Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, was reportedly hospitalized Monday night after believing he’d suffered a stroke.
The retired television lighting director, 77, was photographed being loaded into an ambulance in Tijuana, Mexico, with an oxygen mask strapped across his face.
Thomas was rushed across the border to a hospital in Chula Vista, Calif., around 9:30 p.m. local time. He reportedly could not speak to paramedics and had to write down his symptoms on a piece of paper.
“My father is recovering in the hospital,” Thomas’ 57-year-old daughter, Samantha Markle, later said in a statement.
“We ask for privacy for the family, for his health and wellbeing. He just needs peace and rest,” she continued.
“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.”
Thomas previously made headlines for not attending Meghan’s royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 due to issues with his heart.
Meanwhile, Samantha has long blamed the Duchess of Sussex for their father’s waning health, once taking issue with Meghan honoring Nelson Mandela while at odds with their dad.
“How about you pay tribute to your own father?!” Samantha tweeted in 2018. “Enough is enough. Act like a humanitarian, act like a woman. If our father dies, it’s on you, Meg!”
According to multiple outlets, Thomas’ latest health scare means he will not be attending Queen Elizabeth II‘s Platinum Jubilee in London next week, as he had reportedly planned.
