Meghan Markle has extended a heartfelt olive branch to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, following his recent amputation of his left leg. The Duchess of Sussex reached out to her father, who has been residing in the Philippines, as her spokesperson revealed to People on December 5. "I can confirm she has reached out to her father," the statement read.
Thomas' son and Meghan's half-brother, Tom Markle Jr., shared with the Daily Mail that his father had undergone the operation after a blood clot was discovered in his leg. "My dad is being very brave," Tom said in an interview published on December 5. "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."
However, Thomas' medical journey is not over yet. While his son described the procedure as "a matter of life or death," he noted that the lighting director will need to undergo another procedure to remove a blood clot in his left thigh.
Thomas' sister, Samantha Markle, believes that the strain of the last few years has taken its toll on their father. "He is a strong man, but he has been through so much," Samantha recently told the newspaper. "My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke, and an earthquake." Indeed, he missed Meghan and Prince Harry's 2018 wedding due to emergency heart surgery.
At the time, tensions between Thomas and Meghan—whose mother is Doria Ragland—arose when he was staging paparazzi photos. After the photo scandal, he initially said he would not be attending the wedding, then changed his mind and ultimately was absent due to his health. Since then, Thomas has repeatedly accused Meghan of refusing to talk to him. "I still do not understand why she continues to ignore me," he recently told the Mail on Sunday. "My only wish is to see my grandchildren before I die."
