Father of the bride says heart is broken
Coronary drama for Markle dad
MEGHAN Markle has sent her father a loving message as it is revealed he is set to undergo heart surgery and will not attend his daughter’s wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday.
Thomas Markle, 73, blindsided his daughter and the royal family on Monday when he said he would not be coming to London to walk his daughter down the aisle because he was embarrassed at being caught out co-operating with the paparazzi, and didn’t want to embarrass her any further.
He also said he had suffered a heart attack and was “popping Valium’’ as his two older children, Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Grant and halfbrother Thomas Markle Junior, continued to attack her in the media.
He then changed his mind and said he would like to come, after Ms Markle texted him and expressed her love, saying she was worried about his health.
But now, Mr Markle has spoken to celebrity website TMZ and changed his mind again, telling them he was scheduled to undergo heart surgery yesterday and would not be able to travel to London.
This is despite his 36-yearold daughter texting him “I love you Dad’’ in the hopes he would still be able to make the journey from his house in Mexico to Windsor’s St George’s Chapel.
“They (doctors) will go in and clear blockage, repair damage and put a stent where it is needed,’’ Mr Markle is reported to have told TMZ.
“I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle. Of course I’d walk her down the aisle. This is a historic moment. I’d like to be a part of history.”
His ex-wife, Ms Markle’s mother Doria Ragland, is now expected to be the one escorting her daughter down the aisle to marry the 33-year- old Prince Harry.
The Markle debacle began on Sunday when Britain’s Mail on Sunday published CCTV revealing Mr Markle had collaborated with a celebrity photographer, Jeff Rayner, in setting up supposedly candid shots of him preparing for the wedding. Mr Rayner is thought to have sold the pictures for almost $200,000.
Mr Markle, who was declared bankrupt in 2016, said he had made only a small amount of money, and had staged the pictures of him reading up on Britain and the wedding, and being fitted for a suit, because he was trying to reinvent his image.
His daughter from his first marriage, Samantha Grant, who hasn’t seen Meghan for 10 years but is criticising her almost daily in the media, said yesterday her father had received less than $3000 for the shoot, plus a small percentage of the royalties.
Ms Grant had previously said the photo shoot had been her idea. She attacked the media as “vultures’’ and blamed them for her father’s woes.
But Mr Markle said he believed his heart attack was triggered by his son Thomas Junior writing an open letter to Prince Harry urging him to call the wedding off.
I HATE THE IDEA OF MISSING ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS IN HISTORY AND WALKING MY DAUGHTER DOWN THE AISLE THOMAS MARKLE