Meghan Markle in touch with hospitalised father says spokesperson
The relationship between Thomas Markle and his daughter has been very strained for years.
From the minute the former actress and Prince Harry announced their engagement, it seemed like her father, Thomas Markle, had been seeking attention and making headlines.
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Thomas declined to attend the royal wedding after he was photographed by paparazzi in staged photos.
He also cited forthcoming heart surgery. Meghan dropped contact with him soon after the wedding.
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Now it seems that the Duchess of Sussex has decided to reach out to her father again.
According to the Duchess's spokesperson, Meghan is in contact with her estranged father, who is in a Philippines hospital after reportedly having his leg amputated.
It has been exceedingly difficult for the duchess to contact her father privately, despite her efforts over the past several days.
Thomas told a reporter from The Daily Mail tabloid in the Philippines over the weekend that he wanted his daughter to see him "one more time before I die" and that he wished to see Harry and his grandchildren "before it's too late".
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"With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands," Meghan's spokesperson said.
However, the spokesperson said that Thomas "continues" to have a reporter by his hospital bedside, "broadcasting every interaction", which made it difficult for Meghan's letter to initially reach Thomas.
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It came after a back-and-forth as Meghan's team said she was in touch with her father last week, but the Daily Mail reported Markle claiming that he had not received any messages.
The Duchess of Sussex cut ties with her father after he staged a photo shoot with paparazzi in 2018, shortly before her marriage to King Charles's youngest son.
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Meghan and Harry stepped back from royal duties and moved to California in 2020 over rifts with the royal family and concerns about Meghan's treatment by the British press, which Harry long blames for the death of his mother, Diana.
In 2021, Meghan won a UK High Court privacy and copyright claim against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers over articles that reproduced parts of a "private" letter she wrote to her father, asking him to stop talking to the press.
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Image: Bang Showbiz/Reuters