Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, has unleashed a startling new claim about his granddaughter Princess Lilibet — a story that could reshape how the public views the Sussexes’ family rift. In a fresh interview with New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, Thomas said he feels “very sad” that Lilibet and her brother Archie are being “denied” a royal lifestyle and the chance to know their cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
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The most shocking element: Thomas revealed he has never met either of his grandchildren. He said he learned of Lilibet’s birth in 2021 not through an official message from Meghan or Buckingham Palace, but casually on the radio — a detail that underscores the depth of the estrangement between father and daughter. Despite living in Rosarito, Mexico, just about 400 kilometers from Harry and Meghan’s California home, Thomas has never met Prince Harry, his son-in-law, and has had no contact with Archie or Lilibet.
Thomas also expressed a surprising desire to reconnect not only with Meghan but with King Charles. He told reporters that he and the King “would be on the same page” about missing their grandchildren and that he wants to talk with Charles about how both of them miss Archie and Lilibet. Friends and royal watchers say this is the first time Thomas has openly suggested a potential alliance with the monarch, a move that could dramatically alter the family dynamics if it ever materializes.
Critics, however, suspect Thomas is grasping for straws. Some commentators describe his latest remarks as an attempt to court media attention and pressure Meghan from the outside, arguing that his past behavior — including staging paparazzi photos before Meghan’s 2018 wedding — damaged any trust between them. Still, Thomas insists his motivation is purely about the children: “It’s inevitable they will wonder why their parents cut them off from both sides of the family,” he said, adding that he believes Archie and Lilibet deserve the right to attend events like Trooping the Colour and to know their royal cousins.
The story has reignited debate over whether Harry and Meghan are protecting their children or isolating them from their royal heritage. Whether Thomas’s claims lead to real change or remain another tabloid explosion, his shocking Lilibet story has already shifted the narrative around the Sussex family rift.