Meghan Markle chose not to publicly acknowledge her estranged father, Thomas Markle, on Father’s Day this year, renewing public interest in their long-standing family rift. The Duchess of Sussex and her father have remained distant since her 2018 royal wedding to Prince Harry, an event Thomas famously missed due to health issues, reportedly suffering two heart attacks in the days leading up to it.
To date, Thomas Markle has never met his son-in-law, Prince Harry, nor his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The absence of a relationship has left royal watchers and commentators questioning why reconciliation has never taken place.
Speaking on The Royal Exclusive, royal author Hugo Vickers proposed three reasons for the ongoing estrangement. “One, that she was ashamed of him, which I think is a bit unattractive. Two, possibly that she thought he’d done something,” Vickers explained. He went on to reference an early conversation between Prince Harry and Thomas Markle, during which the elder Markle reportedly gave his blessing for the marriage, saying, “You can marry her as long as you never raise your hand against her.”
Vickers criticized how the wedding arrangements were handled, suggesting the Royal Family should have done more to include Thomas. “Mr Markle should have been at the wedding, and they should have flown him over and stuck him in a health farm in the Shetlands or somewhere,” he said.
“Prince Harry should have gone up to see him, and if he couldn’t have walked the aisle, he should have been sitting there, because, as you rightly say, he did a lot for that girl and she even admitted it in the early days before she distanced herself from him.”
The rift began shortly before the wedding, when Thomas Markle was caught staging paparazzi photos. In her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan referred to the incident, saying, “I’m trying to decide if I’m comfortable even talking about that. It was… if we were going to use the word betrayal.”
Though Thomas reportedly intended the staged photos to improve his public image and deflect pressure from the press, Meghan and Harry saw the situation differently. Meghan later tried to mend the relationship with texts and a handwritten letter. However, when Thomas shared parts of the letter with the media, any remaining trust was shattered, he told the Daily Mail.
Despite expressing disappointment over Meghan’s actions, Thomas Markle has publicly stated his openness to reconciliation. Now 80, the retired television lighting director recently relocated from Rosarito, Mexico, to Southeast Asia, accompanied by his 58-year-old son, Thomas Jr., Meghan’s half-brother. Whether the estranged father and daughter will ever reconcile remains uncertain. But as the years pass, the silence between them grows louder.