Meghan won’t return my calls and I think she is terrified of new royal life, claims her dad
THE Duchess of Sussex’s father has claimed his daughter is refusing to take his calls as he raised concerns about the pressure of royal life.
Thomas Markle said he is worried Meghan is “struggling to cope” with the burdens of royalty.
He said she is hiding the pressure of her new life behind a “pained” smile as she adjusts to being wife of the sixth-in-line to the throne.
He revealed she has not been in touch since a phone call after the royal wedding while he was recovering from the heart operation that caused him to miss her big day.
He said he wished both Meghan and Harry a happy honeymoon and “that was the last call”.
He told the Sun on Sunday: “My thing about my daughter right now is that I think she is terrified.
“I see it in her eyes, I see it in her face and I see it in her smile. I’ve seen her smile for years. I know her smile. I don’t like the one I’m seeing now.
“This one isn’t even a stage smile — this is a pained smile.
“That might be just having a couple of bad days. I don’t know.
It really worries me. I think she’s under too much pressure.
“There’s a high price to pay to be married to that family.”
He said he believed the royals were freezing him out over his staged paparazzi pictures.
In early May Mr Markle made headlines around the world when it emerged he had colluded with a photographer to sell staged shots of his wedding preparations.
He added: “I think Meghan is in deeper than I am.
“I’m not blaming Harry or anyone but they are following rules that don’t make sense to me.”
He added: “The reason I am being shunned is because I made a profit on the staged pictures.”
He said that her expression recently had worried him, and he thought she was under “too much pressure”.
He continued to say that he could “die soon” and that he was reaching out so that he can “clear the air” and tell his daughter how proud he was of her — but claimed she no longer answers her phone to him, and staff at Kensington Palace will not return his texts.
Mr Markle said: “I had a heart attack, doesn’t anybody care? I could actually die soon. Does she want this to be the last thing we’ve said to each other?”
Speaking from his seaside home in Rosarito in Mexico, the retired lighting director, who is 73, said it was probably the longest time he has gone without speaking to his daughter.
He also offered an apology, saying: “If I had one message for her it would be that I’m sorry for anything that went wrong.
“I’d like to put our differences behind us and get together. I miss you very much.”
In what he said will be his last interview he added: “These are things I need to say. Most important is I want to heal any problem with my daughter.
“I don’t care whether that is at the expense of the royal family.
“I would like to make this my last interview.
“Please read it for what it is, don’t pick it apart in small sentences.
“All I am doing is setting the record straight and reaching out to my daughter.”