos of himself.
"Harry told me that I should never go to the press. That it would end in tears. He said, 'They will eat you alive,'" Thomas says in the new interview about one of his first conversations with the 33-year-old Duke of Sussex, admitting, "He was right."
Harry reportedly called Thomas to ask if the reports of him staging photos were true, to which Thomas claims that he lied to the Prince, telling him that he "was being measured for a hoodie."
After the news broke, Thomas says that the couple called him again while he was recovering from a heart attack and that Harry reportedly told him, "If you had listened to me this would never have happened."
Thomas then claims he replied, "Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead… then you could pretend to be sad," and hung up on Harry.
Meghan's father, however, admits that the Prince was "absolutely right" to criticize him, but he expresses that it was Meghan not letting him make a speech at her wedding "that hurt" him. Thomas ultimately did not attend the royal wedding after suffering from a heart attack.
"I’m not mad at Harry. I’m not mad at Meghan. I love them. I wish them well," he said. "But as for the rest of it, f**k it. I’m done."
Thomas' retelling of the phone conversation he had with the couple after his photo scandal was much different than the one he told Good Morning Britain in June. During his first TV interview, Thomas said he apologized to both Harry and Meghan for his actions.
“Actually, it wasn’t [a difficult conversation]. They were very forgiving,” he revealed during the paid interview. Later that month, Thomas told TMZ that he hadn't spoken to his daughter or any members of the royal family since the Good Morning Britain interview.
Meanwhile, a source told ET last week that Meghan remains upset that her father continues giving interviews to the press.
"She has not spoken to her father in more than 10 weeks since her wedding and is still hurt by her father, who has both staged the photos and continues to give paid interviews," the source shared. "The Palace is at a loss of what to do and is re-evaluating options, including a more aggressive strategy to stem the embarrassment caused by Meghan's dad, half-sister and half-brother."
For more on Meghan and Thomas' relationship, watch below.
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