Meghan Markle’s estranged family has released previously unseen footage of her childhood as her father Thomas Snr made a ‘deathbed’ plea to reconcile with his daughter.
In a bid to ‘set the record straight’ and to ‘give their side of the story’, Thomas Markle Snr and Meghan’s half-siblings have banded together for a new documentary where they slammed the Duchess of Sussex and divulged further personal details about her ahead of the Coronation on Saturday.
Speaking to 7NEWS Spotlight, Thomas said Meghan ‘killed me and then mourned me’, before adding: ‘I refuse to be buried by her.’
The family also shared a selection of childhood videos where a young Meghan is seen swinging a baseball bat, jumping in the snow, and fishing by a lake.
Meghan is even seen performing at a school show on stage with the backdrop of a set that her father built.
The Duchess of Sussex appears regal in her youth as she stars in the grainy footage from her school days when she was voted as Homecoming Queen
The Markle family shared a selection of childhood videos where a young Meghan is seen fishing by the lake
Meghan Markle’s estranged family has released previously unseen footage of her childhood. A young Meghan is seen looking on and sitting by a lake
In a bid to reconcile with his daughter after a devastating stroke that has left him severely debilitated, Markle Snr said he is ‘open to any kind of conversation’ to repair his relationship with the Duchess, asking: ‘How can I fix this?’
But he also hit out at his daughter, stating he ‘refused to be buried by her’ as she was the one who cut off the relationship.
In the new home footage, Meghan is seen waving at her peers in a white gown and tiara during her teenage years while at high school.
The Duchess of Sussex, now 41, appears regal in her youth as she stars in the grainy footage from her school days when she was voted as Homecoming Queen by her friends.
Meghan gracefully waves to her peers from the back of a car being driven around a track on a school field. She puts her hand over her mouth as her face appears to express shock at her accolade.
In another clip, Meghan is seen performing in a school production on stage when she is just a young child.
A young Meghan beams as she wears a cowboy hat and a costume while performing with other young girls on stage.
In the interview with 7News Australia’s Spotlight, Markle Snr, who worked as a lighting director in Hollywood, details how he build the stage for the production which his daughter would perform in.
Another clip shows Meghan playing by a lake, as well as swinging a baseball bat in a batting cage.
In the documentary, which aired in Australia on Sunday evening, the three Markles are pictured watching old home videos and smiling. At one point, a beaming Samantha rests her head on her father’s shoulder.
Meghan (left) performs in a school production on stage when she is just a young child. The set was built by her father
A young Meghan is seen dancing with friends in the home footage released by her estranged family
Meghan, as Prom Queen, stands with the Prom King at her high school. They are photographed together in the school track field
Meghan puts her hand over her mouth as her face appears to express shock at her accolade
A young Meghan is seen in the old and grainy family footage running up a hill by a lake
A young Meghan beams as she wears a cowboy hat and a costume while performing with other young girls on stage
A teenage Meghan smiles in the sun as she waves at the home movie camera
Meghan, wearing a baseball jacket, is seen riding a horse in the grainy home footage
Thomas Markle Snr, Meghan’s father, is seen holding two images of his daughter when she was at school
In the programme, Thomas Markle also explains his ‘deathbed’ plea to reunite with his daughter and have a relationship with his two grandchildren.
Explaining the lack of relationship with Meghan, Markle Snr said: ‘It’s a huge disappointment and it’s sad every day.
Markle explained how he would love nothing more than to see his grandchildren. ‘They’re going to have my nose, they’re going to have my eyes,’ he said.
But despite Markle being accused of damaging the relationship with his daughter himself when he was accused of posing for the paparazzi prior to the royal wedding, and releasing a private letter, he said he was distraught his daughter had cut ties with him.
Asked what he would say to Meghan if she was here now, Markle said he would say: ‘Let’s go somewhere and talk. And I’d say ‘what’s wrong? How can I fix this?’.’
He recounted the distress of losing a daughter that he said he was once so close to.
‘Her childhood was with me. Every time we had a chance to go somewhere and do something, we would,’ he said.
In the documentary, the three Markles are pictured watching old home videos and smiling. At one point, a beaming Samantha rests her head on her father’s shoulder
Samantha also hit out at her half-sister, rebuffing Meghan’s claims that she was an ‘only child’ in a previous Oprah interview
Thomas Markle Snr hit out at Meghan as he stated he ‘refused to be buried by her’ as she was the one that damaged the relationship
Samantha was seen crying as she as reunited with her father who had flow from Mexico to Florida to see her
‘We were very close all our lives. From the sixth grade on she lived with me. And I got her through high school, I got her through college.
‘I wish that we could sit down and talk. I wish that we could work out our differences.
‘Meghan – she loved me. I’m her hero. And suddenly I was thrown out.
He added: ‘She shot me and now she misses me.
‘Is it worth dumping me for the rest of my life? Denying my grandchildren? Is it worth getting rid of her father?’
He also hit out at her lack of communication following his devastating stroke last year which has left him struggling to speak and needing the aid of a walking stick.
‘If she doesn’t turn up for a stroke – if that doesn’t move her – what would?,’ he pleads.
Maghan’s fraught relationships with father Thomas Markle, 78, and half-sister Samantha, 58, has been tabloid fodder ever since she entered the royal family, marrying Prince Harry in 2018.
The Duchess’ step-sister and brother both also joined forces for the documentary in which they appeared to pore over their grievances with their step-sister.
Thomas Markle Jr, her step-brother, accused Meghan of neglecting her father.
‘She has got to ask herself everyday. Why am I doing this to my father,’ he said.
‘I feel sorry for him {Markle Snr) and I don’t think he should be deprived of his daughter.
‘If it wasn’t for his hard work and his love for her, she wouldn’t be where she’s at right now.’
‘Some day Meghan’s going to realise that she’s mising out on a really good tightknit family. I mean we’re al still together all the time no matter what, and you can’t put a price on that.
In a bid to ‘set the record straight’ and to ‘give their side of the story’, Thomas Markle Snr and Meghan’s half-siblings have banded together for a new documentary
Thomas Markle Jr was seen barbecuing as he filmed the documentary programme for Seven
Thomas Markle also hit out at his daughter, stating he ‘refused to be buried by her’ as she was the one who cut off the relationship
The Markles were pictured at Samantha’s home in Florida as they spoke in an exclusive interview
Samantha Markle just weeks ago lost a defamation lawsuit against her step-sister after a judge dismissed Samantha’s claims that Meghan made ‘demonstrably false and malicious statements’ about her
‘Dad didn’t do anything, and she just woke up one day in a new world and decided that she doesn’t have a family.
‘I believe she had a clear motive for writing family off because it would seemingly justify all of the lies that she told the royal family.
Samantha also hit out at her half-sister, rebuffing Meghan’s claims that she was an ‘only child’ in a previous Oprah interview, and stating her half-sister had ‘iced’ her father out.
‘I call he my sister, my little sister,’ Samantha Markle said. ‘She was my little sis.’
Samantha – who just weeks ago lost a defamation lawsuit against her step-sister after a judge dismissed Samantha’s claims that Meghan made ‘demonstrably false and malicious statements’ about her – also attacked her Meghan’s intentions when she met Harry.
”Daddy, I met a prince’, was for me the most sad,’ Samantha said when detailing what she claimed Meghan said when she came home after meeting Harry.
‘Not ‘daddy, I met a great man and he’s really interesting and I want to get to know him more. It’s ‘I met a prince’,’ she added with disdain.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, June 3, 2022
Harry and Meghan are pictured in the Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace following the announcement of their engagement on November 27, 2017
The Duchess of Sussex talks with Prince Charles at the Westminster Abbey Commonwealth day service on March 11, 2019
She also said of her sister: ‘It doesn’t seem like she felt that she was good enough.
‘Seemingly in her mind, she had to inflate who she was to garner false admiration and to be accepted by the royals.
‘Instead of saying look I’ve worked very hard, my family was upper middle class, he [her dad] put her through the best schools, he did the best he could, he loved me, he sacrificed, and for that I’m grateful.
‘Instead, what she did, was engage in self-glorification and leave everyone else out of the equation as if she existed in a vacuum. In my opinion she would still be a waitress if it wasn’t for dad.’