If you had a child marry into the royal family, chances are you'd have news outlets constantly hounding you for interviews.
Especially if your daughter is Meghan Markle.
While Meghan's mother Doria Ragland has stayed away from the spotlight, the paternal side of her family can't seem to keep their big gobs shut.
Samantha Markle has been the most vocal about her half-sister and her new family, but her father Thomas Markle is close behind.
The retired lighting director recently admitted he was scolded by Prince Harry while recovering from his heart attack in the hospital.
While he claimed it to be his final interview, Thomas has piped up once again by calling the royals "cult-like."
"If they hear anybody say anything they just lock the doors."
In an interview with told The Sun that the royals need to become thicker-skinned when it comes to scrutiny.
"They are either like Scientologists or the Stepford family," he said. "They are cult-like "” like Scientology "” because they are secretive."
"If they hear anybody say anything they just lock the doors. They need to speak up! They close the door, pull the shades down and put their fingers in their ears so they don't have to hear."
"Maybe they have a secret handshake too! You cannot ask a question of them "” as they won't answer."
While this is only another one of Thomas' tirades about the British Monarchy, Meghan has allegedly dealt with her father's criticism since before she stepped into the spotlight.
"His behavior is something she has had to deal with for most of her adult life," an insider told the publication.
"There has been a long history of 'dad disappointment' with her life being splattered with upset because of her relationship with him."
"She isn't shocked or surprised by his behavior and dealt with it all with a lot of grace."
"It's very sad."
It's believed that the Duchess of Sussex has closed off all communication with her father since he began giving interviews about their estranged relationship.
"Meghan doesn't think it's a fair game between her father and the media so she's not going to engage in it or instruct anyone on her behalf to set the record straight," an insider told The Sunday Times."
"There have always been fears over his vulnerability. Now he's got himself into a cycle of talking publicly. It's very sad."
The rift has attracted significant media attention, and this situation isn't a predicament the royal family is used to.
"The prince will be very sympathetic towards Meghan and the difficult situation she is in," a source close to Prince Charles told the publication.
"But I suspect the Queen will be rolling her eyes and thinking: crikey, what is going to become of all this?"
"Harry could have done something about that."
Despite the flack Thomas is receiving from the public, there's still one person in his corner: Princess Diana's former bodyguard.
From 1986 to 1993, Ken Wharfe was in charge of protecting Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry, and believes Harry should have done more to protect Thomas from the prying eyes of the public.
"I think the palace were at fault not to earmark this problem very early on," he told Yahoo UK during an episode of The Royal Box. "I think his behavior and actions are as a result of poor advice, or no advice."
"Harry could have been more insistent perhaps. He's not an unintelligent guy, he's been through the mill himself, he knows what press intrusion is like."
"[Harry] has a draw bridge and [a] portcullis to hide behind when they pursue him. No one's looking after [Thomas Markle]."
"Harry could have done something about that. He could have insisted upon that."
Do you think Thomas Markle's comparison of the royal family to a cult is justified? Let us know in the comments!
