Meghan reaches out to ailing father in Cebu hospital

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has reached out to her father, Thomas Markle, who is currently being treated in a Cebu hospital following the emergency amputation of his left leg, her spokesperson confirmed to the BBC and People on 10 December.

A spokesperson said a letter from the Duchess was successfully delivered to Markle with the help of trusted intermediaries. “With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands,” the statement read.

The spokesperson added that Meghan had faced difficulty making private contact due to the presence of a Daily Mail reporter at Markle’s bedside, whom they accused of “breaching clear ethical boundaries.” DMG, the paper’s parent company, rejected the allegation and said it was “demonstrably false.”

Markle, 81, told the Mail on Sunday that he underwent an amputation below the knee because of a blood clot. The former television lighting director described dealing with phantom limb pain and shared concerns about the long recovery he faces. He said he was “grateful to be alive,” but admitted that “living without a leg is a tough prospect.”

In the same interview, he spoke of his ongoing hope for reconciliation with Meghan. “I’ve always said I am open to reconciling with my daughter. I have never stopped loving her,” he told reporter Caroline Graham. “I don’t want to die estranged from Meghan. I want to meet my grandkids. It might be nice to meet her husband too.”

Markle has been open about previous health issues, including heart attacks and a stroke, and about the breakdown of his relationship with Meghan ahead of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. He did not attend the ceremony, with Meghan releasing a statement at the time asking that her father be given space to focus on his health. He also acknowledged staging paparazzi photos in the lead-up to the event.

The renewed contact between Meghan and her father comes as he continues to recover in intensive care in Cebu, marking a rare communication between the two amid years of strained relations.