Meghan no longer has estranged father’s number, it’s been ‘lost or deleted’: report
After seven years of silence, Meghan’s rep confirmed she’d “reached out” to her estranged father in recent days – but he now says it’s left him “confused”.
IN LONDON
Confusion is swirling around the circumstances of exactly how, and when, Meghan got in contact with her estranged father amid his recent health woes.
A spokesman for the Duchess of Sussex confirmed to news.com.au over the weekend that she had “reached out” to Thomas Markle Senior following reports that he had been hospitalised and been forced to undergo lifesaving surgery, during which his leg was amputated, in the Philippines.
However shortly afterwards, Mr Markle, 81, spoke to the Mail on Sunday, denying that she had called either him or the hospital, and saying he was “confused” by the assertion that she had.
In response, a source from Meghan’s camp insisted to The Times UK that she had made attempts to talk to him, including sending an email last Friday morning.
“The Mail made no attempt to contact the duchess’s team prior to publication to verify the claims in their report,” the source told the publication.
“Had they asked, particularly in light of the quotes they relied upon from Mr Markle and hospital staff, we would simply have told them to ask Mr Markle to check his email.
“We first saw the story only after it was published. We immediately informed the Mail that the duchess had in fact emailed her father, a detail we had deliberately chosen not to share in order to avoid further dragging this private matter into the public eye.”
While it’s been claimed that the email was sent to an address that Mr Markle had not used for years, it’s understood it had landed in his inbox with no bounce-back to Meghan.
While he pointed out that his number had not changed from the last time Meghan had used it, according to The Times, she is “no longer in possession” of it, as it has been “lost or deleted”.
Meanwhile, speaking to the Mail from his hospital bed in Cebu on Sunday, Mr Markle begged his daughter to visit him at the intensive care unit where he remains in a stable condition after having his left leg amputated below the knee after he became gravely ill.
The retired Hollywood lighting director, who now lives in the Philippines, begged the Suits star to visit him “one more time before I die”, revealing his hopes of seeing son-in-law Prince Harry and grandchildren Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, “before it’s too late”.
“I’ve always said I am open to reconciling with my daughter,” he told the publication, adding that he “would love to speak to her”.
“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.”
Last week, Mr Markle’s son – Meghan’s half-brother – Thomas Markle Junior described the situation as a “case of life or death”.
“There was no option. I was told the leg had to be removed and it was a case of life or death,” he told the Daily Mail.
“My dad is being very brave. His foot turned blue and then black. It happened very quickly.
“I took him to a local hospital and they did some scans and an ultrasound and said the leg had to be amputated.”
Thomas Jr added that his father’s life was in “imminent danger”.
Meghan and her father – with whom she lived between the ages of 11 and 18 – have been estranged since her 2018 royal wedding, after she was left “furious” when he was caught staging paparazzi photos in an apparent bid to generate a positive public image.
He then pulled out of attending the nuptials and walking her down the aisle, claiming he had had a heart attack and was in hospital.
It later emerged that Thomas had become embroiled in a heated phone call with his daughter and Harry over the issue.
“I felt disrespected by them. I was recovering from a heart attack, lying in a bed, having a phone call, and the things were being said that hurt me,” he told The Sun.
“I felt like I was being blamed for my mistakes when I was in my hospital bed recovering from a heart attack.”
Thomas spent years living in Mexico, but had relocated to the Philippines in January.
He’s suffered through a number of health issues recently, including a stroke.
Originally published as Meghan no longer has estranged father’s number, it’s been ‘lost or deleted’: report
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