Duchess Meghan has been in a public clinch with her father Thomas for four years. The break seemed irreparable so far. But now the 77-year-old has suffered a stroke – and suddenly there seems to be hope for a rapprochement.
It must have been a difficult step for Duchess Meghan, 40, but she allegedly made it through to it: Prince Harry’s wife, 37, is said to have contacted people around him after her father Thomas Markle, 77, had a worrying stroke , as reported by “Mirror” among others. The concern for the retired lighting director is said to be greater than the resentment of recent years.
Duchess Meghan: Your father is being treated therapeutically
Markle has since been released from the hospital, it said. The 77-year-old, who lives in Mexico, was treated by doctors in San Diego for five days. The stroke left its mark: his speech center was affected. He is also suffering from signs of paralysis, as his older daughter Samantha Markle, 57, told GB News. “I don’t think he saw it coming but he’s doing better – he’s in good spirits. It will be maybe six months, maybe a year before he gets his speech back. He can work with a speech therapist and it’s good that the impairment in the language-producing part of the brain wasn’t so great that it couldn’t recover,” says the 57-year-old.
Thomas Markle misses Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee
It seems that Markle can be of good cheer to recover with therapeutic support. “I am very grateful and I know that I am lucky to be alive. I want to thank everyone, especially the wonderful doctors and nurses who saved my life,” he said in a statement, according to the Daily Mail his discharge from the hospital. “I have been deeply moved by the loving messages I have received from around the world. I cannot speak now but I am working hard and will thank people properly when I can.” Traveling to the UK has thus become obsolete.”I wanted to come to pay my respects to the Queen. I wish her a happy anniversary and many more years to come,” he said instead.
Meghan wants to avoid contact with siblings
His younger daughter, however, is said to be quite concerned despite the quarrels of recent years. “Despite her estrangement, Meghan is concerned. She wants to know if there is a way to contact her father privately without other family members knowing about it or having to interfere,” said a source close to the Sussexes. Her half-siblings Samantha and Thomas Markle Jr., 55, had repeatedly contacted the press in the past and publicly discussed their private feud with the famous sister.
Most recently, Samantha threatened the royal in November 2021 with a lawsuit for defamation and invasion of privacy for allegedly providing the authors of the book “Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family” with false information about her person target.
So it’s no wonder that Meghan probably wants to avoid direct communication with the siblings at the moment. A difficult task, because Thomas Jr. and Samantha are apparently close to their father and at his side during this difficult time. For the Duchess of Sussex, it seems inevitable that when she contacts her father, she also comes into contact with her siblings. And after all the public accusations, she can no longer trust them.
“No references to the paparazzi!”
“Meghan is unable to contact her half-siblings as she believes they have plans of their own,” the insider confirmed. “If she can contact her father, she wants it to be completely private. It’s not about Netflix, it’s not about photos and there can’t be any tips to the paparazzi.”
This has divided Duchess Meghan and her father
Supposedly secretly taken photos of her father before the marriage to Harry led to a break with the father. Thomas Markle is said to have worked with a photographer in 2018 to stage a series of images in the run-up to the big royal event. The alleged paparazzi snaps showed the father of the bride measuring his suit and visiting an internet cafe to browse items related to his daughter’s wedding.
Actually, Markle was supposed to lead his youngest to the altar in “St George’s Chapel” at Windsor Castle. But it did not get to that. It was said that he had suffered a heart attack, the second already, and could not travel. Instead, Prince Charles, 73, escorted his daughter-in-law to her future husband.
Four years ago, Harry & Meghan said yes
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The contact between Meghan and her father is said to have broken off afterwards. Markle later claimed his daughter had stopped responding. The last straw was the publication of excerpts of a letter in the “Mail on Sunday” that the 40-year-old had written to her father. She later revealed in her sensational interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, 68, in March 2021 that she would find it very difficult to reconcile with her father. He “betrayed” her.
In the conversation, which caused a stir around the world, Meghan linked the loss of her father to the loss of a child she lost to a miscarriage in July 2020. “I’m very sad. I mean, I lost my father. I lost a baby. But I’m still standing,” the Duchess said.
It remains to be seen whether she will really jump over her shadow and contact her father. Meghan will initially fly to the UK with Prince Harry and children Archie, 3, and Lilibet Diana, 11 months. Family members are also waiting there, probably hoping for a conciliatory conversation.
Sources used: mirror.co.uk, gbnews.uk, dailymail.co.uk