After Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas, underwent emergency surgery, it has been reported that his daughter tried to put their differences aside.
Thomas and Meghan last spoke in 2018. Last week, the 81-year-old had his leg amputated during surgery to remove a blood clot.
According to The Daily Mail, Thomas was “fighting for his life” after collapsing at his home in Cebu, Philippines. He underwent two operations to remove a blood clot, which resulted in his leg being amputated below the knee.
Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas, underwent emergency surgery and had one of his legs amputated last week
Image credits: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images
The father and daughter became estranged following his involvement in staging paparazzi photographs ahead of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
Thomas did not attend the wedding and has not met his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, or Prince Harry.
In the years since the wedding, he has spoken to the press several times, claiming he was “shunned and ghosted” by Meghan, and once vowed to give an interview every month until she contacted him.
According to The Telegraph, the mother of two has personally called several hospitals in the Philippines, with no success, in an attempt to locate her estranged father, and intends to have a handwritten note delivered to him.
A spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex told People that she “reached out” the same day she learned about the health ordeal and sent her father an email after the procedure. However, Thomas claims he hasn’t heard from his daughter.
He told The Daily Mail that he was “confused” by reports that his daughter had tried to contact him following his health scare.
Thomas claims he has not heard from Meghan since his serious health scare
Image credits: BACKGRID UK
Additionally, a hospital source who spoke with The Daily Mail said, “If Meghan or anyone connected with her had called here, we would have known. … As far as we are aware, it didn’t happen.”
The conflicting reports surrounding Meghan’s efforts to reach out to her father have left many royal fans scratching their heads. On Reddit, several users speculated that the As Ever founder had ulterior motives for wanting to send a letter.
“She wants something in hard copy to leak to the press,” one person claimed.
“Absolutely this!!! She wants to leak it to her chosen mouthpiece and then turn around and blame the family for leaking it,” wrote another.
“The fact that she thinks a handwritten letter is the answer here just shows us how truly a malignant narcissist she is,” shared someone else.
“Picking up the phone is better. She’s insane,” a fourth user expressed.
Another user shared why they don’t think Meghan and Harry will fly to the Philippines to see her father in person: “They won’t get the grand welcome they want because Cebu had a devastating earthquake a little over two months ago and major flooding about a month ago. They can’t come empty-handed.”
Sources close to the Duchess of Sussex say she sent him an email and has been calling hospitals to locate him
“Nobody knows what really happened between them and the members of the royal family but them,” added someone else.
Thomas, a retired television lighting director, reportedly moved from Mexico to the Philippines at the beginning of the year.
He is reportedly recovering at the hospital and is not in possession of his phone. Sources suggested that even if he was, it would be “extraordinarily irresponsible” for Meghan to leave a voicemail, given Prince Harry’s experience with phone hacking.
The 81-year-old doesn’t have an active email address but his phone number, which the Duchess has previously used to contact him, remains unchanged, The Daily Mail reported.
Thomas alleged in 2018 that he texted his daughter every day but she never responded.
Meghan and Thomas became estranged after her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry
Image credits: BACKGRID UK
He recently said that he has “always wanted Meg to be able to call me” and remains open to reconciling with her.
“I have never stopped loving her. I don’t want to d*e estranged from Meghan. I want to meet my grandkids. It might be nice to meet her husband, too,” he told The Daily Mail last week.
He explained that posing for the photos was a bid to “improve” his image.
The 81-year-old has publicly expressed interest in reconciling with Meghan
Image credits: BACKGRID
At the last minute, Thomas did not attend the royal wedding due to health complications. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, walked Meghan down the aisle.
Thomas was critical of Meghan and Harry’s decision to step back from public duty in the UK in 2020, as per the BBC.
In one interview he said, “I think they’re both turning into lost souls at this point. I don’t know what they’re looking for. I don’t think they know what they’re looking for.”
Many people do not believe Meghan’s intentions are genuine
