Meghan Markle’s estranged father issued a statement following the announcement that the Duchess of Sussex had given birth to a bouncing baby boy, The Sun reports.
In a statement to the British newspaper, Markle, 74, hit all the right notes in wishing his daughter and new grandson well.
“I’m delighted to hear that mother and child are doing well. I am proud that my new grandson is born into the British royal family and I am sure that he will grow up to serve the crown and the people of Britain with grace, dignity, and honor. God bless the child and I wish him health and happiness, and my congratulations to my lovely daughter Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry, and God save the Queen.”
It’s a rare public statement from the man who, for the past few weeks anyway, has been keeping a “low profile” following months of being a thorn in his daughter’s side.
Way back in May 2018, as the world was gearing up for the royal wedding of Meghan and Prince Harry, it became apparent that Thomas was going to be an issue for Meghan, Harry, and the rest of the royal family. After news broke that Thomas was staging paparazzi photos, he suddenly got sick and was unable to attend Meghan’s wedding.
Thomas Markle sends his ‘congratulations’ to his ‘lovely daughter Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry’ following birth of son https://t.co/UbMnraC1ak pic.twitter.com/CwslsTbfyT
— Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) May 6, 2019
Since then, Meghan’s relationship with her father, and indeed his entire side of her family, has been strained, to put it mildly.
As a royal, it wouldn’t do for the duchess to make direct statements about her relationship with her father, so she’s mostly kept quiet about the supposed estrangement. But tabloids have reported extensively about the relationship, to the point of even reporting that Thomas has been reportedly begging for a reconciliation with his daughter. He even showed up, uninvited and unannounced, with his daughter Samantha, at Kensington Palace in order to try to get a face-to-face meeting with his estranged daughter. He was unsuccessful, as Vanity Fair reported at the time.
Supposedly, the last time Thomas was able to talk to anyone in the royal family before Meghan gave birth was when he reportedly hung up on Prince Harry, as Cosmopolitan reports.
In case you were wondering, Baby Sussex is Thomas’ sixth grandchild. Thomas’ oldest daughter, Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Grant (who now goes by “Samantha Markle”), has three children, all grown adults. Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., has two children from his marriage to Tracey Dooley, also both adults.
