Thomas Markle, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, has suffered a stroke and is currently in hospital, TMZ reported.
The 77-year-old, who was reportedly unable to speak and communicated with paramedics by writing, was loaded into an ambulance on Monday night in Tijuana, Mexico, the outlet added. He is believed to have been transported to a clinic in Chula Vista, California.
British presenter Dan Wootton also reported on Markle’s stroke on Tuesday, claiming that the Duchess of Sussex’s father is currently receiving “urgent medical treatment” in hospital.
Wootton also revealed that Meghan Markle’s father had planned to appear on his GB News special dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in the coming days.
Markle’s daughter, Samantha Markle, 57, confirmed that her father was currently recovering in the hospital.
“My father is recovering in hospital. We ask for privacy for the family, for his health and wellbeing. He just needs peace and rest”, she said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped away from official royal duties in 2020, are expected to attend the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations next month along with their two children: Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 11 months.
There will be a plethora of events and activities celebrating the jubilee across the Commonwealth and beyond in the lead up to the special extended bank holiday weekend on 2-5 June 2022.
The Duchess of Sussex is reported to have a strained relationship with her father.
In the lead up to Meghan Markle's royal wedding in May 2018, her father found himself at the centre of a scandal involving "staged" paparazzi photos. Markle Sr. ended up skipping Meghan’s wedding with the Queen’s grandson, Prince Harry.
Furthermore, according to Thomas Markle and his elder daughter, Samantha, Meghan had spun a "rags to royalty" narrative, making "false and malicious statements" during the bombshell interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey last March, seeking to promote the idea she had overcome a “difficult” family situation.