The Duchess of Sussex has made a significant personal gesture, reaching out to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, following major surgery that resulted in the amputation of part of his leg. The development marks a potential thaw in a rift that has lasted for seven years.
A Health Crisis Prompts Contact
A spokesperson for Meghan confirmed the move, stating simply: "I can confirm she has reached out to her father." The contact is understood to have occurred very recently, though no further details about the nature or success of the communication have been disclosed. This comes after Thomas Markle, a retired TV lighting director, underwent emergency surgery in the Philippines and was later admitted to intensive care.
The Daily Mail reported that the 80-year-old required a three-hour operation, after which his foot turned black, leading to an amputation below the knee. Prior to the news of Meghan's contact, her half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., had publicly appealed for compassion, telling the newspaper his father was "literally fighting for his life."
A Fractured Family History
The father and daughter have been estranged since 2018, in the dramatic lead-up to Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry. The rift began when Thomas Markle was caught staging paparazzi photographs and subsequently suffered a heart attack, forcing him to pull out of the ceremony. King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, stepped in to walk Meghan down the aisle.
In the years since, Mr. Markle has given numerous media interviews, at times criticising his daughter while also expressing a desire for reconciliation. He has never met his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. In 2023, he lamented, "She is not the person I knew as my daughter." The duchess successfully sued Associated Newspapers for publishing parts of a private letter she wrote to him in an attempt to stop him speaking to the press.
Past Tributes and Present Distance
The current distance contrasts sharply with Meghan's past affectionate tributes. On her former blog, The Tig, she described herself as a "daddy's girl" and praised his sacrifices. She recalled heartfelt childhood memories, including how he once customised Barbie dolls to create a mixed-race family for her and advised her to "draw your own box" when official forms didn't reflect her ethnicity.
Thomas Markle, who worked on shows like Married... With Children and won Emmys for his work on General Hospital, has previously reflected on sharing a common experience of estrangement with King Charles. The Duke of Sussex, himself estranged from his brother and with a strained relationship with the King, has never met his father-in-law in person.
The attempt at contact coincides with the premiere of Meghan's Netflix holiday special, With Love, Meghan, which launched on the same day news broke of her father's hospitalisation. Whether this outreach leads to a lasting reconciliation remains to be seen, but it signifies a poignant moment in a long-running and very public family estrangement.
