Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's kids Archie and Lilibet are being "deprived" of seeing their grandparents, Thomas Markle has claimed.

The Duchess of Sussex's estranged dad, 77, claimed keeping Archie, who is two years old, and three-month-old Lili from their grandparents was "terribly unfair" to them.

He said they should be able to openly see himself and the Queen, while right now the only grandparent who has access to them is Meghan's mum Doria.

Speaking to Channel 7’s Sunrise breakfast programme, Mr Markle also claimed that by not returning to England from their home in California, the Sussexes were "cheating" their kids.

"I think they (Archie and Lilibet) are being deprived of seeing all their grandparents and I think they are being deprived of seeing all their relatives and I think that's terribly unfair to them," he said.

The former Hollywood lighting director nonetheless said he doesn't intend to take any legal action as he doesn't want to use his grandchildren as "pawns".

Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, have been living in the US ever since they dramatically quit their lives as senior royals in March last year.

They are currently living in an £11m mansion in Montecito, Santa Barbara, with their two kids.

While Harry returned to the UK twice in the past year, including for his granddad Prince Philip's funeral in April and the unveiling of a statue in memory of his mother Diana in July, Meghan is yet to return since she left last year.

Harry and Meghan's relations with the royal family have been strained since they left the UK, with the situation made worse by a bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.

During the explosive chat, the Sussexes accused the family, among other things, of racism and of being insensitive to the Duchess' mental health issues.

That while the former US TV star has also been estranged from her dad for years now, following a fall out just before her wedding in May 2018, which Mr Markle did not attend.

During the latest interview, Mr Markle openly admitted he's had different offers from lawyers to help him see his grandchildren through a legal suit.

“I have had offers from several lawyers pro bono, we do have a right to sue to see our grandchildren,” Thomas told them from his home in Mexico.

“To me that is like turning this into some kind of game and using them as pawns.

“I will not sue to see them because I just think that is using them... and I don’t want to see Harry and Meghan do the same thing,” he added.

“They should not be used, they are just kids, babies. I will wait.”

"I will wait patiently until they are ready to bring them to me. But as long as my daughter has the attitude she doesn't want me to see them, that's the way it's going to be."

He went on to urge his daughter and Harry to return to England with their kids as he said "by not taking them back.. they are cheating their children".

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