Thomas Markle, Meghan’s father, had amputation surgery and lost his leg, so his son is currently “fighting for his life.” And now his family has made a fresh appeal to the duchess.
Meghan Markle’s troubled father opened up about his painful estrangement from his daughter just weeks before he found himself “fighting for his life” in hospital.
The 81-year-old reportedly underwent an intense three-hour operation on Wednesday to have his left foot and lower leg amputated after a blood clot cut off circulation, causing the limb to go black. He was rushed to intensive care in his new home country of the Phillipines after falling ill on Tuesday.
The former Hollywood lighting engineer is said to be facing another procedure to remove a blood clot in his left thigh. According to Mr Markle’s son Thomas Jr, doctors remain “extremely concerned” for his welfare. Meghan’s father remains in intensive care in a stable condition, according to reports.
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Thomas found himself at the centre of a worldwide media scandal when he was caught staging paparazzi snaps of himself preparing for his daughter Meghan’s wedding in exchange for payment, and ever since then, the pair have been estranged. Thomas has never met Prince Harry or his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet.
Since Thomas’ illness, it has been claimed that neither Meghan nor Harry have communicated with him. Meghan made an entrefeu with her estranged father in a heated conversation with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. She confessed, “I grieve a lot,” before adding, “I mean, I’ve lost my father.”
In recent years, Thomas has experienced ill health, including two heart-ending events that occurred on Meghan’s wedding and a fatal stroke that required speech therapy. The pensioner was found “trapped” in his apartment on the 19th floor of a tower block in Cebu, Philippines, in October as a “terrifying” earthquake erupted. After having lived in Mexico for ten years, he relocated to the country in January to get a new start and to get away from Meghan’s “constant pain.”
Do you think Meghan will attend my funeral if we pass away tonight, he asked Caroline Graham of the Daily Mail in his apartment as the building “violently” swayed. Then he said, “My son-in-law is fifth in the throne, so why should I get a better funeral?”
Samantha, Thomas’ other daughter, claimed that her father was stranded in his £500-a-month apartment after the disaster struck. She is also estranged from Meghan. He later, in strange circumstances, declared he was “fine” and cautioned people against worrying.
When he was caught posing in paparazzi photos of himself preparing for her wedding in exchange for money, Meghan’s father became the subject of a worldwide media controversy. After the fallout, he declared he wouldn’t be attending and that he would instead appear “stupid and hammy.”
Meanwhile, The Palace announced that Thomas had a heart attack, implying that this was Thomas’s absence. Thomas has repeatedly pleaded with his daughter to reconcile and said he is “desperate” for Meghan to forgive him over the years.
