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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Reanna Smith

Meghan Markle and dad Thomas Markle's feud in full as Duchess of Sussex turns 41

Meghan Markle is celebrating her 41st birthday today (August 4).

The Duchess of Sussex is sure to get plenty of well-wishes from her adoring fans, as well as the Royal Family.

It's expected that she'll be celebrating privately today, with her husband Prince Harry and their two children, Archie and Lilibet.

But one person that Meghan might not get a happy birthday from this year is her father, Thomas Markle.

The pair have an infamously strained relationship and her dad has said that while he attempted to wish her a happy birthday last year, she ignored his gift of a bouquet of roses.

During an appearance on GB News he said: "I wished her a happy birthday and brighter days ahead but I've not heard back."

As Meghan marks another year without reconciling with her dad, here's what happened between the once-close father and daughter.

Who is Meghan Markle's dad?

Meghan's father Thomas hasn't spoken to her since before her wedding day (GBNews)

Meghan Markle's dad is Thomas Markle Sr.

He is a former TV lighting director and director of photography and worked in Hollywood for years.

When Meghan Markle was a child, she'd often join her father at work on the sets of TV shows like Married...with Children and General Hospital.

In 1975 Thomas received a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award for his work on the television program Made In Chicago and he was also the co-recipient of two Daytime Emmy Awards.

Thomas met Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, in the 1970s and they married in 1979.

In 1981 the couples welcomed their first child together, Meghan.

However, they divorced when she was just two years old.

Meghan's father also has two children, Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle Jr., from his previous marriage to Roslyn Loveless.

He now lives in Mexico, near the US border, and has recently been recovering from a stroke.

What happened between Meghan Markle and her dad?

Although her parents divorced early on in her life, Meghan had a good relationship with her father growing up.

However, she has reportedly not seen him since before the royal wedding in 2018.

As Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry approached, her relationship with her father began making headlines.

At first, Kensington Palace had confirmed that Meghan's father would be in attendance at the wedding to give her away.

However, Thomas became the centre of a scandal when he was caught staging paparazzi pictures of himself preparing for the wedding in exchange for payment.

Initially, Markle Sr. told TMZ that he would no longer be at his daughter's wedding because of the fallout from the paparazzi photos, which he said made him look "stupid and hammy".

However, the Palace eventually confirmed that he would not be going to the wedding, citing health issues as the reason after he was reported to have had a heart attack.

A statement from Meghan distributed by the Palace said: "Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding.

"I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health."

A source later alleged to the Daily Mail that Thomas had made up the heart attack story to get out of attending the wedding after being embarrassed about the staged photos.

During her famous interview with Oprah, Meghan opened up about her relationship with her father for the first time since her wedding.

She confirmed to Oprah that she had felt "betrayed" by her father lying to her about speaking to the press and revealed that becoming a mother had made her view the situation in another light.

She said: "I look at Archie, I think about this child, and I genuinely can't imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. So it's hard for me to reconcile that."

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