The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are unlikely to reconcile with their sick fathers, according to reports, despite recent hints that the damaged relationships could be healing.
Meghan Markle sent a letter to her estranged father Thomas Markle while he was in hospital in the Philippines this week, while Prince Harry met with his father King Charles for the first time in two years in September.
But the contact made by both still does not indicate that there will be a wider reconciliation, reports suggest.
For the seventh year running, the duke will again not spend time at Sandringham for Christmas with the rest of the royal family, The Times has reported.
It has been suggested that he has not been in phone contact with his father, who is battling cancer, since they met three months ago, after a misplaced accusation that Harry’s aides leaked details of that meeting to “sabotage” the relationship. A source told The Times that the relationship is moving in the right direction and claimed the pair do speak, but another said this is laughable.
It comes as the monarch opened up about his “overwhelming” personal journey with cancer in a broadcast message released on Friday. He announced that his treatment would be rolled back in the new year in what he called a “personal blessing”.
Meanwhile, the duke is still not in touch with the Waleses, after his explosive memoir Spare detailed a number of damning allegations about the royals, including that Prince William had punched him to the floor in a fight.
When it comes to the duchess’s relationship with her father, a source told the newspaper that it was “too soon to say” if the life-threatening blood clot Mr Markle, 81, recently faced would lead to a family reunion, although it is unlikely in reality.
After life-saving surgery on the island of Cebu during which his left leg was amputated, the 81-year-old invited the US editor of the Daily Mail to his bedside for an interview.
The publication is part of the same newspaper group that Meghan defeated in a privacy case in 2021, while Harry is currently battling the group in the UK courts over alleged phone hacking. Mr Markle told the Mail on Sunday: “Of course I want to speak to her, but I am not sure if these are the right circumstances.”
Meghan reportedly wrote her father a letter over fears that communication over the phone would be leaked to the tabloids, although a source said she no longer even has his number, and there is little hope the note will lead to anything more.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.independent.co.uk ’
