Meghan Markle has faced some intense backlash for announcing that she and husband Prince Harry are stepping back from their royal duties – her dad chief among the critics. Now, Thomas Markle is speaking out in a documentary about his relationship with his daughter, and in it, he accuses her of cheapening the royal family.
According to Page Six , the 75-year-old says that he is embarrassed by Harry and Meghan, and believes that they are ruining the monarchy.
“This is like one of the greatest long-living institutions ever,” he said. “They are destroying it, they are cheapening it, they’re making it shabby.”
He said that he feels his daughter signed up for something when she married into the family, but now she is trying to change the contract.
“They are turning it into a Walmart with a crown on it now. It is something that is ridiculous, they shouldn’t be doing this,” he added.
The documentary is slated to start airing in the next few weeks, and in it, Markle talks about his side of the story in the drawn-out battle that has pitted daughter against father. Markle says he believes that his daughter had the chance to live the dream, but she is taking everything for granted in order to chase her career.
“Every young girl wants to become a princess and she got that and now she’s tossing that away,” he said. “It looks like she’s tossing that away for money.”
As Harry and Meghan announced, they plan to step back from their royal duties and focus on their charities and becoming financially independent. They also revealed that they will be spending time in both North America and the U.K. Markle attacked the couple for wanting to have more than one home.
“Apparently, $3 million on a 26-bedroom home isn’t enough for them. It’s kind of embarrassing to me,” he said of Frogmore cottage.
The cottage, which has 10 bedrooms, was recently renovated by the couple to be their home base in the U.K. As part of the deal with the Queen, the couple will be forced to pay back taxpayers for the renovations.
Markle concluded that the couple seems to be lost and not sure what they want in life.
Meghan and her father have been on the outs for years. He failed to attend her wedding in 2018, citing heart problems. He was also caught trying to sell staged paparazzi photos.