Meghan Markle Gets Letter ‘Safely’ to Her Father Thomas Markle in the Hospital

Meghan Markle has managed to get a letter to her father, Thomas Markle, following his emergency surgery after several days of claim and counterclaim about her ability to contact him.

A note has been delivered to the 81-year-old in the hospital in the Philippines due to “the support of reliable and trusted” people, a representative for the Duchess of Sussex, 44, said on Dec. 10.

Thomas — from whom Meghan has been estranged since 2018 — has been recovering in a hospital after undergoing a lower leg amputation on Dec. 3. It emerged on Dec. 9 that Meghan was trying to get some correspondence to him because her calls and emails were said to have not been received. Now, she has been successful, her spokesperson said early on Dec. 10.

The spokesman said in a statement, “With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands.”

Meghan emailed her father on Friday Dec. 5, as news spread of his operation. She had kept that reach out private, but after The Mail on Sunday reported on Dec. 6 that Thomas was “confused” by the claims and said that he had not received anything from Meghan, those close to her made her attempts public.

In her efforts to contact her father, PEOPLE understands Meghan had personally called several hospitals in an effort to locate him. The duchess’ team has also sought clarification from those close to Thomas regarding the best way of contacting him as he recovers.

The journalist in contact with Thomas had previously said that he was not currently in possession of his phone, and the Duchess of Sussex does not have a working phone number for him.

Thomas’ operation follows several years of reported medical challenges, including a stroke in 2022. 

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Meghan has been estranged from her father since shortly before her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.

The rift began after Thomas admitted to staging paparazzi photos and, according to Meghan, was not truthful with her about his communications with the press. She talked about the issue during her and Harry’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, saying she felt the relationship had been irrevocably damaged, and adding at the time, “I’ve lost my father.”