Earlier this week, it was reported that Thomas Markle underwent emergency surgery to have his left leg amputated. Now, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has confirmed that Meghan Markle "reached out" to her estranged father upon learning news of his health difficulties.

According to People, Duchess Meghan's spokesperson stated, "I can confirm she has reached out to her father."

The Daily Mail previously reported that Thomas "underwent a three-hour operation on Wednesday [December 3] to remove his left foot and lower leg after a blood clot cut off circulation and the limb turned black."

Thomas underwent the operation at a hospital in Cebu in the Philippines, with his son, Thomas Jr., telling the outlet, "There was no option. I was told the leg had to be removed and it was a case of life or death."

Thomas is currently recovering in the ICU following surgery. "One of his doctors said the next two or three days are critical," his son Thomas Jr. explained to the Daily Mail. "His left leg has been removed below the knee."

According to Thomas Jr., doctors have indicated that Meghan's father could be at risk of a serious infection following surgery, with the medical team remaining on high alert for any indication of "sepsis or gangrene."

Meghan originally cut off contact with her father in May 2018, after it was revealed that Thomas staged paparazzi photos for money in the run up to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding.

During her March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan opened up about how her father's actions affected her. "I said, 'I just need you to tell me and if you tell me the truth, we can help,' and he wasn't able to do that," Meghan explained to Winfrey. "And that, for me, has really resonated, especially now as a mother."

When news broke that Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle, wouldn't be able to attend his daughter's royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, Meghan's future father-in-law stepped in to walk her down the aisle.

In a new interview with the Daily Mail, Thomas Markle, who says he watched the royal wedding on television from a rented Airbnb where he was staying in recovery after being hospitalized shortly before the big day (he says his doctors forbid him from traveling), said he is still "incredibly grateful" to King Charles for stepping into walk Meghan down the aisle when he couldn't be there himself.

"I'm a grandfather and he is King of England—but he too is a grandfather who would like to see his grandkids," Markle said of Charles.

Even at the time, there was some controversy around Markle missing the royal wedding, with some sources allegedly questioning the validity of his claim that a heart attack forced him to miss the wedding in the first place. For his part, Markle reiterated his health claims the Daily Mail, saying he suffered two heart attacks on the eve of the wedding, and that his health issues kept him from being present for the ceremony at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle himself.

In the new interview, which Markle gave as he was packing to leave his home in Rosarito, Mexico ahead of plans to move abroad (likely, he told the outlet, to somewhere in South East Asia), the former lighting director struck a mostly positive tone when talking about Meghan and Harry—something that, unfortunately, hasn't always been the case during his years-long estrangement from the couple.

"I'm not running away. I am going in search of a more positive life. Every day I see something about Meghan. This week it has been the new TV show," he said, referring to Meghan's new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. "I wish her no ill-will. My dream is that one day I could bring my whole family together, like a 'normal' family."

In the Sussexes' infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Meghan Markle claimed that it was her who cried over an argument with Princess Kate ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, where tabloids had claimed that it was the other way around.

Now, Prince Harry writes in his new memoir Spare that the argument, which revolved around a problem with the bridesmaid dresses, left Meghan "on the floor. Sobbing."

It was just days before the wedding, and Meghan and Harry were already trying to deal with a new scandal involving the bride's dad, Thomas Markle, who had been found out to have staged paparazzi photos. Though Thomas texted the couple once, he was unreachable from then on.

In the midst of all this drama, Kate texted Meghan telling her that all the bridesmaid dresses "needed to be remade." She also reportedly told her, "Charlotte's dress is too big, too long, too baggy. She cried when she tried it on at home."

Apparently, Kate was urging Meghan to deal with this issue immediately.

Still, Harry was able to play down the episode.

"I was horrified to see [Meghan] so upset, but I didn't think it a catastrophe. Emotions were running high, of course, after the stress of the last week, the last month, the last day. It was intolerable—but temporary. Kate hadn't meant any harm, I told her.

"Indeed the next morning Kate came by with flowers and a card that said she was sorry. Meg's best friend, Lindsay, was in the kitchen when she turned up.

"Simple misunderstanding, I told myself."

But as we all know, this scene was only the beginning of a fraught relationship from then on out.

Spare is out now, and available from all major book retailers.

Meghan Markle and her father Thomas no longer have a relationship (at least that we know of), in large part because of Thomas' collaboration with the tabloids around the time of his daughter's wedding.

Both parties want people to think that they were the hurt one in this scenario, and their stories contradict each other to an extent. While we don't know what exactly is true and what isn't, Meghan has at least been more discreet in the media, while Thomas has made a habit of saying things publicly that might hurt his daughter.

For royal commentator Roya Nikkhah, pushing his side of the story is exactly what Thomas has done again via Tom Bower's bombshell biography Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors.

"He's clearly spoken at great length to Thomas Markle, and you get much more of an understanding from Thomas Markle's point of view of Meghan's upbringing, the time she spent with her father," Nikkhah said on Royal Beat (via Express).

"Because of course the relationship that is now portrayed as very close is the one between Meghan and her mother, whereas actually for great periods of her childhood and her teenage years, she was living with her father, and Doria wasn't around so much.

"So I think Thomas has used the book as a sort of platform to try and reestablish his side of the narrative."

In Revenge, Thomas paints himself as a loving father who would have done anything for Meghan. "It was love at first sight," he recalled saying when she was born.

Bower writes, "During Meghan’s first weeks her father redecorated the family bathroom in their comfortable three-storey house in Woodward Hills with angels and fairies. 'The look on his face was priceless,' recalled Tom Junior, his son from a previous marriage. Watching Thomas hold Meghan, Tom Junior could see his father was smitten: 'My dad was more in love with her than anyone else in the world and that included Doria. She became his whole life, his little princess.'"

It was, according to Bower and Thomas Markle, only after Meghan met Harry that things soured between the father and daughter.

According to the explosive new book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, written by veteran biographer Tom Bower, both the Queen and Prince Charles strongly encouraged Meghan Markle to mend fences with her estranged father, Thomas Markle, and that Charles in particular became “irritated” with her refusal to do so, per The Mirror.

For those who may not remember—though how could you forget?—Thomas Markle made a significant number of headlines in the runup to Harry and Meghan’s May 2018 wedding, culminating in his not attending because of health issues. (Ultimately, Meghan walked herself partway down the aisle, and was then met by Charles, who escorted her the rest of the way.) Over the summer of 2018, Thomas took part in several interviews where he discussed Harry, Meghan, and the royal family candidly and, sometimes, critically. In one interview, Thomas said, per The Independent, that he had been cut off completely: “I used to have a phone number and text number for her personal aides at the Palace, but after I said a few critical words about the royal family changing Meghan, they cut me off,” he said, adding “perhaps it would be easier for Meghan if I died.”

Two months after the wedding, in July 2018, The Independent reports, “Prince Charles is also claimed to have grown frustrated with Meghan,” quoting Bower’s text as saying “he had never really understood her or what she wanted.” That same month, The Mirror reports, “Charles’ irritation had reportedly reached a boiling point and he addressed the situation with his youngest son.”

Harry explained to his father “that Meghan did not phone or email her father due to suspicions that they were both compromised,” to which Charles said, “Can’t she just go and see him and make this stop?” The outlet reports that “Charles is alleged to have ‘berated’ Harry” and Bower writes “the inconsistencies of Meghan’s excuses not only irritated Charles, but perhaps also the Queen.”

Charles and the Queen allegedly urged Meghan to fly to see her father in person in Mexico (where he resides), but she refused, to the two senior royals’ dismay. Meghan claimed, according to Bower’s book and per The Mirror, “it was completely unrealistic to think I could fly discreetly to Mexico, arrive unannounced at his doorstep, to a location and residence I had [n]ever visited or know, in a small border town…and somehow hope to speak privately to my father without causing a frenzy of media attention and intrusion that could bring more embarrassment to the royal family.”

Charles’ and the Queen’s urgings for reconciliation happened four years ago this month—and, at least publicly, Meghan and her father have still not resolved their issues.

If it were up to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, Meghan Markle and her father, Thomas Markle, would be on good terms. 

New information has come to light ​​thanks to British journalist Tom Bower’s new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors. Page Six reports that the book claims that Charles and the Queen had a conference call weeks after Prince Harry and Meghan’s May 2018 wedding. The call was an attempt by Charles and the Queen to convince Meghan to mend the relationship with her father. 

However, Meghan chose not to reconcile the relationship after her father publicly embarrassed her by staging paparazzi photos and speaking negatively about her in the press. At the time of the wedding, Meghan said that her father couldn’t attend because of his health, but according to the book, it was a result of their fractured relationship.

“Can’t she just go and see him and make this stop?” Charles asked Harry, according to Bower’s book.

Meghan found it to be “completely unrealistic” that she could fly to where her father was living in Mexico “and somehow hope to speak privately to my father without causing a frenzy of media attention and intrusion that could bring more embarrassment to the royal family.” 

Harry and Meghan announced that they were stepping down from their duties as senior royals two weeks later.

Just before her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle found out her father, Thomas Markle, would not be attending and, therefore, couldn’t walk her down the aisle as planned. Her soon-to-be father-in-law Prince Charles stepped in and offered to walk her down the aisle. But, in a new book, royal author Robert Hardman reveals Meghan’s exact response to the Prince of Wales’ offer, which he says showed she was “confident and independent.”

In a response to his offer that caught Charles off guard, Meghan replied with four words: “Can we meet halfway?”

The response “was an indicator that this was no blushing bride, but a confident, independent woman determined to make a grand entrance on her own,” Hardman says, via the Mirror.

Hardman’s newest book, The Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II, details the Markle family drama surrounding the wedding. Ultimately, Meghan’s mother, Doria, was the only member of Meghan’s family in attendance and “the dynamics of her [Meghan’s] family certainly eclipsed the usual criticisms about the royal family being dysfunctional,” Hardman says.

Less than two years later, Harry and Meghan infamously stepped back as working royals in January 2020. Some around Buckingham Palace expected the Sussexes would return, but Hardman says in his book, Her Majesty knew they wouldn’t for one pivotal reason.

“She told a visitor she did not expect them to resume royal life,” the Mirror reports. “When asked about a future return for the couple, she replied: ‘Of course not. They took the dogs.’”

• In the lead up to Meghan Markle's royal wedding, her father, Thomas Markle Sr., found himself at the center of a scandal involving staged paparazzi photos and ended up skipping the wedding.
• Meghan's relationship with her father has been infamously strained since the royal wedding, but according to her childhood boyfriend, Joshua Silverstein, Meghan and Thomas' relationship has always been "complicated.
• "I didn’t see him often...but I did know that Meghan’s relationship with her dad was complicated and I understood that as most teenager-to-parent relationships are," he explained. "Being there when Meghan’s parents were divorced at that time…it’s hard raising your kids without the secondary parent. It’s all challenging."

Meghan Markle's relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, Sr., has been strained since shortly before her royal wedding to Prince Harry, which her father missed after finding himself at the center of a scandal involving staged paparazzi photos—that fact is common knowledge to royal fans. According to Meghan's ex-boyfriend, Joshua Silverstein, however, the issues between Meghan and her dad go back much further than most royal fans could possibly realize.

Speaking to Us Weekly, Silverstein, who says he knew Thomas from when he and Meghan were kids, offered some insights into Meghan's relationship with her father.

"I didn’t see him often...but I did know that Meghan’s relationship with her dad was complicated and I understood that as most teenager-to-parent relationships are," he explained. "Being there when Meghan’s parents were divorced at that time…it’s hard raising your kids without the secondary parent. It’s all challenging. I don’t think there was anything specifically surprising to find out at that time because there were a lot of people that I knew [who] had challenging relationships with their parents. But I did know about it."

Silverstein, who grew up to be a performance artist, stressed that he "couldn’t speak to the specificity of what Meghan went through" with her dad, but even though things "might have been strained" between the father and daughter already at the time, his interactions with Thomas were "very cordial." Ultimately, though, Silverstein said he supports Meghan in whatever she has to do to create a happy and healthy life for herself and her family—even if that means carving out space between herself and her father, be that temporarily or more permanently.

"I think at the end of the day, we’re all human beings and we all have to create boundaries with people that we may not want to create boundaries with...but at the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you and your family," Silverstein added. "If that means creating a boundary with your parents, sometimes that’s what you have to do."

• Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey that her father, Thomas Markle, lied to her about staging paparazzi photos with the tabloid media ahead of Meghan and Harry's royal wedding.
• "I said, 'I just need you to tell me and if you tell me the truth, we can help,' and he wasn't able to do that," Meghan recalled. "And that, for me, has really resonated, especially now as a mother."
• "I look at Archie, I think about this child [due to arrive], and I genuinely can't imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. I can't imagine it," she continue. "So it's hard for me to reconcile that."

In a newly-released clip from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle said her father, Thomas Markle, lied to her about staging paparazzi photos before the Sussexes' wedding, adding that as a parent herself, she struggled to process her father's actions. In the bombshell interview, Meghan also spoke about experiencing racism from the royal family and the media—sharing that members of the royal family had raised "concerns" about how dark son Archie's skin would be—as well as the heavy toll her experience as a royal had on her mental health.

Meghan spoke to Winfrey about the media "obsession" with tracking down her father before the royal wedding, and his subsequent decision to work with the tabloids to stage paparazzi photos. When Winfrey asked whether her father's actions felt like "betrayal," Meghan explained, "If we’re going to use the word ‘betrayal,’ it’s because when I asked him, when we were told by the comms team that this was a story that was going to be coming out—which, by the way, the tabloids had apparently known [Thomas Markle's location] for a month or so and decided to hold until the Sunday before our wedding because they wanted to create drama."

"We called my dad and I asked him [whether he'd staged the photos]. He said, 'No, absolutely not,'" the Duchess of Sussex continued. "I said, 'The institution has never intervened for anything for us, but they can try to go in and kill this story. But if they do this once, we're not gonna be able to use that same leverage to protect our own kids one day.'"

"I said, 'I just need you to tell me and if you tell me the truth, we can help,' and he wasn't able to do that," Meghan recalled. "And that, for me, has really resonated, especially now as a mother."

"I look at Archie, I think about this child [due to arrive], and I genuinely can't imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. I can't imagine it," she said. "So it's hard for me to reconcile that."

• Meghan Markle's lawyers said the Mail on Sunday's publication of a private letter to her father, Thomas Markle, was "self-evidently likely to be devastating" for the Duchess.
• The Duchess of Sussex's privacy court case against publishers Associated Newspapers continued in court Tuesday.
• Lawyers representing Meghan are asking for "summary judgement," which would see Associated Newspapers' defense dismissed and prevent the case from going to trial.

Lawyers representing the Duchess of Sussex said she suffered a "triple-barrelled invasion of privacy" when the Mail on Sunday published extracts from a letter to her father, Thomas Markle, as her legal battle continued in court Tuesday. Meghan is suing publishers Associated Newspapers for misuse of private information, breach of the Data Protection Act, and copyright infringement, as the BBC reports, over the publication of parts of a letter she sent to her father in August 2018. The Mail on Sunday published five articles on Meghan's letter to her father, in which she begged him to stop talking to the media.

On the first day of a two-day remote High Court hearing, Meghan's lawyers asked judge Mr Justice Warby for "summary judgement," which would see Associated Newspapers' defense dismissed and prevent the case from going to trial. Justin Rushbrooke, representing Meghan, said her letter was a "heartfelt plea from an anguished daughter to her father," adding that the "contents and character of the letter were intrinsically private, personal, and sensitive in nature."

Rushbrooke said the Duchess of Sussex "had a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of the contents of the letter," noting that the letter's publication was "self-evidently likely to be devastating for the claimant."

Lawyer Antony White, representing Associated Newspapers, argued that Meghan wrote the letter "with a view to it being disclosed publicly at some future point" with the intent of refuting "charges of being an uncaring or unloving daughter." White said Meghan "must, at the very least, have appreciated that her father might choose to disclose it," noting that she consulted with the Kensington Palace communications team before sending it. "No truly private letter from daughter to father would require any input from the Kensington Palace communications team," White added.

Meghan's lawyers, however, said that even the Mail on Sunday articles about the letter stressed that it was private, adding that any public interest in publishing the letter was at the "very end of the bottom end of the scale." Rushbrooke told the court, "On any view the defendant published far more by way of extracts from the letter than could have been justified in the public interest."

In a witness statement submitted to the hearing, Thomas Markle claimed that he had "never intended to talk publicly about Meg's letter" until reading an article in People, in which a friend of Meghan's said she sent the letter with the intention of repairing her relationship with her father. Markle said instead that the letter "signaled the end" of his relationship with Meghan, and argued that he had to "defend himself" against the People article which, he claimed, depicted him as "dishonest, exploitative, publicity-seeking, uncaring, and cold-hearted."

Markle claimed he wanted to "set the record straight" by allowing the letter to be published—but Meghan's lawyers dismissed this claim as "ridiculous."

The summary judgement hearing will continue on Wednesday. The full trial of Meghan's privacy claim was also initially scheduled to take place this month, as the Independent reports, but last October, she was granted an adjournment until fall 2021 on "confidential" grounds. 

• Meghan Markle's half-sister, Samantha Markle, is releasing a book—but the Duchess of Sussex isn't worried.
• Royal correspondent Omid Scobie said Samantha barely knows her younger sister, and has nothing to share about the Duchess.
• "I think [Meghan and Harry] at this stage really have nothing to worry about and nothing much to say or think about this," Scobie said.

Last week, news broke that Meghan Markle's half-sister, Samantha Markle, was releasing a memoir titled The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister Part 1. Samantha, the oldest daughter of Meghan's dad, Thomas Markle, has repeatedly attacked Meghan via social media and television appearances, and told the Sun last week that the memoir was not a "slamming tell-all" but could make her sister uncomfortable. But according to royal correspondent Omid Scobie, author of Sussex biography Finding Freedom, the Duchess of Sussex is unlikely to be worried about her sister's new book—because Samantha barely knows the royal, and as such has nothing substantial to share.

"I find it quite hard to believe that Samantha will have anything interesting to say about her relationship with Meghan as there simply wasn’t one," Scobie told the Evening Standard. "What we have seen her do over the years is simply jump on to conversations to give her opinion, but she has never been able to give any insight into the duchess herself because she just didn’t know her beyond the time they spent together as children."

"This book is something that Samantha has been threatening to release for three years. A publisher never [previously] bit because it seems to be that she didn’t have the goods to offer. It is a spiky title and nothing more," Scobie continued.

As for how Meghan and Harry are responding to the book? "I think the couple at this stage really have nothing to worry about and nothing much to say or think about this," the royal correspondent said. "I think they are very focused on the present. Samantha represents a period in the past, she has already attempted to cause trouble with the few stories that she has had to share, and I think this book will be nothing more than a rehash of those and it is just an attempt [by her] to be a part of the Sussex conversation again."

"Samantha, her story is old news and that is, I think, exactly how the couple will be feeling."

• In the latest development in Meghan Markle's ongoing family drama, the Duchess' father, Thomas Markle, has reportedly been trying repeatedly to reestablish contact with her since the Sussexes moved to Los Angeles earlier this year.
• Thomas, 75, lives in Mexico and has been publicly estranged with Meghan since around the time of her royal wedding, which he missed, citing health issues.
• A royal source says that, while Thomas has sent multiple letters to the house where Meghan and Harry are staying, Meghan isn't interested in reconnecting at present and Thomas' "letters remain unopened."

We have reportedly entered the next phase in Meghan Markle's never-ending drama saga with her estranged father, Thomas Markle. According to Us Weekly, Thomas has been "continuing to try and get in contact" with Meghan since she, Prince Harry, and baby Archie relocated to Los Angeles earlier this year.

The 75-year-old retired lighting director lives in Mexico now, but has been "sending letters to the house" where Meghan and Harry are staying in an attempted to reconnect with his daughter. According to Us Weekly's source, however, the efforts have been in vain so far and his "letters remain unopened."

Meghan's relationship with her father seems to have been strained for some time, but things came to a head in the spring of 2018, when he was caught staging paparazzi photos in the weeks leading up to Meghan's royal wedding. Although initial reports suggested Thomas would attend the ceremony and walk his daughter down the aisle, he ultimately missed the wedding, citing health issues as the reason why.

Although Thomas claimed that Meghan and Harry had essentially shut him out, court documents eventually revealed that Meghan expressed concern about Thomas at that time, texting him, "I’ve been reaching out to you all weekend but you’re not taking any of our calls or replying to any texts. Very concerned about your health and safety and have taken every measure to protect you but not sure what more we can do if you don’t respond…Do you need help? Can we send the security team down again?"

Meghan Markle's Most Iconic Fashion Moments

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• According to court documents, Meghan Markle has refuted her father's claim that she never offered him financial support.
• Thomas Markle claimed that Meghan never offered him financial support, even though he took out loans to help pay for her tuition at Northwestern University.
• Meghan says this is totally untrue and that she began making "voluntary contributions" to her father when her acting career took off in January 2014.

Meghan Markle is fighting back in court. In new documents related to her lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday, Meghan directly refuted claims from her father, Thomas Markle, alleging that she never helped him financially over the years.

This is very untrue, according to Meghan, who asserted in legal documents that she began making "voluntary contributions" to her father when she began working in January 2014. Per The Mirror, Meghan wrote in the legal docs:

"In any event, it is admitted and has never been denied that the Claimant’s father supported her throughout her childhood and as a young adult.

Mr Markle did not pay for all of the Claimant’s college tuition. The Claimant’s mother also contributed towards her university costs.

In addition, the Claimant received scholarships for academic achievement, which reduced the payable tuition fees.

The Claimant also undertook a work-study programme whereby income she made from working on campus after class was applied directly to supplement and lower her tuition costs, thus personally contributing to her tuition as well."

According to the documents, Thomas Markle took out a loan to help pay for Meghan's education at Northwestern University. Although she says she's unaware if the loan has been repaid, Meghan began voluntarily providing Thomas with financial support after her acting career took off.

Meghan continued making these voluntary contributions until her royal wedding in May 2018, according to court docs.

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• After their royal exit this spring, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved across the Atlantic to settle down in Los Angeles.
• The move came after a mounting list of issues and hardships Meghan in particular has faced since joining the royal family in 2018, but relocating may not have helped as much as the Sussexes expected, especially as their legal battle against British tabloids has heated up in recent weeks.
• A relative of Meghan's told The Mirror that the duchess has "gone very quiet" recently and seems to be struggling amidst her move back to California. 

Meghan Markle has been through a lot in the last few years, and, in spite of the Sussexes' move to California, her royal issues appear to still be wearing on her.

Earlier this year, Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, shocked the world when they announced their intention to step back from working royal life. The decision was motivated, in large part, by the couple's desire for increased privacy.

As part of their continued battle for privacy, the Sussexes filed suit against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of Mail Online and the Mail on Sunday, after they published parts of a letter Meghan wrote to her father, Thomas Markle, around the time of her royal wedding. Recent revelations made in court documents in the case have apparently compounded the stress Meghan has felt since going under the royal microscope and the duchess is reportedly struggling more than ever.

"She has gone very quiet. I think she is likely to be feeling extremely low and probably struggling," a relative of Meghan's told the Sunday Mirror. "The legal battle and the increased tension it’s created with the royals due to the information that’s coming out has to be putting a lot of strain on them both."

The relative, who requested anonymity, also weighed in on Harry's reported issues with the rest of the royal family.

"Meghan’s been a lot more distant and introverted over the last few weeks–her family is worried. And Harry must be tormented by his fractured family ties," the relative explained. "He was particularly down on William’s birthday on June 21."

In addition to dealing with the privacy case against British tabloids, Meghan has had another very stressful and very public issue to contend with in recent weeks. In June, Meghan's longtime friend, Jessica Mulroney, was at the center of a scandal after she displayed "textbook white privilege" during a disagreement with Sasha Exeter, a Black influencer. Meghan has reportedly distanced herself from Mulroney since the incident.

"Meghan’s fallout with Jessica has hit her really hard and she’s not even been speaking to some of her closest friends," Meghan's relative said. "She’s shut down—and they think she’s at a loss over who to even trust any longer."

We can only hope that, once her case is over, Meghan can find some well-deserved peace of mind.

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• Meghan Markle's estranged father, Thomas Markle, has weighed in on the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' royal exit.
• The 75-year-old reportedly threw shade at Meghan and Harry's decision in a new interview for an upcoming Channel 5 documentary.
• Thomas' claims that Meghan and Harry are "destroying" the royal family are unfounded, however, as the Queen has made it clear that the couple have her full support in their decision.

Thomas Markle is throwing shade. Again.

Meghan Markle's estranged father has weighed in on his daughter and son-in-law, Prince Harry's decision to step back from their royal duties and his take is predictably shady.

"It's disappointing because she actually got every girl's dream," Thomas reportedly says in footage for a documentary about the news for the U.K.'s Channel 5. "Every young girl wanted to become a princess and she got that and now she's tossing that away, for, it looks like she's tossing that away for money."

But the 75-year-old didn't stop there. According to E! News, he went on, saying, "It's kind of embarrassing to me. When they got married, they took on an obligation and the obligation is to be part of the royals and to represent the royals and it would be foolish for them not to. This is like one of the greatest, long-living institutions ever. They are destroying it. They are cheapening it. They're making it shabby. They are turning it into a Walmart with a crown of it now. It is something that is ridiculous. They shouldn't be doing this."

"I think both of them are turning into lost souls at this point," he reportedly added. "I don't know what they're looking for."

Of course, as usual, there's no real basis for Thomas' assertions. The Queen made it clear in her official statement this weekend that the decision was one the royal family came to together and that Harry and Meghan have her full support in the matter.

What's more, the Queen made a point of making it clear that her support extends to Meghan.

"I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family," the monarch wrote in her statement.

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The drama factory that is Meghan Markle's family is still in high-production. The latest development in the Markle family soap opera involves a letter that the Duchess of Sussex reportedly wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, after he skipped her wedding following his debut royal scandal.

According to a new report from People, based on interviews with several of Meghan's close friends (all of whom go unnamed in the story), there's a lot to the Meghan Markle and Thomas Markle drama that the public hasn't been privy to. For example, according to the People sources, Thomas Markle's repeated claims that he has no way to contact Meghan are totally false. The outlet cited a "longtime friend" of the Duchess as saying: 

What's more, the sources claim that not only did Meghan still want—and expect—her dad to be a part of the wedding after the scandal of his staged paparazzi photos broke, but they claim that Thomas Markle was actually the one who cut off contact:

Oh, and apparently, Thomas didn't give Meghan a personal heads-up about the story leaked to the press that he was going to miss her wedding because of a heart attack and she, understandably, freaked out:

Meghan's father-in-law, Prince Charles, famously ended up stepping in to walk her down the aisle when Thomas flaked on the big day.

The truly heartbreaking reveal is about Meghan's post-wedding response to the whole situation. People's sources claim Meghan wrote her father a letter after the royal wedding, basically pleading with him to make things right and he replied with a typical Thomas Markle, fame-grabbing suggestion of his own:

"After the wedding she wrote him a letter. She’s like, ‘Dad, I’m so heartbroken. I love you. I have one father. Please stop victimizing me through the media so we can repair our relationship.’ Because every time her team has to come to her and fact-check something [he has said], it’s an arrow to the heart. He writes her a really long letter in return, and he closes it by requesting a photo op with her. And she feels like, ‘That’s the opposite of what I’m saying. I’m telling you I don’t want to communicate through the media, and you’re asking me to communicate through the media. Did you hear anything I said?’ It’s almost like they’re ships passing."

Again, since the sources cited in People's report are anonymous, it's impossible to know if they're really all that close to Meghan and what, if anything, she might have known about the interviews before the story ran. Kensington and Buckingham Palace press officials were reportedly completely in the dark about the story until "minutes" before it ran, meaning these "friends" didn't have the royal family's official okay to share the stories.

Poor Meghan Markle. Her difficulties with her family, members of which routinely speak to the press about her, nag her about her lack of response, and publish a tell-all book about her (eyeroll, Samantha Markle) must be incredibly challenging. Now, the pregnant duchess's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., believes that he knows just the thing to resolve all family drama and make things right in the estranged Markle household. That's right: he's inviting Meghan and Prince Harry to his wedding in March, as he exclusively told Daily Mail TV.

"Absolutely I think our wedding will bring the family closer together. It's hopeful that if Meghan and Harry came and my father...Meghan and Harry could spend some time together with him and that would be good," said Markle Jr.

He added, "Starting out the New Year by bringing our family closer together is definitely on the to-do list—it's very important. [The wedding] would be a perfect time for Meg to get together with my dad—who is her father as well—and just put all the past behind everybody and move on and be a closer family again."

Okay. So of course I am not inside the duchess and mom-to-be's head, so I cannot predict with exact clarity how she's going to respond. But I'm pretty sure it's a no, for a couple reasons. 1) Meghan's method of dealing with her family has been to "ride out" the drama, which is actually in contrast to how the Queen wants to handle it (release the hounds! I mean, deal with it more directly). 2) It's not totally clear when her baby will be born, but she's already given hints that it won't be too long now.

So, either Markle Jr. expects a heavily pregnant lady to board a plane just to visit family members that haven't been very nice to her, or a new mom to bring herself and/or her child on a plane to Reno or Las Vegas (where the wedding will be held). I don't think so. So the invite is really just another half-spirited attempt to keep publicity on top of the "Meghan Markle has turned her back on her family" angle.

As a reminder, Meghan hasn't spoken to her father since before the wedding, and he claims she has "ghosted" him. It's hard to see that changing anytime soon.

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You know how Meghan Markle's family is just the worst? Well, that's still the case going into 2019, apparently. Meghan's estranged half-sister, Samantha Markle, decided to speak to Meghan via the British tabloid press (because, for obvious reasons, they're not on speaking or even, we assume, texting terms) and suggest some New Year's resolutions for the Duchess of Sussex.

In a lengthy quote via the Daily Star Online, Samantha said:

In case you need a refresher, Meghan and her dad, Thomas Markle, have been on shaky ground since her wedding to Prince Harry in May, when news broke that the 73-year-old had worked with a paparazzo to stage and sell pictures of himself preparing to travel to the UK for the big day. Since then, Meghan's family (on her dad's side, at least—her mother, Doria Ragland, has been nothing but lovely by all accounts) has taken to regularly granting interviews and dragging her in the press.

In a perfect illustration of this, Samantha added one final suggestion for Meghan's resolution list: "And of course I would add to eat more chocolate to sweeten your disposition for the new year."

Ugh.

We've probably seen the last of the royal engagements until Christmas, with the Fab Four—Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton—arriving to the Queen's Christmas luncheon yesterday. Even though Buckingham Palace isn't commenting officially, beyond saying everything is just fine with the royals, Vanity Fair is reporting that there's some tension—but not between the people you might think. Apparently, Meghan and the Queen aren't seeing totally eye to eye when it comes to Meghan's dad, Thomas Markle Sr.

As anyone with a vested interest in the royals will know, Markle has been speaking to the press about...well, just about everything. Initially he talked about how he'd be in the royal wedding, then he was disappointed he couldn't go partially for health reasons, then he shared details of the conversations he'd had with her. Repeatedly. Now, Meghan's cut off contact entirely, which, given his track record, is probably totally justified. And he's been talking to the press about that too.

Apparently the Queen hasn't loved this ongoing drama from Meghan's dad, so she wanted to handle it in a somewhat more proactive way. Per Vanity Fair:

“She was very concerned that it [the Markle situation] was spiraling out of control, which it was,” says one observer. “Buckingham Palace wanted to be able to do something and be proactive and make the situation go away. It was a direction from the Queen, so her courtiers were under strict instructions to sort it out. But Kensington Palace was not singing from the same hymn sheet, and that was because the message was coming from Meghan. She didn’t want to engage and thought that she could handle it on her own.”

Not totally sure what "make the situation go away" means, but it doesn't sound great. There's a couple of interpretations here—if the report is true, either Meghan is showing a bit of tolerance for her father by just letting him do whatever he does, and taking the high road in contrast to direct action. Or, she feels she knows the situation better since it's her dad, and she may worry that direct action might make things worse. Let's not even discuss how her half-sister writing the tell-all book might react.

It's likely a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation. But, up until the point when Meghan might no longer be able to keep silent, she's doing her best to just overlook her dad's behavior.

Earlier this week, we got news that Meghan (and the royal family) are just hoping to "ride out" this negative wave of publicity until the focus turns to something more positive...perhaps to that royal baby that we'll be seeing soon.

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Being a royal isn't an easy job—and apparently, neither is working for one. Meghan Markle's personal assistant has reportedly quit her post suddenly after just six months on the job.

In his column Eden Confidential for the Daily Mail, Richard Eden revealed that Meghan's personal assistant, identified only as "Melissa," quit the coveted gig unexpectedly. Unless Melissa is a code name, Meghan's private assistant secretary, Amy Pickerill, who was appointed in February, should still be on duty, meaning the Duchess of Sussex isn't left with no help. 

"It’s a real shock," a source reportedly told the Daily Mail of Melissa the Assistant's departure. "Why would she want to leave such a prestigious job so soon?"

Apparently, Melissa the Assistant was very well-liked among the royal family and Palace staff. She's also said to have played a big part in planning Prince Harry and Meghan's highly-anticipated royal wedding in May.

"Melissa is a hugely talented person," the source reportedly said. "She played a pivotal role in the success of the Royal Wedding and will be missed by everyone in the Royal Household."

So just what was that "pivotal" role in wedding planning? According to Eden, it sounds like Melissa was on Thomas Markle damage control duty leading up to the big day.

Per Eden for the Daily Mail: "Melissa had to deal with the traumatic build-up to Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding in May, in which the Duchess’s father, Thomas Markle, gave a running commentary to journalists on the likelihood of his attending the ceremony."

Anyone who has followed Meghan's rise through the royal ranks knows that her family drama has been a pretty big deal for the duchess. Her father, Thomas, courted controversy ahead of her wedding when he was revealed to have staged paparazzi photos that appeared to show him preparing to visit her for the big day. He then skipped the wedding entirely and gave a series of tell-all interviews in the weeks that followed. Meghan's half-sister, Samantha Markle, has also been quoted in the media disparaging Meghan for not doing more to include her father's side of the family in her wedding.

Assuming these rumors are true, it seems like there's an opening in the Office of All Things Meghan Markle and we need to know how to apply for the job.

After Meghan Markle entered St. George's Chapel looking like a literal angel and walked herself down most of the aisle, Prince Harry's father, Charles, accompanied Meghan in her final steps to the altar. In the upcoming BBC One documentary, Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70, Harry opened up about what it meant to have his father play this special role for Meghan.

“I asked him to and I think he knew it was coming, and he immediately said, ‘Yes, of course, I’ll do whatever Meghan needs and I’m here to support you,'” Harry revealed, according to Entertainment Tonight. “For him, that’s a fantastic opportunity to step up and be that support, and you know, he’s our father, so of course he’s going to be there for us.”

Anybody who counted down the days until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in May knows about the (exhausting!) drama surrounding who would walk Meghan down the aisle. After her father, Thomas Markle, staged paparazzi pictures of himself and reportedly had a heart attack days before the wedding, he revealed he would not be attending his daughter's special day—or walking her down the aisle as planned.

Despite the drama, it ended up being a beautiful moment for Meghan to enter the royal family with Prince Charles by her side. Though her father wasn't there, Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, proudly watched her daughter walk down the aisle and has even attended royal events since, like Meghan's first charity cookbook launch.

Unless you've been living under a rock, it's hard to ignore the family drama Meghan Markle has been dealing with relating to the nasty public interviews from her father, Thomas Markle, half-sister, Samantha Grant, and half-brother, Thomas Markle, Jr. Naturally, the interviews and rumors also affect the royal family as a whole. However, the Queen reportedly only has sympathy for her new granddaughter.

“What may surprise some is just how supportive Her Majesty has been during the problems Meghan has faced with her family,” says a Buckingham Palace source, according to US Weekly. “Meghan is in a tough place, and the Queen knows it’s completely out of Meghan’s hands. She has only sympathy for what’s been a difficult and distressing situation for her.”

Thomas Markle has held no shortage of interviews with the press about his estranged relationship with his daughter, which was revealed right before the wedding after he staged paparazzi photos of himself, reportedly had a fake heart attack, and refused to walk Meghan down the aisle. Meanwhile, there's half-sister Samantha Grant, who accused Meghan of ignoring her father and lashed out at Chrissy Teigen along the way (fun times). Then there's Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle, Jr., who somehow blames Prince Harry for the entire thing. Despite Meghan's troubled relationship with three of her family members, she is still very close to her mother, Doria Ragland.

So yes, it's a lot for Meghan to deal with as she adjusts to her new life in the Palace. But with the support of her new grandmother, it should make things a bit easier for the Duchess. “While Meghan and the Queen come from two very different backgrounds and generations, there’s a warmth between the two that’s genuine and loving,” says the source.

That special bond will likely only continue to grow as Meghan makes her impact alongside the royal family.

Another day, another Thomas Markle-related royal family drama. After months of bad-mouthing Meghan and her new in-laws in the press in a series of tell-all interviews (not to mention being at the center of embarrassing paparazzi scandals and missing the royal wedding), Thomas is reportedly ready to play nice and make up.

You know, if Harry and Meghan will have it. Which is not guaranteed by any means.

According to The Daily Mail, Thomas, who is 74, hopes to apologize to and reconnect with Harry and Meghan during their planned trip to the United States in 2019. According to the publication, Thomas is "desperate" for his final years to be happy with his daughter and son-in-law.

A friend of Thomas' reportedly told the Sunday Express, "He wants to hug his daughter and tell her how very proud he is of her and how much he loves her."

This sounds great, but Thomas' history of slamming Meghan and the rest of the royals in interviews doesn't exactly back it up.

"He hates that the world perceives him and some of Meghan's other relates as 'trailer trash' folk trying to cash in on her happiness," the friend said. "But all he really cares about is letting her know how much he loves her and reopening the door that has slammed shut between them."

To recap, Thomas Markle has admitted to staging paparazzi photos and then lying about it to Prince Harry (before hanging up on him, no less), given numerous tell-all interviews, said Meghan looks "terrified" by her new life, compared the royal family to a cult, and, along with all of that, slammed her for not wanting to talk to him.

So, you know, it would make sense if Meghan had totally locked that door and thrown away the key.

Major life decisions that need to be made? Call mom. Forgotten how to make a basic pasta sauce? Call mom. Feeling dehydrated and like you don’t know how to adult? Better call mom. That’s just how life works, and the same goes for when you’re a Duchess of Sussex who married Prince Harry, and now your family is constantly talking to the press about private matters. Even Meghan Markle is a big believer in the fact that moms can solve everything.

Meghan is apparently calling on her mother, Doria Ragland, to step in and speak to her father, Thomas Markle Sr., in the hopes that she could be the key to fixing the rift that’s currently tearing her family apart. Doria, who’s thought to be the one link still standing between Meghan, her father and her half-siblings, is reportedly doing her best behind the scenes to try and mend the damage that’s already been done.

“It has just become so embarrassing for Meghan,” an apparent friend of the Duchess told the Daily Mail. “Like the elephant in the room when she's with people she doesn't know very well. What frustrates Meghan the most is that her father doesn't seem to take responsibility for any his actions, as if he can do no harm, and everyone else is to blame."

“Well, he is harming her by putting down the royal family," the source continues. "He's harming her by making everything public. And the more he speaks with the media, the more she wants to stay away. The more he blasts the royal family, the more she wants to stay away.”

It’s thought that Meghan has been very reluctant to involve her mom Doria, 62, in the drama up until now, but has been left with no choice but to ask her to step in as the matter only becomes more complicated. “So far, Meghan's mom hasn't gotten involved, but that may all change when they see each other in person,” the insider said.

“Meghan has been adamant that her mom not get dragged into all the drama," they added. "But if anyone can talk some sense into her dad, it's Doria. Meghan is now open to the possibility of her mom working some magic behind the scenes.”

If Doria manages to pull this one off, she should probably be given some kind of Nobel Peace Prize.

Today in Chapter 642 of The Never-Ending Markle Family Drama (coming to a Netflix series near you soon, probably), half-brother of Meghan Markle, Thomas Markle Jr., has spoken out to blame Prince Harry as the sole cause of the feud between the Duchess of Sussex and her relatives. So that’s kind of rude.

Giving a new interview to the Daily Mail to discuss the tense relationship between Meghan’s own family and the royal family, Markle Jr began by stating that he considers his half-sister to be a different person now that she is married. "It's not the Meghan I remember," he said. "The Meg I remember was very caring and she cared about everybody—that was important to her. Since Hollywood and being on that show—being a celebrity has changed her. Maybe she feels she is above everybody, maybe even more now.”

Laying the blame firmly at Prince Harry’s feet, Thomas continued to blame him for Meghan's estranged relationship with her father. "If she wasn't with Prince Harry right now—even if she was still on Suits right now—she would have stopped what she was doing to go and visit [our father Thomas Markle Sr.] and make sure he's okay," he said.

For anyone who needs a quick rewind on this whole thing, Meghan’s father Thomas has previously admitted to lying to, and then hanging up on, Prince Harry in the wake of his staged paparazzi photo scandal. After the controversial photos emerged, Thomas then later missed the royal wedding at the last minute, officially citing health issues (although sources close to Meghan claim those were faked). Since then, he, Thomas Markle Jr, and Meghan’s half-sister Samantha have all given several tell-all interviews about Meghan's private matters which have reportedly (and unsurprisingly) left the family relationship, and the royal family's involvement, hanging in the balance. And that's what you missed on Glee.

So, sure, Prince Harry, this one’s definitely all on you.

Today in horrible things Thomas Markle says, Meghan Markle's 74-year-old father has compared the royal family to a cult. Because that's a surefire way to win over your estranged in-laws?

In his latest interview, Thomas talked to The Sun (and also maybe did a photo shoot? But nothing he does can surprise us at this point, right?) from his home in Rosario, Mexico.

"They are either like Scientologists or the Stepford family. If they hear anybody say anything they just lock the doors. They need to speak up!" he said. "They are cult-like — like Scientology — because they are secretive. They close the door, pull the shades down and put their fingers in their ears so they don’t have to hear."

This latest blast against the royal family comes after an interview with the Daily Mail (which, for what it's worth, Thomas insisted would be his last interview ever), in which Thomas admitted to lying to and then hanging up on Prince Harry in the wake of his staged paparazzi photo scandal.

"I’m not mad at Harry. I’m not mad at Meghan," he said at the time. "I love them. I wish them well. But as for the rest of it, f*ck it. I’m done."

Clearly, Thomas is not done, of course. After the photo scandal, Thomas missed the royal wedding, officially citing health issues (although, some sources close to Meghan claim those were faked as well). Since then, he's given several tell-all interviews which have reportedly (and completely understandably) put a great deal of strain on his relationship with Meghan and the rest of the royal family.

The only cure for this rift is probably public silence and private apologies from Thomas, but that doesn't seem likely any time soon.

The never-ending saga of the royal family versus Meghan Markle’s relatives continues and, of all the developments that the ongoing drama could have possibly delivered, a clothing line from the Duchess’s father, Thomas Markle, is perhaps the least expected. And yet here we are.

Meghan’s dad Thomas, who has made speaking to the press his main hobby since his daughter married Prince Harry, is reportedly set to launch his own menswear fashion range for reasons that no one really seems to understand. The endlessly confusing news comes from Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Markle who, according to Page Six, wrote on her private Twitter account that she was “so excited about my father’s new clothing line for men! Will keep you posted.”

Samantha, who has racked up her fair share of controversial headlines and previously admitted that she will be cashing in on her sibling’s new title, later added that her father should “start his own line of hoodies for older men” in another post. Sure thing, my own dad is already excited.

Resentment between the old and new sides of Meghan’s family has been growing since before her wedding to Harry back in May. With Thomas Markle staging paparazzi photos, completely missing the royal wedding, and arguing on the phone with Prince Harry, the drama appears to have come to a standstill with the Duchess refusing to speak to her father until he contacts her in a private and “respectful manner.” Most recently, royal reporter Richard Kay went as far as to say that Thomas Markle’s behavior has led to an “existential crisis for the Queen’s family.”

At least we can all have a comfortable existential crisis in the perfect hoodie and sweatpants combo now, am I right?

The Thomas Markle drama never seems to end, but it could certainly be avoided altogether if Meghan's father did one specific thing to get in touch with his daughter that's not, you know, giving interviews. He could contact her mother, Doria Ragland.

According to a source from the Daily Mail, Meghan won't speak to her father "until he makes contact in a 'respectful manner' and stops airing his grievances in public." The Duchess reportedly hasn't spoken to her father since her wedding to Prince Harry (reminder: he ended up not attending after lots of drama involving staged paparazzi photos and a rumored fake heart attack), and she probably won't for a while, considering he keeps publicly embarrassing her by speaking to the press about their relationship.

However, there is one way that Thomas, 74, could get in touch with Meghan if he decides he wants to avoid public embarrassment: He could reach out to his ex-wife, Doria Ragland. A source from the Daily Mail claims that Meghan's mother and father have remained in touch over the years and he even delivered a Mother's Day present to her home (take this with a grain of salt, though—you never know what's staged these days).

"If Thomas truly wanted to speak with Meghan, he could easily have sent a letter to her mother and asked her to pass it along," says the source. "Unfortunately that wouldn't sell papers or fit into his fabricated and salacious narrative."

Meghan and her mother, Doria, are very close and she's reportedly moving to the U.K. to be closer to her daughter. The move is supposed to happen next month, and Doria has supposedly gotten along well with the royal family—including the Queen—since she met them in May.

Thomas Markle, if you're reading this, how about sending a letter and calling it a day?

Today in secondhand embarrassment, Meghan Markle's estranged father, Thomas Markle, has done another interview—which he claims will be his last.

In a new interview with the Daily Mail, Thomas, 74, has decided to address those staged paparazzi photos and the resulting fallout his faced with the royal family. In case you need a refresher, back in April, ahead of the royal wedding, paparazzi photos leaked that appeared to show Thomas preparing for his daughter's wedding. In one shot, he studies up on Britain in a coffee shop, in another he appears to be fitted for a suit for the big day. The photos turned out to be staged and Thomas ended up skipping the royal wedding, officially for health reasons.

Up top, Thomas explains that Prince Harry, whom he hasn't met, but has had a series of "warm and chatty" phone conversations with, warned him early on about talking to the press.

"Harry told me that I should never go to the press," Thomas said. "That it would end in tears. He said, 'They will eat you alive.' He was right."

Here's where things get typical Thomas Markle levels of ugh though. Thomas says that when he was in the hospital for the heart attack that kept him from Meghan's wedding (which he insists was real, in spite of claims to the contrary), Harry called him, very upset about the photo scandal.

During the call, Thomas says Harry asked him about the photos, specifically the one that appeared to show him being fitted for a suit. Thomas says he lied to Harry and said he was being "measured for a hoodie" — you know, like you do for all your...formal hoodies?

Harry did not seem to buy the hoodie excuse, presumably because he's a human who knows what a hoodie is, and told Thomas, "If you had listened to me this would never have happened."

At this point, Thomas says he lashed out and then hung up on his now son-in-law.

"Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead… then you could pretend to be sad," Thomas says he said to Harry. "Then I hung up."

In retrospect, at least, Thomas says he realizes that Harry was "absolutely right" and that collaborating with the paparazzi on staged photos was not a great idea.

"I’m not mad at Harry. I’m not mad at Meghan," he said. "I love them. I wish them well. But as for the rest of it, f*ck it. I’m done."

Promise?

While clearly enjoying every second of married life with husband Prince Harry, it’s no secret that Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has had to deal with her fair share of difficulties since becoming royalty. These difficulties have come directly from her own family, with both father and step-sister constantly hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons. Luckily, Meghan has reportedly found strength, friendship and support from her new family in the form of sister-in-law, Kate Middleton.

If anyone understands how it feels to have your world turned upside down after marrying a Prince, it’s Kate. According to a source at Vanity Fair, the pair have been talking Duchess-to-Duchess about Meghan’s personal matters, and have become firm friends as a result.

“Kate’s well aware of what Meghan is going through," an insider told VF. "Her family has been dragged through the tabloids and she knows it’s not nice. She’s made a big effort to be kind to Meghan and look out for her."

Being dragged through the tabloids is probably the understatement of the century. Just last week, Meghan’s father Thomas Markle publicly told the Daily Mail, among a selection of other delightful comments, that “it would be easier for Meghan if I died.” It’s only one example of the dumpster fire of interviews that he and her half-sister, Samantha Markle, have given about their unravelling relationship with the Duchess, ever since Meghan’s relationship with Harry was first revealed.

Kate, having stepped up as a “pillar of support” through it all, has reportedly been keeping a close eye on Meghan who is apparently “at her wit’s end” with the situation. Just weeks after the Duchesses spent a laughter-filled afternoon at Wimbledon together, the insider continued: “Kate’s made a real effort to be kind to Meghan and to include her. They’re quite different characters but they get along well.”

“They speak on the phone and Kate makes a point of inviting Meghan over,” the source added. “Sometimes with Harry, sometimes Meghan goes on her own. Kate’s really busy juggling three kids; she has a lot on her plate and she has her own friendship group, but she has made an effort with Meghan. She’s been very sympathetic to what’s been going on with Meghan and her dad.”

Shout out to Kate Middleton, the gal pal BFF we all need.

Another day, another grossly inappropriate interview from Thomas Markle. This time around, Meghan Markle's father is dragging her for not being in contact with him and also speculating about her reproductive plans, either of which would have been cringeworthy enough on their own.

Thomas told the Mail on Sunday that he hasn't been in contact with Meghan at all since her wedding and no longer has a number at which to contact her if he wanted to.

"I’m really hurt that she’s cut me off completely," he told the publication. "I used to have a phone number and text number for her personal aides at the palace, but after I said a few critical words about the royal family changing Meghan, they cut me off."

He went on to at once take credit for the woman Meghan is today and to slam her for being (in his opinion) cold and ungrateful.

"She became the woman that she is today thanks to everything I did for her," he said, discussing paying for private schools and her education at Northwestern University. "Did I get any recognition for it? Any thanks? She doesn’t even speak to me now. How cold is that?"

If his general attacks on her character and life choices weren't enough, Thomas also threw in some speculation about when he thinks Meghan and Prince Harry will have children, just for good measure.

"Meghan was apparently upset with me for saying that she and Harry will probably have a baby soon," he said, before doubling down on his claims that she will have a baby soon. "But Meghan’s been saying that herself for the past six or seven years, talking about how much she wants a family. Harry’s been saying it too. What’s sad is that sometime in the next year Meghan and Harry will have a baby and I’ll be a grandfather, and if we’re not speaking I won’t see my grandchild. How tragic is that, to deprive a child of its grandfather because I said a few things critical of the royal family?"

How tragic? Almost as tragic as continually ignoring your daughter's wishes by talking to tabloids about her and then getting mad when she does what's best for her mental health and takes a step back from her relationship with you? Almost.

Thomas Markle is definitely not shying away from the press. Right before his daughter Meghan Markle's wedding to Prince Harry, it was revealed that he had staged paparazzi pictures of himself, which then lead to a series of events that made him unable to attend his daughter's wedding—including a heart attack, and surgery that would prevent him from flying to the U.K.

However, a Daily Mail report that surfaced this morning claims that Thomas allegedly may not have had a heart attack in the first place (again, take this with a grain of salt—there are a lot of rumors out there). The unverified report includes a source "close to Meghan" who claims Thomas was never sick and just wanted sympathy after he staged the paparazzi photos. (Thomas has not responded to the allegations.)

"The whole story about Meghan's father undergoing heart surgery was made up," says the source. "He had to come up with a good enough reason not to attend her wedding and avoid any further embarrassment after those staged photos went public."

"The poor health story was his way of generating some compassion from the public, and taking the attention off those staged photos which were a complete embarrassment to Meghan and the royal family.'"

During one of his (many) interviews, Thomas told ITV's Good Morning Britain that he checked into the Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center—but when The Daily Mail reached out for confirmation of the visit, there was apparently nobody by that name at the medical center.

This comes a few days after Thomas told the press that Meghan "looks terrified" when she's with the royal family, and not long after her half-sister Samantha tweeted that Meghan was "ignoring" her dad. "Glad you have so much time to gallivant around paying tribute to others while ignoring your own father!" she wrote on Twitter.

Kensington Palace has maintained its silence regarding Meghan's family members' claims.

The Duchess of Sussex might be living a polished, protocol-filled, public life these days as a royal, but the drama from her family is still going strong behind the scenes. Meghan Markle’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, has lashed out again at her sibling, this time accusing her of “ignoring their father.”

Taking to Twitter to direct a tirade of blame at Meghan, Samantha took brutal aim at the Duchess and husband Prince Harry’s recent visit to the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition in London, demanding that her half-sister “pay tribute to [her] own father” instead, the Daily Mail reports.

Quoting an article on the royal couple’s appearance, Samantha dramatically wrote: “How about you pay tribute to your own father?! Enough is enough. Act like a humanitarian act like a woman! If our father dies I’m holding you responsible, Meg! @KensingtonRoyal.”

Despite the fact that Meghan has deleted all forms of her own social media since marrying Harry, Samantha continued to address her directly. “Glad you have so much time to gallivant around paying tribute to others while ignoring your own father! How cold can you be and look in the mirror? Harry? I guess I was right.”

This isn’t the first time that Samantha (who happens to be writing a book about 'living in the shadows of the Duchess', btw), has spoken out with cutting comments against Meghan. Just days before the royal wedding, she defended her and her father Thomas Markle’s right to speak out openly about their family business, and Samantha also took responsibility for the infamous staged paparazzi photos that featured Mr. Markle.

Remember when Thomas Markle caused an unnecessary amount of drama for his daughter, Meghan Markle, 48 hours before her wedding to Prince Harry? If not, you can brush up on the chronicles of Thomas Markle here. The short version: It wasn't good. Now, Thomas is talking to the press again, telling The Sun that Meghan looks "terrified" during outings with her new husband and the rest of the royal family.

“My thing about my daughter right now is that I think she is terrified. I see it in her eyes, I see it in her face and I see it in her smile ... I’ve seen her smile for years. I know her smile. I don’t like the one I’m seeing now."

He continues, "This one isn’t even a stage smile—this is a pained smile. That might be just having a couple of bad days. I don’t know. It really worries me. I think she’s under too much pressure. There’s a high price to pay to be married to that family.”

Following his comments about Meghan's emotional state, Thomas, now a style expert, added his thoughts on the royal family's fashion choices, which he says is "like something out of an old movie." (Keep in mind that Meghan hasn't had the best relationship with her father over the years, and is much closer to her mother, Doria Ragland.)

It's unclear how much Thomas was paid for this recent interview, but before Harry and Meghan's wedding on May 19 he made thousands of dollars for staging paparazzi photos of himself trying on a suit and researching the royal family in an internet café to learn more about his daughter's soon-t0-be in-laws.

I imagine Prince Harry (still) won't be meeting Meghan's father anytime soon.

In this week's dose of Thomas Markle Wants Attention, the Duchess of Sussex's father, Thomas Markle, has decided to drag the Queen for agreeing to meet Donald Trump before him. Confused? Same.

Let's back up: After Meghan's dad went on Good Morning Britain for a telling interview earlier this month (you know, the one where he talked about Meghan's desire to have children, how it felt to miss his daughter's wedding, and a slew of other private matters), Markle claims the royal family has since put him in a "penalty box." Markle told TMZ that he hasn't spoken with anyone from the palace (including Meghan) since the interview dropped—and he really doesn't like it.

Projecting his frustration onto the Queen (a decision that will definitely make the royal family happy), Markle says the matriarch's choice to meet Donald Trump—and not him—is a mistake. “If the Queen is willing to meet our arrogant and insensitive president she has no excuse not to meet me, I’m nowhere near as bad," he told TMZ.

The Queen will reportedly meet Trump during his visit to the UK next month—and while details have yet to be released, one thing is for sure: There is no way in hell that Thomas Markle will have his moment with the Queen before then (and maybe ever).

Back in May, in the days leading up to Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry, there were a few bumps in the road with her family. Her father, Thomas Markle, ultimately did not attend the ceremony because of his health conditions. But, unbeknownst to many of us, his royal suit—the one he would have worn to walk Meghan down the aisle in—was left at the tailor’s with no one to claim it.

Fast forward a month later, sports PR Johnno Spence needed a snazzy suit for the Royal Ascot (where the Duchess of Sussex was in attendance) and ended up purchasing Markle's wedding suit (!) as well as a few of his other custom pieces.

"I went into my tailors because I needed a new morning suit," Spence said to The Sunday Telegraph. "His face lit up and he said 'Well, actually I’ve got the perfect thing for you, a tail suit, a summer suit and three shirts we made for Mr. Markle, but unfortunately he couldn’t take them.' It was a shame Mr. Markle couldn’t attend his daughter's wedding, but you could say his misfortune was my good luck."

So in conclusion: Meghan was at the race, Spence was at the race, and Spence wore Meghan's dad's wedding suit. What a strange twist of events.

Speaking in a rare interview, Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, has opened up about his decision to bow out of the royal wedding, as well as his opinions on Prince Harry and his daughter’s relationship.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain about his daughter’s journey to becoming Duchess of Sussex, Thomas even shared the secrets of the moment when Meghan revealed she was casually dating an actual Prince of England.

"The first phone calls were ‘Dad, I have a new boyfriend’,” he shared. “She said 'he's British’ and I said 'that's really nice', and eventually the third time around was like 'he's a Prince.’"

He continued: "At that point, she said 'it's Harry' and I said 'oh, Harry okay!’"

Not sure that such a cool, calm, and collected response would have been my own Dad’s instant reaction, but sure.

Thomas Markle also told host Piers Morgan that his daughter went on to tell him to refer to Prince Harry strictly as 'H' to keep their dating top secret before the relationship was made official. Did Disney Princesses have these problems?

Markle also shared the story of the moment that Harry asked him for permission to marry his daughter.

He told host Piers Morgan: "Harry asked for her hand on the phone and I said: 'You are a gentleman, promise me you will never raise your hand against my daughter and of course I will grant you my permission'."

But one reason why Meghan's dad perhaps wasn't all that surprised by the news that his daughter was marrying a prince? He's always known his daughter was a princess. "[Harry's] a very nice man, a gentleman. He's great, he's interesting, he's a prince. But my daughter's been a princess since the day she was born, I don't have a problem with that."

Speaking publicly for the first time about not attending the royal wedding, Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle Sr. has admitted that he cried while watching her walk down the aisle from his couch.

In a new interview with Good Morning Britain on Monday, Mr. Markle opened up about how he was upset to miss his daughter’s big day, and how he instantly regretted his decision to turn down being a part of it.

Remembering the moment that he watched Meghan tie the knot with Prince Harry on screen with the rest of the world, her father said: "She was beautiful. I cried a little watching her.

"I was very proud and I couldn't see a better moment in my life. The whole world was watching my daughter."

Just two days before the wedding, Meghan confirmed in a heartfelt statement that her father would not be be present to talk her down the aisle due to health reasons, and Markle has now admitted that his decision to keep away from Windsor is one that he deeply regrets.

“The unfortunate thing now is that I'm a footnote in one of the greatest moments in history,” he said sadly. “Instead of a dad walking his daughter down the aisle.

"It was a very emotional moment. I regretted it because I really wanted to walk her down the aisle. But I'm thankful for how it all went."

Luckily, Markle was more than happy to have the groom's father, Prince Charles, on hand to take over his duties at the last minute.

"Charles–how could I have asked for a better replacement?" Mr. Markle said. "I was thrilled to tears that he was doing that for me. I just wish it had been my hand holding my daughter, not his.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have checked all the Royal Wedding boxes (they said their "I will"s! Did an outfit change! Released official portraits!) and have even made their first official appearance as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at a garden party for the 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration of Harry's father, Prince Charles earlier this week. So... when are the newlyweds leaving for their honeymoon?

The two originally delayed their trip so they could attend Tuesday's garden party where Harry honored his father. And now, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl, Harry and Meghan might wait to leave for their honeymoon destination so they can travel to Mexico to visit Meghan's father, Thomas Markle.

"I hear one of the things they want to do sooner than later—and now that they're married—is to go and see Thomas Markle, who is recovering from a heart operation," Katie Nicholl tells Entertainment Tonight. "We don't know when this trip might happen. ...I'm hearing from people close to Meghan and Harry that they're very keen to do it."

Of course, they may wait to make the trip until their return from their honeymoon, but Harry in particular wants to know his new father-in-law. "He feels it's very important that he gets to meet Thomas," Nicholl explains. "Of course, Meghan—who's been really concerned about her father's health—is keen to go see him as soon as possible."

Markle's father didn't attend the Royal Wedding last weekend after he reportedly underwent surgery after suffering a heart attack the week before. In a history-making moment, Meghan walked herself halfway down the aisle and then was met by Prince Charles who accompanied her the remaining distance to the altar.

Meghan and Harry have not announced where they've chosen to go for their honeymoon (and they're not likely to), but Africa is thought to be the most likely destination. Namibia and Botswana are two of the predicted spots—Meghan and Harry reportedly traveled to Botswana for their third date, so the location holds a special place in both their hearts.

According to Nicholl the newlyweds will have chosen a spot where they can truly get some much-deserved privacy. "One of the places they're looking at is a lodge that is so remote that it requires an off-land Land Rover to get there [and] a satellite phone because there are no connections," Nicholl tells ET. "You have to take a supply of food and water with you because you're right in the middle of nowhere and if you break down without supplies, you're in trouble. That gives you some indication of how remote this place is."

Nicholl also adds that Meghan and Harry will likely leave with very little fanfare. While Kate Middleton and Prince William were photographed leaving for their honeymoon the day after their wedding back in 2011, she predicts the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will make a quieter exit—and even suggests that the reason they appeared at the garden party Tuesday was to give royal fans another glimpse of them immediately so they can then disappear for a while: "We've had the wedding pictures, we've had the first engagement, so I'd imagine at some point in the next week to 10 days, things will go very quiet on the Sussexes and that will probably be because they've crept off very quietly to go [on] what Harry is determined to be a private honeymoon."

Update 5/19: Meghan began her entrance into St. George's Chapel by walking herself down the aisle. Shortly after, she was accompanied by her new father-in-law Prince Charles as she approached the Quire—the area right before the altar. Meghan's father Thomas Markle, who was originally supposed to walk her down the aisle, told TMZ on Saturday, "My baby looks beautiful and she looks very happy. I wish I were there and I wish them all my love and all happiness." Thomas couldn't make it to his daughter's wedding due to health issues, which you can read more about below.

Original story 5/18:

A little less than two weeks ago, Kensington Palace announced that Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, would walk his daughter down the aisle at the royal wedding on May 19. After reports recently surfaced that Meghan's father staged paparazzi photos of himself preparing for the wedding, he told TMZ that he will no longer be attending the wedding at all "because he doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter." (FYI, before all of this information became public, he suffered a heart attack and checked himself out of the hospital early just so he could be there for Meghan.)

Earlier this week, Meghan's dad changed his mind about wanting to attend the royal wedding, but despite his decision Meghan has confirmed in a statement that her father definitely won't be attending the wedding. Instead, Prince Charles will walk her down the aisle. Kensington Palace revealed the news in a statement Friday morning:

"Ms. Meghan Markle has asked His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to accompany her down the aisle of the Quire of St George's Chapel on her Wedding Day. The Prince of Wales is pleased to be able to welcome Ms. Markle to The Royal Family in this way."

According to an interview with TMZ, Thomas believes that staging the paparazzi photos of himself was "stupid" and "hates the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle." However, as Meghan confirms, his health issues will prevent him from doing so.

On Tuesday evening, Thomas told TMZ he would be having heart surgery the following morning, which would mean he won't be able to fly to the U.K. in time to attend his daughter's wedding. "They [doctors] will go in and clear blockage, repair damage and put a stent where it is needed," he says.

The original news that Meghan's dad would walk her down the aisle came as a surprise to many, considering Meghan is significantly closer to her mother: Doria Ragland. According to MarieClaire.com's exclusive royal wedding expert, Caroline Castigliano, Meghan may have originally chosen her father to walk her down the aisle to follow tradition and show respect for Harry's grandmother, the Queen. This is also likely the reason why Meghan chose to have Prince Charles do the honor of walking her down the aisle.

"I think Harry would want to do what his grandmother sees as appropriate as a sign of respect to her," says Castigliano. "They just wouldn't have her mother walk her down the aisle because it wouldn't be what made the Queen feel comfortable, especially at her age."

"There's going to be all sorts of opportunities for Harry to break with tradition and get things to move in a slightly different direction, but at this point I'm sure his respect for the Queen is the most important thing."

According to Castigliano, by tradition it would then defer to the second male in her family: her half-brother, Thomas Jr. "Normally it would go to the next male in line in her family, but I understand her brother is not coming. It's a very difficult situation." Indeed, Meghan's half-brother attacked his sister for not giving him an invite to the royal wedding. He called Meghan "phony" and accused her of tearing her family apart.

Before Prince Charles was set to walk Meghan down the aisle, it was also a possibility that, despite being untraditional, Meghan's mother could do the honor. Ragland is going to be in the car with Meghan as she travels to the ceremony at Windsor Castle. Meghan has reportedly always wanted her mother to walk her down the aisle, but she's following royal tradition instead.

Thomas and Doria were both expected to arrive in the U.K. this week and spend time with Prince Harry's family—including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Thomas won't make it across the pond, but Ragland was spotted leaving for London earlier this week with a Burberry garment bag. She's met Harry before and is surely thrilled to spend time with her future son-in-law this week.

This post has been updated with new information.

Meghan Markle has given her first official comment regarding her father, Thomas Markle, and whether he'll be at her wedding on Saturday.

"Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding," she said in the statement released by Kensington Palace. "I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health."

"I would like to thank everyone who has offered generous messages of support," she continued. "Please know how much Harry and I look forward to sharing our special day with you on Saturday. "

"What has been made clear to me about today's palace statement is that Meghan Markle felt it was important she should address people personally on what has been happening with her father," a royal reporter tweeted about the statement. "While it's been a difficult few days, she and Harry are said to be very excited about their wedding on Saturday and have the rest of their family and friends around them to support them. They say it will still be a great day."

Meghan's statement follows a whirlwind of news about her father, his health, and whether he'd make the trip to Windsor for Saturday's events. Last weekend it was discovered that Thomas Makle had faked paparazzi photos of himself preparing for his daughter's wedding to Prince Harry. Markle also revealed that he had suffered a heart attack and was experiencing chest pain from stress. He reportedly checked himself into the hospital again this week and underwent heart surgery.

With Thomas Markle confirmed not to be attending his daughter's wedding, it raises uncertainties about who will walk Meghan down the aisle. Kensington Palace had previously stated that her father would give her away Saturday, but now it is suspected that Meghan's mother will take his place. (Though one royal reporter has suggested her soon-to-be father-in-law Prince Charles could be an option!) According to the previous plan, Doria Ragland would just drive to the church with her daughter, but now she might do double duty and walk her down the aisle as well.

Meghan's mother was spotted making her way to the U.K. earlier this week, carrying a Burberry garment bag, which could give a hint as to what she'll be wearing for the big day.

We have a sad update for you: Meghan Markle's dad, Thomas Markle, is reportedly having heart surgery. If this is the case, the procedure will prevent him from flying to the U.K., which means he definitely won't be walking his daughter down the aisle.

Though there's no official confirmation from Kensington Palace about Thomas' current health or wedding attendance status, he told TMZ that he will go into surgery tomorrow morning. It was previously reported that he had a heart attack last week, but checked himself out of the hospital so that he could be there for Meghan's big day. However, as of this morning, he was still having chest pains caused by emotional stress, and so he returned back to the hospital.

"They [doctors] will go in and clear blockage, repair damage and put a stent where it is needed," he says.

Over the weekend, reports surfaced that Thomas staged paparazzi photos taken of him preparing for his daughter’s wedding. Thomas admitted to this, and later Meghan’s step-sister Samantha Markle claimed it was her idea for him to do it in the first place. Once the news went public, Thomas told TMZ that he decided not to go to the wedding or walk Meghan down the aisle "because he doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter.”

Kensington Palace then released the following statement:

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.”

On Tuesday, Thomas changed his mind about not attending the wedding. He told TMZ that staging the paparazzi photos of himself was "stupid" but "hates the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle.”

However, he began to have heart complications again and checked himself back into the hospital. Now that the surgery is happening, it's highly unlikely he will be out of the hospital and flown to the U.K. in time for the wedding.

Thomas Markle, Meghan Markle's father, has reportedly changed his mind about wanting to attend the royal wedding. However, now the 73-year-old is having health issues that could prevent him from having a choice in the matter. Thomas told TMZ in a new interview that he believes that staging the paparazzi photos of himself was "stupid" and now "hates the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle."

According to TMZ, Thomas is "back in the hospital after experiencing serious chest pains and doctors are performing a battery of tests on him. His heart was 'seriously damaged' after his heart attack a week ago."

"Meghan tried calling him Monday, but he was not near his phone. She followed up with a text telling him she loved him and was concerned about his health. He says she harbors no ill feelings toward him for making a deal with a paparazzi agency to stage photos of him getting ready for the wedding."

If the doctors let him out of the hospital, Meghan's dad will now apparently fly to the U.K. to accompany her on her special day. Otherwise, he may have to miss out on what he calls "a historic moment in history" that he'd "like to be a part of."

To recap: On May 4, Kensington Palace announced Meghan's father would walk her down the aisle on her big day. But then, over the weekend news broke that Thomas Markle received money from the paparazzi to take photos of him surfing the web for pictures of his daughter and Prince Harry, getting measured for a suit, and working out ahead of the big day. After that news went public, Thomas decided yesterday not to go to the wedding "because he doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter." Meghan has reportedly been very upset, and Kensington Palace released the following statement:

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation."

Following news that Meghan Markle's father will not attend the royal wedding this weekend, Thomas Markle has said that he thinks Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, should be the one to give their daughter away.

According to TMZ, Markle said his ex-wife "is a good choice for walking Meghan down the aisle."

With Meghan's father deciding not to come to Meghan and Prince Harry's wedding just days before the big event, it leaves a question mark as to who will walk Meghan to the altar of St. George's Chapel.

"Normally it would go to the next male in line in her family, but I understand her brother is not coming," says Marie Claire's royal expert, Caroline Castigliano, who calls it "a very difficult situation."

Kensington Palace stated just over a week ago that both Meghan's parents would play a role in the big day, with Thomas Markle giving his daughter away. "On the morning of the wedding, Ms. Ragland will travel with Ms. Markle by car to Windsor Castle," read the statement. "Mr. Markle will walk his daughter down the aisle of St. George's Chapel. Ms. Markle is delighted to have her parents by her side on this important and happy occasion."

Thomas Markle now reportedly won't attend the wedding because he "doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter" after it was revealed he had staged paparazzi photos showing him preparing for the wedding.

According to initial reports, Meghan actually wanted her mother to walk her down the aisle. A source told E! that the former actress was hoping to buck royal tradition and have her mom, whom she's very close to, walk beside her as she makes her way down the aisle of St George's Chapel. But according to Castigliano, the reason Meghan decided to have her dad do the honor could have been out of respect for the Queen.

"I think Harry would want to do what his grandmother sees as appropriate as a sign of respect to her," Castigliano explained after the original announcement. "They just wouldn't have her mother walk her down the aisle because it wouldn't be what made the Queen feel comfortable, especially at her age."

But now that all that's changed, Meghan and Harry will have to figure out what will work best for them on their big day.

More distressing news this morning: TMZ is reporting that Thomas Markle is planning to check himself into the hospital after experiencing more chest pains. Meghan Markle's father reportedly suffered a heart attack seven days ago and is worried about another. TMZ states that they've spoken to Markle who says "the pains have been triggered by emotional upset."

"I've been popping Valium for the pain, especially when I hear about my oldest daughter," Markle told TMZ, referencing Meghan's half-sister, Samantha Grant.

The news comes after Markle confirmed to TMZ that he was not planning to attend his daughter's wedding this weekend after all. He reportedly "decided not to go because he doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter." The decision was apparently made after it was discovered that Markle staged paparazzi photos of himself looking at cute photos of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and getting a suit tailored.

After the revelation, Markle's eldest daughter, Samantha, came to her father's defense, claiming responsibility for the photos and suggesting the plan was her idea.

"The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault," she wrote in a tweet, which the Daily Mail captured. "The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and and the benefit of the royal family. We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money @KensingtonRoyal."

In response to the news about her dad and the paparazzi photos, Meghan is reportedly "upset and disturbed by the entire ordeal and just wants to move past it," according to a source.

Kensington Palace responded in a statement:

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation."

A source tells the Daily Mail that Prince Harry feels responsible for what's happening to Meghan and her family: "Harry feels guilty that this has happened to someone he loves because they are in a relationship with him...He wants to protect her and this is really difficult for him to swallow.

The source also states that Meghan is still hoping that her dad will change his mind: "This is not what she wants. She obviously wants her dad there. And the idea of contemplating him not being there now is not something that she wants to have to do."

Thomas Markle told TMZ that he has not heard from Meghan since the outlet ran the story yesterday reporting he would not be attending the royal wedding.

Update 5/14: Sad news today: TMZ is reporting that Meghan Markle's father no longer plans to attend the royal wedding this Saturday. According to the outlet, Thomas Markle suffered a heart attack six days ago, which may be part of the reason for this last-minute change.

The other reason? After The Daily Mail discovered Mr. Markle had staged paparazzi shots of himself looking at cute pictures of his daughter and Prince Harry on the Internet and reading a book about British landmarks, the father-of-the-bride has "decided not to go because he doesn't want to embarrass the Royal Family or his daughter," TMZ reports.

In response to the news that Markle had faked the photos, Meghan is reportedly "upset and disturbed by the entire ordeal and just wants to move past it," according to a source.

Kensington Palace responded to the news in a statement:

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation."

So, if Meghan's dad isn't walking her down the aisle, who will be? Initial reports stated that Meghan wanted to buck tradition and have her mother do the honor, so perhaps we will see Doria Ragland accompanying her daughter to the alter this Saturday.

Original story 5/4:

This morning, Kensington Palace confirmed that both of Meghan's parents will be playing significant roles in the royal wedding. Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, will drive with her to Windsor Castle and her father, Thomas Markle, will walk her down the aisle.

Per a statement via Kensington Palace, they also confirmed the role Prince Harry's family will have in the big day:

"In addition to having the support of The Queen, his father The Prince of Wales, and his brother Prince William as Best Man, Prince Harry is also keen to involve his mother's family in his wedding. All three siblings of Diana, Princess of Wales will be in attendance and Lady Jane Fellowes will give the reading. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle both feel honored that Lady Jane will be representing her family and helping to celebrate the memory of the late Princess on the wedding day."

It was originally speculated that Meghan's mother would walk her down the aisle. MarieClaire.com's exclusive royal wedding expert, Caroline Castigliano, notes that the Queen may have preferred for Meghan to go the traditional route with her father.

"I think Harry would want to do what his grandmother sees as appropriate as a sign of respect to her," says Castigliano. "They just wouldn't have her mother walk her down the aisle because it wouldn't be what made the Queen feel comfortable, especially at her age."

"There's going to be all sorts of opportunities for Harry to break with tradition and get things to move in a slightly different direction, but at this point I'm sure his respect for the Queen is the most important thing."

This weekend, news broke that Thomas Markle—Meghan Markle's father—staged paparazzi pics of himself preparing for his daughter's wedding. Now it's been revealed that he suffered a heart attack six days ago and, although he was able to check himself out of the hospital, will no longer walk Meghan down the aisle because he "doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter," according to TMZ.

So, how is Meghan feeling during all of this? According to Us Weekly, she's "upset" and "disturbed."

“Meghan is upset and disturbed by the entire ordeal and just wants to move past it,” a source told Us Weekly. “She doesn’t want to let anything ruin her day and is trying to keep focus on the weekend.”

Though Samantha Markle, Meghan's half-sister, admitted she convinced Meghan's father to stage the pictures, Thomas clearly still does not feel comfortable attending his daughter's wedding. No word yet on who will now walk Meghan down the aisle.

Meghan Markle's half-sister, Samantha Markle—who admitted she convinced her father, Thomas Markle, to stage paparazzi pics of himself preparing for his daughter's wedding—hopes their dad will reconsider his decision not to attend the royal wedding.

This morning, Meghan's half-sister told U.K. morning show Good Morning Britain, “I spoke to [Thomas] early in the morning yesterday and he was quite depressed over an unbelievable series of events involving the media.”

Six days prior to revealing he would not attend the royal wedding, Thomas Markle had a heart attack, but checked himself out of the hospital early in hopes of making it to his daughter's special day. Once news broke about him staging the paparazzi pics, that all changed.

Though Thomas admitted he didn't want to cause his daughter or the royal family "anymore embarrassment," Samantha says his health has become a major factor in deciding whether or not he can walk Meghan down the aisle on her special day.

She continues:

"...And as far as whether or not he had a heart attack, people have had heart attacks they didn’t know they’d had until they had an EKG. They’re not always that loud. They’re not always that dramatic. For him that was the case.”

“He was really having heart pains and suffered a heart attack. It was an unbelievable amount of stress–by his report they were stabilizing him. I think he wants to go to the hospital and get checked out. I don’t know as of today what his plans are, but there’s a very real concern, I wanted to see him go [to the wedding], I didn’t want him deprived of that. But clearly the priority should be whether or not it’s safe for him to do that. That’s where we’re at.”

When Thomas confirmed he would not be attending the wedding, Kensington Palace responded to the heartbreaking news with this statement:

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation."

Update 5/14:

 Meghan Markle's half-sister, Samantha Markle, claims it was her idea for her father to stage the paparazzi pics of him preparing for his daughter's wedding. According to the Daily Mail, she advised him to do it to paint him "in a positive light" before he walks Meghan down the aisle on May 19. In a private tweet the Mail screenshotted, Markle admitted her involvement:

"The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault. The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and and the benefit of the royal family. We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money @KensingtonRoyal."

Kensington Palace has not responded to the reports and Markle's dad is still expected to walk Meghan down the aisle this Saturday.

Original story 5/13: 

In less than a week, Meghan Markle will marry Prince Harry and officially become a member of the royal family. Just days before her wedding, some disappointing news about her own family has surfaced.

You know those adorable photos of Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, preparing for her wedding and his trip to Britain for the occasion? Most of them were reportedly staged, according to the Daily Mail. The British publication obtained security footage that appears to show Thomas Markle working with photographer Jeff Rayner to stage a picture of him surfing the web for pictures of his daughter and Prince Harry.

In the video, Markle, 73, and Rayner can be seen entering an internet cafe, paying for service, and adjusting the computer monitor to get the best photo. The photos of Markle looking at pictures of Harry and Meghan online are not the only ones alleged to be staged.

Per Daily Mail: "The faked images include Mr Markle apparently:

• Being measured for a suit to wear to the wedding – in fact the "tailor" was an assistant at a party goods shop recruited for the job as the suit hire store the photographer planned to use was closed.
• Being caught browsing a book of British landmarks in a branch of Starbucks – although he actually arrived at the cafe with the photographer, and set up the shot.
• Working out with weights to get in shape for the big day – but the pictures appear to have been taken on a waste tip, an unlikely place to exercise but away from prying eyes."

As Daily Mail notes, Markle is wearing the same clothes in each of the suspicious photos, suggesting they may have all been taken on the same day. The pictures have been sold to publications around the world, reportedly netting profits of as much as £100,000. It's not clear if Markle was paid for his participation or not.