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Duchess Meghan’s Dad Thomas Markle ‘Hung Up’ on Prince Harry During Phone Call About Photo Scandal

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Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Thomas MarkleOli Scarff/PA Images/INSTARimages.com; Mirrorpix / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com

Duchess Meghan‘s father, Thomas Markle, revealed in an interview on Saturday, August 11, that he “hung up” on Prince Harry during an emotional phone call about his staged photo scandal before the couple’s royal wedding.

Related: Meghan Markle’s Family: Everything We Know About the Royal In-Laws

Markle, 74, spoke to the Mail on Sunday about the incident that happened shortly before the couple tied the knot at Windsor Castle in London in May.

The former TV lighting director was embroiled in an embarrassing furor after secretly collaborating with a paparazzo on photos that showed him being fitted for a suit for the couple’s nuptials.

After the pictures made headlines around the world, Harry called Markle to ask if he had cooperated with the photographer. He denied it.

Then, a couple of days later, after the Mail on Sunday exposed the fact that the pictures had been a set-up that netted the photographer more than $125,000 and earned Markle a smaller amount, Harry and Meghan called Markle again.

Meghan’s dad had suffered a heart attack in the meantime and was in the hospital recovering from the health scare.

Markle told the Mail that the prince, who had previously warned his future father-in-law not to go to the press, said, “If you had listened to me this would never have happened.”

Related: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan: A Timeline of Their Relationship

Markle said he replied, “Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead … then you could pretend to be sad.”

Admitting he was “upset” by the phone call and thought the timing was “rude,” Markle added, ‘Then I hung up.”

Looking back now, after having not spoken to his daughter since the day after her wedding, Meghan’s dad says Harry was “absolutely right” to criticize him.

“I’m not mad at Harry. I’m not mad at Meghan. I love them. I wish them well,” he said. “But as for the rest of it, f—k it. I’m done.”

Related: Duchess Meghan Through the Years

Markle also revealed that in the days before the wedding, his daughter told him that he would not be allowed to make a speech at the reception. “That hurt,” he admitted.

He ended up not attending the couple’s nuptials and Harry’s father, Prince Charles, walked Meghan down the aisle.

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