Meghan Markle’s Father Fears He May “Never Meet” Archie and Lilibet as Sussexes Prepare for UK Return
As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle prepare for a reported return to Britain with their two children, one deeply personal family issue has resurfaced thousands of miles away.
Thomas Markle, Meghan’s estranged father, says he learned about the Sussexes’ plans at the same time as everyone else — through the news. Now, with Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, reportedly preparing to begin school in Britain, Thomas has spoken of his fear that he may never get the opportunity to meet his grandchildren.
The comments add another complicated family dimension to Harry and Meghan’s anticipated return after six years living primarily in the United States.
Thomas Markle says he feels “hurt and upset”
According to the original report, Harry and Meghan are expected to return to Britain before the end of August with Archie and Lilibet.
The move is not expected to change their royal status. They will remain private individuals and non-working members of the Royal Family while continuing their commercial and charitable activities.
For Thomas, however, the news has brought the long-running estrangement with his daughter sharply back into focus.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, he said he had seen reports about the family’s move on CNN and had received no advance word from Meghan.
“I found out about it at the same time as the rest of the world,” he said.
Thomas added that he felt “hurt and upset,” particularly because the news emerged while he was dealing with serious health problems.
His account has not been independently confirmed by Meghan, and her representatives have previously disputed aspects of his claims about communication between them.
He has never met Archie or Lilibet
The most painful part of the situation for Thomas, according to his comments, is his lack of a relationship with his grandchildren.
He has never met Archie or Lilibet. He has also never met Prince Harry in person.
Thomas said Meghan had once been extremely close to him, describing her as a “daddy’s girl,” before their relationship deteriorated.
Now, with Archie and Lilibet leaving the United States for Britain, he fears another opportunity to establish a relationship with them could be slipping away.
“I have never met my grandchildren, and now they are leaving America,” he said.
Thomas also reflected on the possibility that Archie and Lilibet may eventually begin asking questions about their maternal grandfather.
He said he hoped they would someday understand how much he had wanted to meet them.
The father and daughter have been estranged since 2018
Meghan’s relationship with her father deteriorated dramatically around the time of her wedding to Harry in May 2018.
Thomas ultimately did not attend the ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, where King Charles — then the Prince of Wales — accompanied Meghan for part of her walk down the aisle.
The breakdown in their relationship subsequently became highly public, with Thomas repeatedly discussing Meghan in interviews.
Meghan, meanwhile, has previously spoken about the painful deterioration of their relationship and the intense media attention surrounding her father before her wedding.
The estrangement has continued throughout the years in which Harry and Meghan established their family in North America.
Archie was born in May 2019, while Lilibet arrived in June 2021.
Thomas has never met either child.
His recent health crisis briefly raised hopes of contact
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The latest comments follow a serious health crisis for Thomas earlier this year.
After falling ill at his home in the Philippines, he underwent a three-hour operation in which his left leg was amputated.
At the time, Meghan’s spokesperson said the Duchess had attempted to contact her father and had sent him a letter.
Thomas later said he was confused by reports that Meghan had reached out.
Her spokesperson subsequently issued a statement explaining that privately contacting Thomas had proved “exceedingly difficult” despite Meghan’s efforts.
The statement said that, with assistance from trusted contacts, Meghan’s correspondence had eventually been safely delivered to him.
The episode briefly placed the possibility of renewed contact between father and daughter back into the public conversation, but there has been no confirmation that their relationship has since been repaired.
Britain will bring the Sussex children closer to one family — but farther from another
The timing of Thomas’s comments is particularly striking because Harry and Meghan’s return could potentially bring Archie and Lilibet into much closer proximity to their paternal relatives.
The children are reportedly expected to attend school in Britain beginning in September.
That could create opportunities for them to spend more time near King Charles and other members of Harry’s extended family.
Yet geographically, the move takes them farther away from their maternal grandfather.
For Thomas, that contrast appears especially painful.
His comments also highlight how complicated the Sussexes’ return may become on a personal level.
Much of the attention has centred on Harry’s unresolved relationships with King Charles and Prince William. But Meghan’s own fractured family relationships remain another unresolved part of the couple’s story.
No indication of an imminent reconciliation
Despite Thomas’s latest appeal, there is currently no public indication that Meghan plans to meet her father or introduce him to Archie and Lilibet.
Meghan has also not publicly responded to his latest comments.
Her representative was contacted for comment by the original publication.
That distinction matters. Thomas has publicly expressed his feelings and fears, but his version represents one side of a long-running and highly complicated family estrangement.
What happens privately once the Sussexes return to Britain remains unknown.
For now, Thomas’s words reveal the personal cost he says he continues to feel eight years after his relationship with Meghan fractured.
Harry and Meghan may be preparing for a major new chapter in Britain, and Archie and Lilibet may soon begin an entirely different life there.
But for their maternal grandfather, one painful question remains unresolved: whether he will ever get the chance to meet them at all.
