Meghan Markle's father stirs new debate: ‘weaponising' health?

Meghan Markle is going through a tough time as she struggles to contact her estranged father, Thomas Markle, following his life-saving operation in Philippines.

The 81-year-old, who had moved to the Southeast Asian country earlier this year, had to undergo an emergency operation in which he had his leg amputated from the knee down on Friday.

His doctors revealed on Monday that Thomas has been moved into a regular ward from the intensive care unit as his condition is now stable. During this time, the Duchess of Sussex has reportedly been trying to contact her father but couldn’t reach him.

It had come after DailyMail shared a direct plea from Thomas, in which he urged his daughter to “see him one last time”.

“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”.

The public was quick to criticise Meghan for holding a grudge and not sparing even a conversation with her father. Royal editor Richard Eden called it “jarring” to receive a cosy Sunday newsletter from As Ever especially when her father was hospitalised.

Royal correspondent Cameron Walker had revealed that Meghan “no longer had his phone number and hasn’t has it for some time” hence had been struggling to contact her ailing father. She had emailed him but that email had not been in use for years.

Sources close to Meghan have revealed that the team has contacted the Mail to connect with her father. While GB News suggested that contact could be made in the next 24 hours.

While critics continue to slam Prince Harry’s wife for her insensitivity towards the situation, some social media users pointed out that Meghan was not entirely at fault.

“I don’t want to hear ‘Why doesn’t Meghan Markle talk to her father?’ ever again. The man is literally feeding information FROM HIS HOSPITAL BED to the newspaper that’s openly bullied her for YEARS,” one user wrote on X. “This is why. This has always been why. No decent father does this. Period.”

Another user, The Notorious JTB shared, “Watching Thomas Markle run back to the press again tells you everything. If you really want to fix a family issue you do not turn it into a headline. This is not love. It is clout chasing and it is tired. Protect Meghan. Protect her peace.”

Others have argued that given the number ofresources Meghan had utilised in the past to contact senators and celebrities, it shouldn't have been hard to contact her own father.

Meghan and her father fell out in the first place after Thomas had sold news to the press before her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. The two had not been in contact since.