The Duchess of Sussex's father has claimed that he has not heard from his daughter, less than 24 hours after her spokesperson told HELLO! that "she has reached out to her father."
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday from the Phillipines, where Thomas Markle lives with his son, Tom Jr, he told the publication that he had "purposely" never changed his phone number "so she could always get in touch with me" but that he has not received any messages or phone calls, and that he was "confused" by recent stories that Meghan had "reached out".
It is unclear how Meghan had reached out to her father. Reports from the Mail On Sunday allege she sent an email, although "family members and close friends also say he never uses email".
"Of course I want to speak to her, but I am not sure if these are the right circumstances," said Thomas. "I've always said I am open to reconciling with my daughter. 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."
The hospital confirmed, with permission from Thomas, that he had had his lower left leg amputated during emergency surgery, and that the hospital had not received a call from the Duchess.
Thomas was admitted to a hospital in Cebu, in the Philippines, after his left foot became swollen due to a 14-inch blood clot in his thigh, which cut off blood flow to his lower left leg. The surgeon said: "We had to remove the foot. There was a massive blood clot in his thigh and that had stopped circulation to his foot and lower leg. It was life-or-death surgery. Had the infection in the foot moved to his heart, it would most likely have been fatal. He is doing well but he is not out of the woods yet."
The father and daughter have been estranged since 2018, when he staged paparazzi photos before her wedding to Prince Harry. He suffered two heart attacks days before her wedding to Harry and did not attend their Windsor Castle ceremony; King Charles walked Meghan partway down the aisle.
"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. I would like to thank everyone who has offered generous messages of support. Please know how much Harry and I look forward to sharing our special day with you on Saturday," said Meghan at the time.
"I absolutely wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle. I'm recovering from a heart operation but I'm doing much better. They were disappointed. Meghan cried, I'm sure, and they both said, 'Take care of yourself, we are really worried about you'," Thomas, who had a stroke in 2022, told Good Morning Britain a month after their celebration.
"She had a father before this. Now she doesn't have a father. I shouldered that. Because if Meg wasn't with me, then her dad would still be her dad," Harry – who has never met Thomas – candidly said during their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.