ERASED GRANDFATHERS? — THE BRUTAL REALITY CHARLES & THOMAS MARKLE FACE OVER ARCHIE & LILIBET
ERASED GRANDFATHERS? — THE BRUTAL REALITY CHARLES & THOMAS MARKLE FACE OVER ARCHIE & LILIBET
Two grandfathers.
Two very different relationships with the same two children.
And now that Archie and Lilibet are living in Britain, the contrast has become almost impossible to ignore.
King Charles has just entered a new chapter with his grandchildren. After years of distance, Archie and Lilibet are now living much closer to their grandfather, attending school in Britain and spending more time in the country where their father grew up.
Thomas Markle, meanwhile, remains on the outside.
He has said publicly that he has never met his grandchildren.
And that creates a painful question at the center of Meghan Markle's new British life:
What happens when one grandfather gets a second chance — while the other is still waiting for his first?
Charles Has Something Thomas Never Had
The most striking part of this story is not simply that Charles is Archie and Lilibet's grandfather.
It is how dramatically his relationship with them has changed.
In July, Charles and Queen Camilla met Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet privately at Highgrove.
It was the first known in-person meeting between Charles, Camilla and the children since 2022. ITV reported that Archie and Lilibet had last seen their grandfather during Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
That reunion mattered because for years the children had largely lived an ocean away from Charles.
Now the geography has changed.
Harry and Meghan have relocated to Britain with their children for an extended period.
Archie and Lilibet are attending school in the U.K.
And Charles has the opportunity to see them far more regularly than he could when the family was based in California. ITV reported that the move would not change Harry and Meghan's non-working status, but Charles welcomed the opportunity to see the Sussex family privately.
Suddenly, the King is no longer simply a grandfather separated from his grandchildren by thousands of miles.
He is a grandfather living in the same country.
Then There Is Thomas Markle
The contrast with Meghan's father could hardly be sharper.
Thomas Markle has never met Archie or Lilibet, according to reports about his relationship with his daughter.
When Harry and Meghan's British move was announced, Thomas said he learned about it through television news rather than directly from Meghan.
He reportedly expressed hurt and frustration that he was returning to the headlines at precisely the moment his daughter and grandchildren were returning to Britain — without him being brought into their lives.
That puts Thomas in an extraordinary position.
His grandchildren are now living closer to the country where he spent much of his daughter's childhood.
Yet he remains physically and emotionally distant from them.
Meanwhile, Charles — who was also separated from Archie and Lilibet for years — has already had the reunion Thomas has never experienced.
That is where the “erased grandfathers” question becomes so emotionally powerful.
Is Anyone Actually Being “Erased”?
The word is dramatic.
But it captures a real tension.
There is no evidence that Harry and Meghan have formally declared that either grandfather is being “erased” from their children's lives.
And Charles and Thomas are not in equivalent positions.
Charles is Harry's father and the reigning monarch.
Thomas is Meghan's father, and his relationship with his daughter has been deeply strained for years.
Their circumstances are fundamentally different.
But Archie and Lilibet cannot escape the consequences of those adult relationships.
They are growing up with one grandfather who is now physically close to them — and another who says he has never had the chance to meet them.
That difference may become increasingly meaningful as the children get older.
Archie and Lilibet Are Now at the Center of a Bigger Family Story
The Sussex children have spent most of their lives in California.
That meant their connection to the British side of the family was largely maintained through occasional visits, family history and their father's memories.
Now that has changed.
Their British identity is becoming part of everyday life.
They attend school in Britain.
They are learning British routines.
Harry has even joked about their changing tastes, including their newfound enjoyment of Marmite on crumpets.
And the family is trying to give them experiences connected to both their American and British backgrounds.
That makes the question of grandparents more complicated.
Because grandparents are not simply names on a family tree.
They are people children remember.
People they visit.
People who tell stories about their parents when they were young.
People who can eventually become part of how children understand where they came from.
And Archie and Lilibet are now at an age where those relationships can become increasingly personal.
Charles Has Already Taken the First Step
Whatever happens next, one thing has already changed.
Charles has seen his grandchildren again.
That private Highgrove reunion was significant precisely because of how long the gap had been.
The Guardian described it as a private reunion with grandchildren the King had not seen for four years.
The circumstances surrounding Harry and Charles have also shifted.
Harry's return to Britain has brought him closer to his father, even while his relationship with Prince William remains deeply strained.
Reuters reported in September that Harry was happy to be back on British soil after relocating with Meghan and their children following six years in California.
For Charles, that means something potentially important has happened without requiring a complete restoration of the wider royal family relationship.
He can be a father to Harry.
He can be a grandfather to Archie and Lilibet.
And Harry and Meghan can remain outside the working structure of the monarchy.
Those relationships no longer necessarily have to move together.
But Thomas Is Still Waiting
That is what makes Thomas Markle's position so painful.
Charles' relationship with Harry has been damaged.
Yet there has been a path back toward contact.
Harry returned to Britain.
The family reunited at Highgrove.
The children are now living in the same country as their paternal grandfather.
Thomas has not had the same opportunity.
And unlike Charles, he is not surrounded by a royal institution capable of creating private occasions, facilitating contact or providing a natural family setting for a reunion.
His relationship with Meghan remains the central barrier.
That means the question is no longer simply whether Thomas wants to meet Archie and Lilibet.
The much bigger question is whether Meghan is willing to reopen that door.
And that is something only she and her family can ultimately decide.
What Will Archie and Lilibet Think One Day?
This may be the question that matters most.
Right now, Archie and Lilibet are still young.
Their world is school, parents, friends, travel and the extraordinary circumstances surrounding their family.
But children eventually become adults.
They start asking questions.
They learn about the people who were absent.
They discover the family disputes that happened before they were old enough to understand them.
And they begin forming their own views.
That does not mean Archie and Lilibet will necessarily blame anyone.
It does not mean they will demand answers.
But the family history will eventually become part of their own story.
One day they may ask why they knew one grandfather but not the other.
Why one side of the family became physically closer while another remained distant.
Why the family moved from California to Britain.
And why certain doors opened while others stayed closed.
Those questions belong to the future.
But the circumstances creating them are happening now.
The Charles–Thomas Contrast Is Becoming Impossible to Miss
There is something almost symbolic about where the two grandfathers stand today.
Charles once had years of distance from Archie and Lilibet.
Now he has seen them again.
He has them living in the same country.
He has a chance to build ordinary grandfather-grandchild memories that were impossible when they were separated by an ocean.
Thomas, meanwhile, remains separated from his daughter's children.
And he has publicly expressed his desire to change that.
So “erased grandfathers” may be too absolute.
But unequal access is a reality.
One grandfather has moved closer to the children's daily lives.
The other remains outside them.
And Harry and Meghan's return to Britain has made that contrast more visible than ever.
The Real Question Isn't About Charles or Thomas
Ultimately, this story is not really about which grandfather deserves more attention.
It is about what happens when complicated adult relationships become part of a child's family history.
Charles has been given another opportunity.
Thomas is still waiting for one.
And Archie and Lilibet are too young to control any of it.
For now, their British return is bringing them closer to one grandfather while leaving the other painfully distant.
But as the children grow older, the meaning of that distance may change.
Because someday, Archie and Lilibet will not simply inherit their family's titles, stories and history.
They will start asking questions about it themselves.
And when they do, the most difficult question may not be which grandfather was closer.
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It may be:
Why was one allowed into their lives — while the other was kept outside?
