Meghan Markle with father Thomas Markle (File image)

Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle finally spilled the beans on why he released parts of a private letter she sent him earlier this year.

According to E! News, in February, The Mail on Sunday carried excerpts of the long handwritten letter, which Mr Markle claimed she had sent him shortly after the couple's wedding, which he did not attend. At the time, Mr Markle, who opened about his estrangement from her many times in public, told The Mail on Sunday then that he was forced to make public the letter because its contents were falsely presented. In a new interview with the outlet, carried on Saturday, Mr Markle said that it was cited by one of Meghan's friends in the People magazine interview.

"I decided to release parts of the letter because of the article from Meghan's friends in People magazine," he said. "I have to defend myself. I only released parts of the letter because other parts were so painful. The letter didn't seem loving to me. I found it hurtful," cited E! News.

"He writes her a really long letter in return, and he closes it by requesting a photo op with her," the friend had told People. "That's the opposite of what I'm saying. I'm telling you I don't want to communicate through the media, and you're asking me to communicate through the media. Did you hear anything I said?"

"I don't recognize the person who wrote the letter but I still love my daughter," Mr Markle told The Mail on Sunday. "All it would take is one phone call and most of this craziness would stop."

The Mail on Sunday reported that Mr Markle is also annoyed by false claims that he requested and received payment for releasing parts of the letter. The outlet shared that no payment was requested or given for their article on Saturday.

Last week, Meghan and Prince Harry initiated legal actions against the British media outlets over its release and called out the entire British tabloid press over their "ruthless" campaign against Meghan Markle.