Meghan Markle 'Ashamed' To Visit Father Thomas Despite Amputation, Royal Expert Claims

Meghan Markle is unlikely to visit her father Thomas Markle in the United States despite his recent leg amputation and return from the Philippines, a royal expert has claimed. He argued that the Duchess of Sussex feels 'ashamed' about their long-running estrangement.

Relations between Meghan and Thomas Markle have been strained since before her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. The former lighting director, now 81, did not walk his daughter down the aisle at Windsor Castle after suffering heart problems and becoming embroiled in controversy over staged paparazzi photographs. Since then, the pair have rarely spoken, and the family rift has largely unfolded through interviews, court papers and comments from people around them.

Royal Author Says Meghan Markle Feels 'Ashamed' Of Thomas

The latest claims come from royal biographer Hugo Vickers, who revisits the breakdown in his book Queen Elizabeth II. Speaking to GB News on 9 May, Vickers suggested shame, rather than indifference, may explain Meghan's continuing distance from her father.

Vickers said it was a 'possibility' that Meghan, now 44, kept Harry and Thomas apart before the wedding because she was embarrassed by her father. He also offered a more sympathetic reading of Thomas, who has often been portrayed harshly in sections of the media.

'He was good to her when she was growing up. If you listen to what he says as opposed to how his words are reported, you will find a decent man who must feel extremely let down,' Vickers said.

In Queen Elizabeth II, Vickers also writes that Harry, 41, had never met his future father-in-law before the wedding day itself. According to the author, Thomas was already unsettled by that lack of contact before the staged-photo scandal erupted and he withdrew from the ceremony.

Nothing in Vickers' account has been confirmed by Meghan or Harry, and there has been no direct response from the Sussex camp to his claim that she feels 'ashamed'. Still, the remarks reflect a wider view among some royal commentators that Meghan now sees the subject of her father as both personally painful and publicly damaging.

Thomas Markle's Health

Thomas Markle's health has worsened significantly in recent years. He suffered two heart attacks in 2018, around the time of the royal wedding, and later said they played a part in his decision not to travel to the UK. In December 2025, he underwent a leg amputation, prompting renewed questions over whether Meghan might try to contact him privately.

After the surgery, representatives for Meghan said she had reached out. The Duchess of Sussex, who lives in Montecito, California, with Harry and their two children, was said to have sent her father a personal letter.

'It has been exceedingly difficult for the Duchess to contact her father privately, despite her efforts over the past several days,' a spokesperson for her lifestyle brand As Ever said in a statement last year. 'With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands.'

The statement was notable because it presented Meghan as attempting to communicate despite the public nature of the estrangement. It also suggested the letter had reached Thomas, although its contents were never made public.

Thomas later moved to the Philippines for medical care in 2025, before reports earlier this month said he planned to return to the United States. That move reduces the physical distance between father and daughter, but reports suggest it may do little to narrow the emotional one.

No Reunion Planned As Father Returns To US

Meghan and Harry left the UK in 2020 after stepping back from royal duties and are now firmly settled in California. According to reports, Meghan has 'no plans' to see her estranged father, even as he prepares to resume life in America after surgery.

'This is one of the most difficult chapters in their relationship, and the most brutal family move Meghan has ever made, as she has no plans to see her estranged father despite his ill health,' the source claimed.

The same source described the situation as a 'turning point', pointing to Thomas's age, his life-altering surgery and the continued lack of any visible reconciliation. That assessment remains speculative because it is based on anonymous briefings rather than comments made on the record by the people directly involved.

There is no confirmation from Meghan or Harry that she feels ashamed of Thomas, and no public sign that a meeting is being planned. Much of what is being said about their relationship comes from authors, commentators and unnamed insiders interpreting a limited set of facts. Until either side speaks directly or there is a visible reconciliation, any account of what Meghan or Thomas privately feels remains interpretation rather than established fact.