Meghan Markle’s father lied to Prince Harry about paparazzi photos

The royal family feud deepens: Meghan Markle‘s father, Thomas, revealed in a new interview that he both lied to and hung up on an upset Prince Harry during a heated phone call ahead of the royal wedding.

Thomas Markle told The Mail on Sunday that he and Harry, 33, engaged in a series of “warm and chatty” phone conversations ahead of the royal wedding, but that the warmth faded after it was revealed that Thomas staged paparazzi photos ahead of Meghan and Harry’s nuptials.

“Harry told me that I should never go to the press. That it would end in tears,” Thomas said of their conversations. “He said, ‘They will eat you alive.’ He was right.”

But that hasn’t stopped Thomas from talking to the press seemingly at every opportunity, even telling The Sun last month that Meghan was faking her smile and was “terrified” of her new life as a member of the royal family.

Instead of heeding Harry’s warnings, Thomas staged photos showing him being measured at a tailor and researching British landmarks. When Harry asked him about it, Thomas says that he lied and told the ginger prince that he was being “measured for a hoodie.”

Thomas claimed that after the incident, Harry called him and said, “‘If you had listened to me this would never have happened.'”

Thomas, who says he was angry that Harry would call him when he was recovering from a heart attack, replied, “‘Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead … then you could pretend to be sad.’ Then I hung up.”

Despite his initial anger, however, he now acknowledges that Harry was “absolutely right” to be angry, but that it was Meghan’s reaction that stung the most: She reportedly told him he was not allowed to give a speech at the royal wedding.

“That hurt,” Thomas griped.

Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, said last week that Meghan has yet to contact her father since the royal wedding debacle, but Thomas insists he’s not bitter about it.

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