Meghan Markle’s father has said he wants to reunite with his estranged daughter ‘before it’s too late‘.
Thomas Markle, 81, had his left leg amputated at a hospital in Cebu, the Philippines, on Wednesday.
His foot had turned black and swollen to the point that the retired Hollywood lighting designer was unable to walk.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex said Meghan had extended an olive branch to her father in light of his operation.
The pair have been estranged since 2018 when Thomas was caught staging paparazzi photographs ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry.
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But Thomas told The Mail On Sunday he hasn’t heard from his daugther, adding that he never changed his phone number so she ‘could always get in touch with me’.
The father added that he wants to meet Prince Harry and grandchildren Archie and Lilibet ‘before it’s too late’.
Thomas said: ‘I’ve always said I am open to reconciling with my daughter. 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.’
Hospital officials told the newspaper that they had not heard from the Duchess of Sussex or her representatives.
A source close to Meghan, however said the duchess’ team was not contacted before publication.
They said: ‘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.’
Meghan is understood to have reached out to the Mail to ask for a way to reach her father, as well as the name of the hospital he is staying at.
The paper reported that she had contacted an email address that had not been used for at least five years by Thomas.
Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha, also denied hearing from the duchess, describing it on X as ‘PR b******t’.
Meghan’s family estrangement explained
Meghan’s relationship to family members on her father’s side has been a source of media fodder for years, consisting of court cases, health scares and a lack of approval from spouses.
Years ago, Thomas Jr and Samantha, children of Thomas, filed a defamation case against their half-sibling, Meghan.
Meghan ultimately won the defamation case, with the judge finding that Samantha ‘failed to identify any statements that could support a claim for defamation’.
In 2021, Thomas threatened to take Meghan and Harry to court to gain access to his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
The former lighting director told Fox News in an exclusive interview that he is ready to take the matter to court ‘in the very near future’.
He has had a strained relationship with his daughter ever since her wedding to Harry, where Thomas struck a deal with a paparazzi photographer to stage photos of him.
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