The Duchess of Sussex ‘has no plans to see her father’ as he recovers in hospital from having a leg amputated and has reportedly given up hope of ever reconciling with him.
Thomas Markle, 81, underwent life-saving surgery in the Philippines after a massive blood clot was found in his leg, and has spoken of his desire not to ‘die estranged from Meghan’.
After failing to get hold of him by email or phone, the 44-year-old Duchess – who has not seen him since she married Prince Harry in 2018 – ‘reached out’ to her father in the form of a hand-delivered letter.
However she is thought to believe his relationship with the media – understood to be something she addresses in her letter – means they are unlikely ever to reconcile.
She has so far not had a reply to her letter, the Sunday Times reported.
The rift between the pair began when Mr Markle worked with a paparazzi photographer near his home in Mexico to stage photographs of him being fitted for a suit ahead of the Royal wedding.
Shortly afterwards he suffered two heart attacks and was forced to pull out of travelling to the UK for the ceremony.
He has never met his son-in-law, the Duke of Sussex, 41, or the couple’s children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four.
Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle, 81, in his hospital bed in the Philippines following the amputation of his left leg below the knee. He has thanked the medical staff who saved his life
Meghan Markle pictured with her father in 2011, whom she has been estranged from since 2018 after he posed for paparazzi pictures on the eve of her wedding
Previously Mr Markle – who was a successful Hollywood lighting director – had been close to Meghan, helping with her fledgling acting career in Los Angeles after he and her mother, Doria Ragland, divorced when the future Duchess was six.
In a 2014 Father’s Day post on her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, Meghan posted a gushing tribute to Mr Markle as ‘the person who believed in this grand dream of mine well before I could even see it as a possibility’.
She fondly recalled him ‘lighting my high school musicals so that they felt as grand as a Broadway show’ and how he ‘put gas in my car when I went from audition trying to make it as an actress’.
‘To my dad – my thoughtful, inspiring, hardworking Daddy – happy Father’s Day.’
In a world exclusive earlier this month, the Daily Mail revealed how Mr Markle was fighting for his life in hospital after moving to the Philippines to be nearer to son Thomas Jr.
Mr Markle undergoing physiotherapy in hospital to build up muscle after having part of his left leg amputated following the discovery of a large blood clot
‘I’ve always said I am open to reconciling with my daughter,’ he added.
‘I have never stopped loving her. I don’t want to die estranged from Meghan.
‘I want to meet my grandkids. It might be nice to meet her husband too.’
In the days that followed, it emerged that the Duchess had deleted his phone number following their rift, while an email she sent could not be opened as it was to an account for which he had forgotten the password.
Finally on Wednesday last week, a letter arrived at his hospital bed.
It was hand-delivered by a lawyer with instructions that the encounter was videoed so the clip could be sent back to the Duchess, the Mail on Sunday revealed yesterday.
After ‘fretting’ over what it might contain for four hours, Mr Markle finally opened it and read it several times, but did not reveal anything about its contents.
Mr Markle was last week moved from intensive care to a regular ward as he continues his recovery.
He has also started physiotherapy in order to build up his muscles.
Mr Markle faces a months-long rehabilitation, and hopes to have a prosthetic limb fitted once his leg wound has healed.