Meghan Markle’s dad Thomas, 77, rushed to hospital after suffering ‘major stroke’ days before Jubilee trip
MEGHAN Markle’s dad has been left unable to speak after suffering a ‘major stroke’ less than a week before he was due to travel to the UK for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Thomas Markle Sr, 77, was hit by the health emergency in Mexico and had to be taken across the border to San Diego in an ambulance while using an oxygen mask.
He was said to have lost his speech following the incident on Monday night which came after he already suffered a health scare last week, sources told The Sun.
His condition was so serious he could only communicate by scrawling down messages on a piece of paper, pals said.
Meghan’s older half-brother Thomas Markle Jr, 55, was with him in Rosarito, the Mexican beach resort where he lives, on Monday when he was taken ill.
His daughter Samanta Markle, 57, is understood to be flying in from Florida to be by his side.
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In a statement last night Samantha wished her father “godspeed” and said they were praying for his recovery.
She said: "My father is recovering in hospital. We ask for privacy for the family, for his health and wellbeing. He just needs peace and rest. Godspeed. We are praying.
“He just needs some rest. It’s a travesty how much he’s been tortured and how much he’s had to go through thanks to my sister’s disregard the past few years. That is unforgivable.”
The former Hollywood lighting director was planning to travel to the UK on Monday to be in London for next week’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
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His estranged daughter Meghan, 40, and son-in-law Prince Harry, 37, are also due to fly in to the UK for the jubilee next week.
Meghan’s dad famously missed their wedding four years ago after claiming he had suffered a heart attack.
Photographer and pal Karl Larsen, who collaborates with Thomas Sr on their Remarkable Friendship podcast, said he was in San Diego waiting to see him.
Larsen, whose podcast often serves as an outlet for Thomas Sr to vent his frustration at his daughter and Harry, told The Sun: “Thomas Sr thought he had a stroke and was taken to hospital.
“He wrote it down on a piece of paper because he can’t speak right now.
“He lost his voice, I don’t know why, so he had to write it down and he gave it to someone who he was with.
JUBILEE PLANS 'UP IN THE AIR'
“He is in a hospital in the Chula Vista area of San Diego. I’m here waiting to see him. I don’t know how serious it is yet.
“We were due to leave for London to be there for the jubilee on Monday. Now it’s all up in the air, I don’t know what will happen. I can’t possibly see how that would still be on."
A source told The Sun Thomas Sr had a medical scare last week and he went to hospital in Mexico where he lives before being transferred via ambulance across the border to San Diego on a gurney and with an oxygen mask.
His relatives are believed to have been concerned about his health and particularly his blood pressure for some time.
When he met with The Sun earlier this year the former smoker said he had been warned by his doctor never to puff an a single cigarette ever again.
We were due to leave for London to be there for the jubilee on Monday. Now it’s all up in the air, I don’t know what will happen. I can’t possibly see how that would still be on.
Karl Larsen
In addition to the excitement of travelling to the UK, Thomas is understood to have felt the pressure of online troll attacks over his recently launched YouTube podcast.
Meghan’s estranged dad had been set to be hosted by I’m a Celebrity star Lady Colin Campbell for the Jubilee.
Thomas Sr has said before that he is a proud admirer of the Queen and had spoken of his wish to visit Windsor Castle.
Thomas, who last month branded Harry an “idiot” who is ‘whipped’ by Meghan, will attend a number of “rival” Platinum Jubilee events with pals, sources say.
There are now fears Thomas, 77, who has not spoken to his daughter for four years and never met his two grandchildren, will overshadow and hijack the Queen’s four-day bash.
It will be the first time he has been in the UK after missing their royal wedding after suffering a heart attack and being caught staging photos with photographers.
Thomas has struck up a close friendship with I’m a Celeb star and royal biographer Lady C who has been an outspoken critic of the Sussexes since they quit royal duty to live in the US.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 40, confirmed they will attend the Queen’s party with Archie, 3, and Lilibet, who has her first birthday during the Platinum Jubilee weekend, and are thought to be staying at Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle.
It comes after Meghan won a bitter High Court privacy battle against her father over a “private” letter she wrote to him six months after her wedding.
Thomas Sr became estranged from his daughter and Harry after it emerged he had staged paparazzi pics ahead of their wedding in Windsor almost four years ago to the day in May 2018.
He does not speak to Meghan or Harry and has never met his grandkids Archie, three, and 11-month-old Lilibet.
Meghan, 40, also apologised to the court after admitting she had forgotten she had allowed stories to be passed to authors of Finding Freedom - after years of denials.
The Sussexes have said they will attend the Platinum Jubilee with their two children.
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But the Queen, 96, has ruled they cannot appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony after Trooping the Colour on the first day of the four-day party because they are no longer working royals after they quit to live in the US.
The Sun asked a representative for Harry and Meghan for comment.
