UPDATE — 12/10/25, 5:40 a.m. ET: Meghan Markle has successfully delivered a letter to her father, Thomas Markle, following his lower leg amputation.
“With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands,” a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex told Us Weekly on Wednesday, December 10.
Original story:
Meghan Markle took matters into her own hands in an attempt to contact her estranged father, Thomas Markle, amid his health issues.
Us Weekly understands that Meghan, 44, called hospitals in the Philippines after learning that Thomas, 81, was hospitalized and had his leg amputated after suffering a blood clot.
In addition to searching various hospitals, Meghan wrote a letter to her father. Us understands that the Duchess of Sussex is hopeful the message will arrive to Thomas in the next 24 hours.
The Times was first to report.
Inside Meghan Markle’s Relationship With Estranged Father Thomas Markle Sr.
Thomas’ son, Thomas Markle Jr., revealed last week that his father underwent a serious surgery.
“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., 59, told the Daily Mail on Friday, December 5. “There was no option. I was told the leg had to be removed and it was a case of life or death.”
That same day, Us confirmed that Meghan “reached out to her father” in the wake of his surgery.
The following day, Thomas told the Daily Mail that he was “confused” to hear that Meghan attempted to contact him. While Thomas was unaware his daughter reached out, he shared that he was hopeful for a reconciliation.
“Of course I want to speak to [Meghan], but I am not sure if these are the right circumstances,” Thomas told the outlet in an interview published on Saturday, December 6. “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.”
Meghan Markle’s Family Guide: Meet the Duchess’ Parents and Siblings
Meghan and Thomas became estranged before she married Prince Harry in 2018. The father-daughter duo had a falling out when Thomas admitted to staging photos of a suit fitting. However, Thomas’ daughter Samantha later told U.K. talk show Loose Women that she was “entirely the culprit” in setting up the photo op and did it to help paint her dad in a positive light.
“As we know, the media can take very unflattering photographs of people on their casual days and blow it way out of proportion. I said, ‘You know, the world has no idea you’re getting in shape, doing healthy things. They don’t photograph you buying vegetables and PH water. They photograph you as unflattering ways as they can,’” she recalled in 2018. “So, I said, ‘Really, you need to show the world that you’re getting in shape and doing great healthy things.’ So, I suggested [the photo]. There’s a lot of scrutiny that it was money-motivated, it was not. It was my suggestion that to benefit him and to benefit the royal family that everyone looked good and they depict you as you are — in shape and doing healthy things.”
Thomas ultimately did not attend Meghan and Harry’s wedding because he underwent heart surgery days before.
