THE MISSING MAN
Did Meghan’s dad Thomas Markle attend her wedding?
THOMAS MARKLE has had a difficult relationship with his daughter Meghan, with court rulings and interviews on the matter.
He was once again making headlines after Meghan discussed the TV lighting director in her chat with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 - but did he attend her wedding?
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Who is Thomas Markle?
Thomas W Markle, the father of the actress and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is of Dutch-Irish origin and is 75 years old.
He is a former television lighting director working on iconic US shows including Married With Children and General Hospital.
In 2011 he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction for a Drama Series for his work on General Hospital, a long-running US soap.
He's been married twice and has three children, Samantha, Thomas Jr and Meghan.
Where does Meghan's dad live?
He lives in Rosarito in Mexico.
He was married to Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, in 1979 - but they divorced in 1987.
The couple lived in Los Angeles, California, when Meghan was born in 1981
Was Thomas Markle at the Royal Wedding?
It was initially announced that Thomas would walk his daughter down the aisle when she married Prince Harry.
But he pulled out after he had a heart attack and had to undergo surgery to repair the damage.
Thomas then told he DID want to attend the wedding – although admitted his doctors had not allowed him to travel due to recent health scares.
He said back then: "I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle."
However, the US outlet later reported that doctors were forced to operate.
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What did Thomas say in his 2020 Channel 5 interview?
Thomas admitted that he was "jealous" of Prince Charles, who walked Meghan down the aisle at her wedding.
He said that he "cried a little" as he watched the royal wedding on TV from Mexico.
The father-of-three said he had been estranged from his daughter since she married Prince Harry in 2018 and doesn't expect it to change.
In the tell-all Channel 5 documentary - Thomas Markle: My Story, the now-76-year-old said: "To them I don't exist.
"Harry is part of my family - we should be talking.
"Meghan was my most important relationship and my pride and joy.
"I miss Meghan. I miss who she was. I don’t know who she is now. That’s the problem."
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He said that he hopes Archie - his grandson who he has never met - has the famous "Markle nose", adding: "I hope he has my nose because every time they look at Archie they’ll see me."
He accused the couple of cheapening the institution of royalty, saying: "They are turning it into Walmart with a crown on."
He added: "Every young girl wants to become a princess. She got that and now she's tossing it away.
"It looks like she's tossing that away for money."
He claimed he gave the interview because he wanted the world to know he's not the "trashy things" that were being said about him.
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Did Thomas Markle stage pictures for publicity?
In early May 2018, Markle was spotted looking up the soon-to-be royal spouses in an internet cafe in Mexico.
Thomas viewed pictures of the pair and read news items about them during 20 minutes at an internet café in the town where he lives.
However, on May 14, it emerged he had been struck down by a heart problem and pulled out of the ceremony after realising he was too ill to make the trip.
The bombshell revelation came as he admitted he was paid to pose for staged paparazzi pictures sold to news outlets worldwide.
He claims he was approached by a man claiming to be a PR expert who pitched the scheme to improve Thomas’ image.
Meg's dad said he had a feeling that the pictures would be "hokey" but the man assured him he knew what he was doing.
He said: “He told me ‘they are going to love it and they are going to love you.'
“I didn’t do it for money. I did it to change my image.”
He admits he is still making money off the images, adding: “The reality is that those images will sell forever.”
Thomas confessed that he lied to Harry on the phone about posing for the pictures. “I’m not proud of that, but I did," he said.
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LATEST ON THOMAS MARKLE
What has Meghan said about her dad?
Before becoming a royal, Meghan was very vocal on social media about her love for her dad.
In 2016 she wrote on Instagram: "Happy Father's Day, daddy. I'm still your buckaroo, and to this day your hugs are still the very best in the whole wide world."
"Thanks for my work ethic, my love of Busby Berkeley films & club sandwiches, for teaching me the importance of handwritten thank you notes, and for giving me that signature Markle nose. I love you xo -Bean."
The actress was filmed by Ninaki Priddy as they drove around Los Angeles chatting about an upcoming audition.
But as they neared Thomas’s home the mood changed and Meghan said: “We aren’t going to go there.”
Meghan confided in a pal about her difficult relationship with dad Thomas — saying: “We aren’t on the best of terms.”
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