Thomas Markle, 77, claims that young Archie and Lilibet are being deprived of seeing their grandparents by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
In an interview with Australian TV from his home in Mexico, Thomas revealed that he is yet to meet Archie, 2, and three-month-old Lilibet.
The 77-year-old accused Meghan and Harry of being ‘terribly unfair’ to their children by keeping them away from their relatives, including himself, their grandfather Prince Charles and great-grandmother, the Queen.
He also accused his daughter of having an ‘attitude’ for not allowing him to see his grandchildren.
Thomas said that the only family member who regularly sees the children was Meghan’s mother, and his ex-wife, Doria Ragland.
He added that he will not use legal action in order to see his grandchildren, explaining that he did not want them to be ‘used like pawns’.
“I think they (Archie and Lilibet) are being deprived of seeing all their grandparents and I think they are being deprived of seeing all their relatives and I think that’s terribly unfair to them,” Thomas told Channel 7’s Sunrise.
“I’ve had offers from several lawyers – pro-bono – because we do have the right to sue to see our grandchildren,” Thomas added.
“But to me, that’s like trying to descend into a game and using them as pawns and I won’t sue to see them because I just think that’s using them and it’s not what I plan to do.”
“They shouldn’t be used, they are just babies,” he said. “So no, I will wait.”
“I will wait patiently until they are ready to bring them to me,” he continued. ” But as long as my daughter has the attitude she doesn’t want me to see them, that’s the way it’s going to be.”
Thomas also urged Harry and Meghan, who has been living in California since they stepped down from their Royal duties, to return to the UK.
“I would like them, all four of them, to go back to England and fulfill their duties,” he said. “It’s better for the children and it’s better for them.”
“By not taking back they are cheating their children,” Thomas said. “They also get much better protection in England than in Montecito.”
“I would like to see them maybe makeup with the Queen and makeup with his (Harry’s) father, and then we can make up,” he added.
Thomas’ remarks were made as part of a 15-minute long interview with the Channel 7 breakfast show.
He also described his Meghan as ‘controlling’.
“My daughter is very controlling,” he said.
Thomas also took a swipe at Prince Harry during his latest TV appearance, saying that he was yet to meet his son-in-law and that the Prince did not contact him to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage prior to their 2018 wedding – for which he was not present.
He also accused Harry of ‘failing as a husband’ over his handling of Meghan’s mental health claims.
“I think Harry was a total failure as a husband because if a wife or child of mine came to me and say I have psychological problems and was thinking about suicide I would get them directly to a doctor,” Thomas said. “I wouldn’t have to go and check with someone first.”
“It really did upset me, as I said, it would have been easy for her to reach out to me, any of the rest of her family, who she claims she doesn’t know,” Thomas told Good Morning Britain earlier this year. “But the other thing is that I would think that she could turn to her husband.”