TEARS OF ENVY
THOMAS Markle has admitted he was "jealous" of Prince Charles walking his daughter Meghan down the aisle and said he "cried a little" while watching the Royal wedding on TV in Mexico.
Former Hollywood lighting director Thomas has been estranged from Meghan since she wed to Prince Harry in 2018 - and he said he does not expect that to change.
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In a tell-all Channel 5 documentary - Thomas Markle: My Story - the 75-year-old said he watched Meg's big day at a safe house while hiding from photographers as he recovered from a heart attack.
He said: "My daughter looked beautiful. I wish that I could have been there with her. I was certainly appreciative Charles was there."
Thomas added: "I admit I cried a bit about that. To this day I can't forget that moment, she was beautiful. It was a nice wedding."
In the bombshell interview, filmed over a number of days at his home in Rosarito, Mexico, the American blasted his daughter and Harry for not supporting him.
He said: "To them I don’t exist.
"Harry is part of my family - we should be talking.
"Meghan was my most important relationship and my pride and joy.
To them I don't exist
Thomas on Meghan and Harry
"I miss Meghan. I miss who she was. I don’t know she is now. That’s the problem."
When asked about taking money for interviews, the furious father-of-three blasted the royals' treatment of him, saying: "The royals owe me. Harry owes me. Meghan owes me.
"What I've been through, I should be rewarded for.
"I’m in my senior years now. It’s time to look after daddy.”
In the doc, Thomas reveals never-before-seen home movie footage featuring Meghan from the ages of 11 and 16.
The video clips were filmed during a period when the Duchess of Sussex lived with her father - a period Thomas calls "my happiest years."
During footage of the Suits actress performing in a school play, Thomas says: "I knew from the day she was born that she was going to be doing that. It didn’t become a surprise or a shock to me."
The 75-year-old claims he took an active role in his daughter's pursuit of acting, helping create better lighting for the plays.
I miss Meghan. I miss who she was. I don’t know who she is now. That’s the problem.
Thomas Markle
Speaking about his influence on his Meg during these years, he said: "I gave her a sense of pride. I gave her a sense of duty and work."
He slammed her "picky" claims that she supported him while insisting that he is "comfortable" living off a $5,600-per-month retirement fund in Mexico.
Thomas does admit that Meghan, who he says became a multi-millionaire while working on Suits earning $40,000 per episode, once gave him $5,000 as a Christmas present.
He continues: "I've only ever asked her for a couple of grand.
"(before she was successful) I paid for her college. I paid for her credit cards. I paid for her apartments..."
The twice-married retiree also criticised the couple for not supporting him in the run-up to their high profile wedding
He said: "Meghan and Harry said ‘we’ll protect you from this’.
"But their protection was to tell me ‘don’t talk to anyone’.
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The royal family never sent anyone here to give me advice. They never sent anyone for me
Thomas Markle
"The royal family never sent anyone here to give me advice. They never sent anyone for me.
"No one gave me any attention. Not that I need the attention but I might need the help."
The 75-year-old spoke about the infamous paparazzi which he posed for and sold worldwide.
He claims he was approached by a man claiming to be a PR expert who pitched the scheme to improve Thomas’ image.
Meg's dad said he had a feeling that the pictures would be "hokey" but the man assured him he knew what he was doing.
He said: “He told me ‘they are going to love it and they are going to love you.'
“I didn’t do it for money. I did it to change my image.”
He admits he is still making money off the images, adding: “The reality is that those images will sell forever.”
Thomas confessed that he lied to Harry on the phone about posing for the pictures. “I’m not proud of that, but I did," he said.
I hope he has my nose because every time they look at Archie they’ll see me
Thomas on his grandson Archie
And when speaking about his grandson Archie, the 75-year-old hopes the child has his famous "Markle nose."
He said: "I hope he has my nose because every time they look at Archie they’ll see me."
The American-born retiree says the last time he spoke to Harry was on his hospital bed after he suffered a heart attack days before the royal wedding.
He claims he told the prince: “It’s a shame I didn’t die because you both could pretend that you’re sad and then I hung up.
"I haven’t heard from them or spoken to them since.”
Defending his decision not to travel to the wedding, he later added: "If I didn’t treat the heart attack I wouldn’t be here now, according to the doctor."
This comes as Harry was reunited with Meghan and son Archie in Canada after their bombshell decision to step back from royal duties.
On Saturday the Queen confirmed that from the spring they will relinquish their HRH titles as they seek "a more independent life" in North America.
Following that Thomas, 75, accused the couple of cheapening the institution of royalty, saying: "They are turning it into Walmart with a crown on."
He added: "Every young girl wants to become a princess. She got that and now she's tossing it away.
"It looks like she's tossing that away for money."
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He has never met Prince Harry or his grandson, Archie.
He told the broadcaster: "I want everyone to know that I'm not all the trashy things that are being said about me.
"I want Harry and Meghan to see this and know that this is not fair."
Discussing the first time he heard his daughter was dating the sixth in line to the throne, he said: "She calls me on the phone and she said I've got a new boyfriend and I said 'Great' and she says 'He's British'. I said "OK", she said 'He's a prince' I said 'Alright' she said 'He's Prince Harry'.
"I said 'Oh, OK'. I didn't know what it meant. She could have been dating a Hollywood star and it would have been just as important to me, because you know either way they are both 'high numbers'."
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He later found out his daughter was pregnant - when he heard the news on the radio.
Thomas recalled: "I was sitting in my car waiting to cross the border and I heard the good news from the royals is that Meghan is pregnant. Which is almost a joke when you tell people, well you heard it on the radio.
"This is my daughter, talking about my grandchild. She's going to have a grandchild that's mine. I'm not hearing about it on the phone, I'm hearing about it on the radio."
Thomas was then unable to attend his daughter's wedding ceremony due to ill health. Prince Charles agreed to walk his future daughter-in-law down the aisle in his place.
In a direct message to Meghan and Harry, he said: "I apologise to you. I want to apologise to the queen and to the royal family. I want to do that and I was told by them, 'don't'. And I was scheduled to go to the airport and go fly to England because they still wanted me to come to the wedding and be at the wedding.
"And at that time I got a massive heart attack and was then taken to the Sharp hospital, across the border."
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Buckingham Palace confirmed on Saturday that Harry and Meghan would no longer be working members of the royal family.
Responding to that, Thomas accused the couple of "destroying" one of the "greatest long-living institutions ever" and "cheapening it".
He said: "They couldn't have done anything worse to harm the Queen - probably the most loved and respected woman in the world."
He added: "I can't see her reaching out to me, especially now - or Harry for that matter.
"But I think both of them are turning into lost souls at this point. I don't know what they're looking for. I don't think they know what they are looking for."
Shot over six days in his Mexico home, Channel 5 filmed Thomas during October last year.
Thomas Markle: My Story aired last night at 9pm
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