Meghan Markle's father Thomas is in intensive care in hospital after emergency surgery: 'Keep him in your thoughts,' his son says.
Meghan Markle's father is in intensive care in hospital, his son says, after undergoing emergency surgery in the Philippines.
Thomas Markle, 81, who has been estranged from his daughter since her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry, was rushed to hospital on Tuesday after being taken gravely ill at home.
He underwent around three hours of surgery during Wednesday and today remains in the intensive care unit. He now faces a second procedure to remove a blood clot.
His son Thomas Jr said: 'I took dad to a hospital close to our home and they did various scans and the doctors said his life was in imminent danger.
'They raced us by ambulance, with the sirens going, to a much bigger hospital in the centre of the city. My dad has undergone emergency surgery. I would ask everyone around the world to keep him in their thoughts.'
Thomas's daughter Samantha, 61, said she believed the strain of the last few years had taken its toll on her father and added to his fragility. She said: 'He is a strong man, but he has been through so much. I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this.
'My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke and an earthquake. I hope he can pull through this.'
Mr Markle has been in poor health for years. He suffered two heart attacks on the eve of his daughter's wedding which prevented him from getting on a plane from his home in Los Angeles to London.
King Charles ended up walking Meghan part-way down the aisle at St George's Chapel in Windsor, an act Mr Markle later told The Mail on Sunday 'was the most gracious and kind thing to do. I shall be forever in his debt.'
Mr Markle, who has never met his son-in-law or grandchildren Archie, six, or Lilibet, four, suffered a massive stroke in 2022 which left him unable to speak. He regained some speech after months of therapy but has become increasingly frail in recent years.
This week's medical crisis unfolded around the time Prince Harry made a paid speech to a group of estate agents in Canada.
On Wednesday, Meghan released her holiday edition of her Netflix show 'With Love, Meghan' in which she stressed the importance of family and friends.
Tom Markle Jr. ,59, who has been his father's primary caregiver since the stroke, said: 'My only wish is that Meghan shows my father some compassion. He is literally fighting for his life.'
Mr Markle and his son moved to the Philippines in January of this year partly, Mr Markle said, to 'escape' from the constant reminders of his estrangement from his daughter.
He told the Mail on Sunday: 'Every day there was some story or other about Meghan and Harry. It was a constant reminder that my daughter is no longer speaking to me. I still do not understand why she continues to ghost me. My only wish is to see my grandchildren before I die.'
Mr Markle, a retired Emmy-award winning Hollywood lighting director, said his daughter was furious with him when he posed for paparazzi pictures on the eve of her wedding.
He later said he was convinced to pose for the photographs because he believed they would show him in a 'better light'.
He said: 'Meghan and Harry did nothing to prepare me for the attention I was getting. The paparazzi were getting pictures of me every day and they were very unflattering. I believed the photographer when he said putting nice pictures out there would show me in a better light.'
Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Louis, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Lilibet
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