Meghan Markle’s estranged father Thomas Markle reportedly suffered symptoms of a stroke, resulting in his hospitalization at a U.S. hospital Monday night. Just hours after TMZ first confirmed Markle’s hospitalization, new details are emerging about his health crisis, with several sources confirming that the 77-year-old Thomas appeared to have suffered a stroke. The health crisis comes just four years after he suffered a heart attack just before his daughter’s marriage to Prince Harry in 2018.
Shortly after TMZ reported that Thomas was transported via ambulance from Tijuana, Mexico to a medical facility in the U.S., Karl Larsen, who cohosts “Remarkable Friendship” with Thomas on YouTube, revealed to Us Weekly that the former lighting director “lost his voice.” According to Larsen, Thomas “couldn’t talk” and “wrote down that he lost his voice and that he was having a stroke.” A neighbor in the retirement community where he lives “rushed him to Rosarito hospital and then he was transferred to a hospital in Chula Vista across the border.”
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The Daily Mail‘s Tom Wootton confirmed on Twitter and in a Tuesday afternoon report for the outlet that Thomas “suffered a major stroke.” Wootton said the 77-year-old was “receiving emergency treatment” at an American hospital as of Tuesday afternoon. Thomas’ daughter Samantha Markle said in a statement to the outlet that her father was “recovering” and “just needs some rest.” Further details about his condition have not been revealed at this time.
Markle and her husband, who have remained estranged from Thomas ever since his paparazzi scandal broke in 2018, have yet to publicly comment on her father’s hospitalization. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are scheduled to the United Kingdom for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which kick off on June 2 with the annual Trooping the Colour parade, according to The Mercury News. Thomas was also set to be in London at the same time as his daughter, as he was scheduled to join Wootton next week for a TV special on Wootton’s GB News show. Due to his hospitalization, Thomas will no longer be able to travel.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, Samantha criticized Markle and her faltered relationship with their father, stating, “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.” Meanwhile, Lily Colin Campbell, who had been set to host Thomas at her residence during the Jubilee celebrations, expressed hope that this health crisis could help the father-daughter dup make amends. She said, “if she’s clever, she will find a way to visit and reconcile.”
