Thomas Markle believes it was "for the best" that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex did not attend the coronation of King Charles.
The 41-year-old royal has been married to Prince Harry, 38, since 2018 but the pair stepped down from royal duties in 2020 to focus on a new life in LA and now Meghan's estranged father has claimed it was "for the best" that she missed the coronation of her father-in-law King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla on Saturday because there are "too many disagreements" within the family.
He told The Mail on Sunday: "It was for the best [that she stayed at home]. There are too many disagreements between Meghan, Harry and the royals. It was wonderful to watch the good people of Britain welcome their new king and queen."
Prince Harry arrived for the coronation of his father but did not appear on the balcony along with the king and queen or their fellow working royals, the Prince and Princess of Wales and Anne, Princess Royal, instead reportedly opting to leave just hours after the crowning took place to catch a 3.45pm flight back to California.
A source close to the couple also claimed that the former 'Suits' actress - who has Archie, four, and 23-month-old Lili with Harry - stayed at their Montecito mansion on what was also her eldest child's birthday because doing anything else would have seemed inappropriate.
The source told the outlet: "[Meghan] stayed home to celebrate Archie’s birthday because she felt it would be inauthentic to do anything else."
The former Hollywood lighting director - who is also father to screenwriter Samantha, 58, - did not attend Meghan's wedding in 2018 and has become estranged from her in recent years over claims he had staged paparazzi photos of her and even though he suffered a major stroke last year, the pair have not spoken for a number of years and she has previously claimed that she has "lost" him.
Just days ago, Markle wondered whether it was "worth" Meghan cutting him out and expressed his wish that they could "work things out."
During an interview on 7NEWS Spotlight, he said: “I refuse to be buried by her... is it worth getting rid of her father? I wish that we could sit down and talk.
“I wish we could work out our differences. I think Harry should take the lead here and try and put us together in some way. I think he could help.”