Meghan Markle 's father Thomas was hospitalized on Monday after having a stroke.- Thomas was due to travel to London for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next week.
The Duchess of Sussex's estranged father, Thomas Markle, had planned to attend the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in London before having a stroke earlier this week, the Mail Online's Dan Wootton initally reported.
Thomas, 77, was taken in an ambulance from Tijuana, Mexico, to Chula Vista, California, on Monday after he had a stroke, his representatives confirmed to Insider on Tuesday. Thomas could not speak when he arrived at the emergency room and had to write down his symptoms, his representative said.
Dan Wootton, who has interviewed Thomas on multiple occasions, wrote in the Mail Online that Thomas was due to travel to London to celebrate the Queen's 70 years on the throne next week.
"I am devastated to report this news, just seven days before Thomas would have joined me in London to celebrate the Queen's 70th year on the throne for a TV special on my GB News show, fulfilling his long-held wish to visit Windsor Castle," Wootton wrote.
"But, in a cruel twist of fate, he will now be unable to make the trip as he recovers in hospital, just like he missed his daughter's wedding to the Duke of Sussex after suffering from a heart attack," he added.
A representative for Thomas confirmed to Insider on Wednesday that he had previously planned to attend the Jubilee before his stroke.
"Thomas is currently resting in stable condition," the representative said.
Wootton wrote that Thomas had "remained hopeful" that he would reunite with Meghan and meet Prince Harry for the first time while in London, as the couple previously announced their plans to attend the Queen's Jubilee.
"My father is recovering in hospital. We ask for privacy for the family, for his health and wellbeing," Thomas' eldest daughter, Samantha Markle, told Wootton.
"He just needs peace and rest. Godspeed. We are praying. He just needs some rest. 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," she added.
Thomas and Meghan have been estranged since her royal wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018. At the time, Thomas said he didn't attend the couple's nuptials due to having a heart attack just days before. But writing in legal documents in April 2020, Meghan said his refusal to attend was due to being "publicly shamed" after the press reported that Thomas had staged paparazzi photos of himself.
In the years following, Thomas has criticized Meghan and Harry in the press. Speaking in a video posted to his YouTube channel in April, Thomas said if the couple "didn't have this multimillion-dollar public relations team, everyone would hate them."
"Now, only 90% of the population hates them," Thomas said.
Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.