Meghan Markle's Father Undergoes Partial Amputation

The patriarch has suffered a devastating blow to his health — one that left doctors no choice but to take drastic, life-saving action after a terrifying medical emergency unfolded without warning.

In a horrifying turn of events, Thomas Markle Sr has lost a limb after a sudden medical crisis left him fighting for his life.

The 81-year-old father of the Duchess of Sussex was rushed into emergency surgery earlier this week in the Philippines, after falling alarmingly ill at home under the care of his son, Thomas Jr.

What began as a routine concern spiraled into a terrifying medical emergency when doctors discovered a blood clot in his leg.

Three Hours in Surgery to Save His Life

On Wednesday, 3 December, doctors performed a grueling three-hour operation, amputating his left foot and lower leg after the clot cut off circulation and turned the limb blue — then black.

"My dad is being very brave," Thomas Jr shared. "His foot turned blue and then black. It happened very quickly. I took him to a local hospital and they did some scans and an ultrasound and said the leg had to be amputated."

The choice, he said, was devastating — but unavoidable:

"There was no option. I was told the leg had to be removed and it was a case of life or death."

Still in ICU — And Another Operation Looms

Tragically, Thomas Sr's ordeal isn't over. He remains in the ICU in stable condition, awaiting another procedure to remove a second blood clot, this time higher up in his left thigh.

According to his son, doctors are "extremely concerned" about the his condition following the traumatic amputation.

"One of his doctors said the next two or three days are critical," Thomas Jr told the Daily Mail. "They were worried about infection setting in — sepsis or gangrene. The flesh was black and dying."

Physicians treating Thomas Sr, who spoke to the Daily Mail with his permission, also confirmed just how fragile the coming days could be, citing the risk of infection as a looming threat.

"We need to make sure the wound heals and does not become infected," one doctor warned. "At the moment he is in stable condition and doing well. But, at his age, that could change quickly."

A Son's Plea — And A Silent Daughter

Thomas Jr, clearly shaken, said his father faces a long and uncertain recovery following the procedure.

"This was a major operation but he needed it to save his life. I would ask everyone to keep him in their thoughts. He is a brave and tough man," he said — before delivering a heart-wrenching appeal to his estranged sister:

"I would appeal to Meghan to show him compassion at this very difficult time."

As of now, the Duchess of Sussex has declined to comment on her father's condition, or the amputation that may forever alter his life.

The update comes after mounting concern for the Markle patriarch, whose health has declined in recent years. As we previously reported, Thomas Sr was rushed to hospital on Tuesday, 2 December, after falling gravely ill at home. Doctors quickly determined the situation was life-threatening.

"They did various scans and the doctors said his life was in imminent danger," his son Thomas Jr told the Daily Mail. "They raced us by ambulance, with the sirens going, to a much bigger hospital in the centre of the city."

Three-Hour Emergency Surgery — And He's Not Out of the Woods Yet

The ailing Thomas Sr underwent a gruelling three-hour operation on Wednesday and remains in the intensive care unit, still awaiting a second surgery to remove a blood clot.

"My dad has undergone emergency surgery. I would ask everyone around the world to keep him in their thoughts," Thomas Jr said. His sister Samantha Markle also weighed in, blaming years of personal strain and stress for their father's increasingly fragile condition.

"He is a strong man, but he has been through so much. I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this," she said. "My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke and an earthquake. I hope he can pull through this."

Years of Decline — And Meghan Still Silent

Thomas Sr has long been in declining health. In 2018, just days before Meghan's royal wedding, he suffered two heart attacks and was forced to cancel his trip to London. In 2022, he endured a severe stroke that left him unable to speak — a trauma he eventually overcame through intense therapy.

Earlier this year, he moved to the Philippines with Thomas Jr, saying he hoped to find peace and escape the constant reminders of his estrangement from Meghan.

"My only wish is that Meghan shows my father some compassion. He is literally fighting for his life," Thomas Jr pleaded. As her father clings to life in an overseas ICU, Meghan remains silent.

Fighting for His Life While Meghan Talks Family on Netflix

As Thomas Sr lay in intensive care, Meghan was promoting her holiday special, "With Love, Meghan," on Netflix — a project centered on the importance of family and friends.

The stark contrast between the father and daughter's realities has set social media ablaze with outrage, heartbreak, and a torrent of brutal opinions.

"What about healing relationship with HER elderly father AND the rest of ALL of HER family, INCLUDING her mother's side of her family?!?" one user demanded. Another slammed the Duchess more bluntly, "Yes, it's despicable that this was shown, whilst her father is in intensive care. The woman didn't have a heart."

A third was even more cutting, sneering, "She has no family left and doesn't like food so it's Christmas with love from Grinch!" Still, not everyone joined the pile-on. A handful of loyal fans leapt to Meghan's defense.

"Our queen meghan doesn't care!! move on! [sic]" one user wrote defiantly. "🙏Megnit allegedly caused it [sic]," added another.

The timing of her Netflix release — with its soft-focus, candlelit montages about togetherness — has only fueled the firestorm of criticism, as her father's condition worsens and he remains cut off from the daughter he once adored.

No Meeting with Harry, No Hello from Archie or Lilibet

After all these years, Thomas Sr has never met his son-in-law Prince Harry, nor his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

After he suffered two heart attacks just days before Meghan's royal wedding in 2018, he says there was no forgiveness, no follow-up, no compassion. The rift began when it emerged he had staged paparazzi photos in the lead-up to the wedding — a move he says was born not out of malice, but desperation.

"Meghan and Harry did nothing to prepare me for the attention I was getting," Thomas Sr explained. "The paparazzi were getting pictures of me every day and they were very unflattering. I believed the photographer when he said putting nice pictures out there would show me in a better light."

Instead, the fallout was swift — and brutal. "He and Meghan were angry with me and when I said I was in hospital and had nearly died from two heart attacks, they didn't even ask how I was," he revealed. "I reached out every way I could. I appealed to them publicly and I wrote private letters. They cut me dead. It broke my heart."

Meghan's Side of the Story — and the Pain That Still Lingers

Meghan addressed the scandal during her bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, where she recounted the intense scrutiny on her family before her wedding and her heartbreak over her father's betrayal.

She claimed her communications team discovered the tabloids were sitting on the photo story, timing its release to cause maximum damage the weekend of her wedding. She said she called her father directly to confirm if the story was true — and that he denied working with photographers.

She told him the institution could "kill" the story if he was honest, but warned that using that favor now would mean they couldn't use it in future — not even to protect their own children. Still, she says, he insisted he had done nothing wrong.

But when the story broke, the damage was done. The trust — and their relationship — shattered. And yet, for all the televised soundbites and carefully worded statements, Thomas Sr has said his wish remains heartbreakingly simple.

"My only wish is to see my grandchildren before I die," he said.

As he battles for survival from a hospital bed thousands of miles away, that wish may be slipping further out of reach.