Meghan Markle reaches out to estranged father after reports he underwent amputation surgery

The Duchess of Sussex has “reached out” to her estranged father Thomas Markle after reports he had his leg amputated following surgery in the Philippines.

Meghan has been estranged from her father since her wedding in 2018 after he was caught staging paparazzi photos in the run-up to the big day.

A spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex said: “I can confirm she has reached out to her father.”

No further details have been released, including whether or not Meghan’s attempt was successful.

Meghan is said to have previously tried to reach out to him.

Mr Markle, who moved from Mexico to live in the Philippines, has never met his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

His son, Thomas Markle Jr, said before the news that the duchess had “reached out” that he hoped Meghan would show “compassion”.

“My only wish is that Meghan shows my father some compassion. He is literally fighting for his life,” he told the Daily Mail.

Mr Markle pulled out of attending Harry and Meghan’s wedding seven years ago after he was caught staging photographs for the paparazzi in the US, and then suffered a heart attack.

Harry’s father, now the King, stepped in to walk Meghan down the aisle.

Mr Markle went on to repeatedly speak to the media and later claimed he had been “shunned” by Meghan.

He criticised Meghan but still said he wanted to reunite with her, and publicly pleaded to be able to see Archie and Lili, saying in 2023: “She is not the person I knew as my daughter.”

The duchess previously won a High Court privacy and copyright claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over articles that reproduced parts of a “personal and private” handwritten letter she wrote to Mr Markle in a bid to persuade him to stop talking to the press.