I'll be honest, I was kind of wondering when someone from Meghan Markle's family would try to make the birth of baby Archie all about them, and it seems like Thomas Markle Jr. has decided he'll be the one to do it. Meghan's half-brother spoke with Access this past week, and said that he hopes the newborn baby will be able to repair the family's tension.
"Anytime there's an addition to the family, it's a big thing," Thomas, 52, told Access."Hopefully in this case it will actually bring our family back together a little bit and tighten our little ongoing rift. ... Meghan only has one family where she came from. She's got two now, but we are her family and I'd like to bring a little awareness to that."
"I would just hate to go through life and know that I had a hole in their family somewhere that I never met," Thomas said. "So whatever we can do to avoid that situation would be good."
"My dad's been waiting for this for a long time. He's very happy and he's so looking forward to Meghan reaching out to him and bringing them together. My father wants to see his grandson more than anything."
As for Thomas Markle Sr., Meghan's dad, he's been less vocal about the birth of Archie, besides from a sweet statement about his new grandson.
"I'm delighted to hear that mother and child are doing well," he said in a statement at the time. "I am proud that my new grandson is born into the British royal family and I am sure that he will grow up to serve the crown and the people of Britain with grace, dignity, and honor. God bless the child and I wish him health and happiness, and my congratulations to my lovely daughter Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry, and God save the Queen."
When the news of Meghan's pregnancy broke, Thomas Sr. said he heard about it over the radio.
"I was sitting in line waiting to cross the border [between the U.S. and Mexico] when I heard the baby announcement on the radio," Thomas said. "I thought, "˜My baby is having a baby.' It was a very proud moment. I was filled with love, joy and happiness for both my beautiful daughter and my son-in-law. A new baby is a blessing and I look forward to seeing a little Meghan or a little Harry."
"Meghan loves children and she and Harry have been talking about wanting a family from the start. I'm delighted for them both. She's always been wonderful with children and most of her friends have families so she's used to being around kids. She will make a fantastic mother."
Meghan's half-sister, Samantha, has been pleading with the Duchess to allow Archie and Thomas to have a relationship, saying the baby boy is missing out.
"It's sad," Samantha said. "He should have been involved. Being excluded is like a dagger through his heart. Poor Master Archie is not getting to know a creative, loving person. He is a doting granddad and he's been great with all his other grandkids. He buys toys, plays creative games, he's funny and nurturing and communicative with them."
Samantha said that now, it's up to Meghan to heal the family...even though it's Samantha and her siblings that have been verbally attacking the Duchess since her relationship with Prince Harry went public.
"We always have been desperate to heal the rift, but it's up to Meghan to reach out now," Samantha said. "Life is short and precious so I hope having the baby will soften her feelings and she will do the right thing. [Archie] needs to get a wider sense of family "“ because he isn't just a Mountbatten-Windsor child, he's a Markle too. There'a a connection and we exist."
To me, and I'm sure to the royal family, this is all just noise. If these people really wanted a relationship with Meghan, the would have made that effort before she became part of the royal family, and they certainly wouldn't have cashed in on interviews to bash their sister over and over again.