Something interesting about this current Thomas Markle psychodrama is that we’re seeing the Sussexes’ new communications strategy play out in real time. In 2025, Prince Harry and Meghan finally saw the light and realized that they can’t let these bullsh-t stories fester with zero pushback or correction. When Thomas Markle called up his Daily Mail handler Caroline Graham last Wednesday, it only took Meghan and her office 48 hours to get really proactive about pushing back. Last Friday, Meghan’s spokesperson confirmed (on the record) that Meghan had “reached out” to Thomas via email, and that the email had gone through (meaning, it did not bounce back and it was still a valid email address). That’s caused nothing but consternation from the Mail, because they clearly believed that they set some kind of trap for Meghan. From the Times:

Meghan has struggled to contact her father after his life-saving surgery because she has lost his phone number and he has stopped using his email address, it is claimed. Sources close to the Duchess of Sussex insisted she contacted Thomas Markle by email on Friday, but that she no longer had his phone number after several years of estrangement.

A source close to the Sussexes said she had tried to get in touch, including emailing him on Friday morning and contacting the newspaper to ask for an up-to-date contact. The source said: “The Mail made no attempt to contact the duchess’s team prior to publication to verify the claims in their report. Had they asked, particularly in light of the quotes they relied upon from Mr Markle and hospital staff, we would simply have told them to ask Mr Markle to check his email. We first saw the story only after it was published. We immediately informed the Mail that the duchess had in fact emailed her father, a detail we had deliberately chosen not to share in order to avoid further dragging this private matter into the public eye.”

It is understood Meghan does not know what hospital her father is in and no longer is in possession of his phone number, which has either been lost or deleted. She remains reticent about speaking to him owing to fears their conversation would not remain private.

[From The Times]

Obviously, Meghan’s refusal to call her father is completely justified and multifold. I believe she probably deleted his number long ago, but even if she had it, she wouldn’t call him because she doesn’t believe that he’s the only one with access to his phone. And clearly, Meghan is justifiably suspicious of this entire storyline from her sh-thead father. Speaking of, Meghan has apparently called various hospitals trying to track down where Thomas is being treated. Checkmate! She’s not calling to speak to Thomas, she’s checking up on his story.

The Duchess of Sussex has personally called several hospitals in the Philippines in a search for her estranged father. Meghan, 44, intends to have a handwritten note delivered to Thomas Markle, 81, after his leg was reportedly amputated below the knee during surgery to remove a blood clot. After emailing him with no luck since reports of his surgery surfaced on Wednesday, the Duchess has since “personally called several hospitals”, without success, to try to locate Mr Markle.

The Telegraph understands her aides believe he is a patient at a hospital in Cebu in the Philippines – where he moved to from Mexico at the beginning of this year – but have not yet confirmed this is the case. This development is based on pictures published of Mr Markle by the Mail on Sunday, which has so far not answered attempts by the Sussexes to facilitate contact between the pair, it is understood.

Thomas Markle told the Mail on Sunday he was “confused” by reports that she had attempted to make contact, insisting he had not changed his number and had received no messages. It was then claimed that the email was sent to an address he had not used for five years, but sources said it appeared to have been delivered and did not bounce back. The Duchess’s aides have now made clear that if he is willing to share a different address, or if the Mail on Sunday will share contact information for Mr Markle, she will reach out. It is understood that the tabloid has so far not answered requests to send her aides a number or email address for her father, or inform them of which hospital he is currently receiving treatment in.

Mr Markle is also reportedly not in possession of his phone, and sources suggested even with the correct number, it would be “extraordinarily irresponsible” for Meghan to leave a voicemail in light of Prince Harry’s experience with phone hacking.

A spokesperson for DMG Media, which owns the Mail on Sunday, said: “Our journalist, Caroline Graham, has had a close relationship with Mr Markle since 2018. He contacted Ms Graham when he was taken ill and asked her to travel to the Philippines to be with him. Nothing has been published without his specific consent and that of his son. Ms Graham has confirmed to the Duchess of Sussex’s representative that Mr Markle does not have an active email address but that his phone number, which the Duchess has previously used for him, remains unchanged. Ms Graham has made clear that if she can do anything to facilitate contact between Mr Markle and his daughter to have a conversation, then she would be happy to do so. That remains the case. Any suggestion we have ‘puppeteered’ Mr Markle is entirely false and strongly denied.”

[From The Telegraph]

That statement from the Mail is… extraordinary. As if the fact that Meghan is checking up on the whole emergency hospitalization story. It also sounds like Meghan’s refusal to fall into Caroline Graham’s Scooby-Doo-esque trap has blown up in the Mail’s face, right? The reason why the Mail spent the whole weekend screaming and crying about how Meghan hasn’t been in contact with Thomas is because… Caroline has Thomas’s phone and she’s monitoring his communications. I would love it if some other outlet – perhaps an American outlet? – did some kind of larger exposé on what’s really happened in the past week. Last thing: it’s extraordinary that Thomas, who is supposedly fighting for his life, is basically giving dozens of interviews dictating HOW Meghan is supposed to contact him. If he really was on his last leg (heh), surely any word from his estranged daughter would mean the world to him?

Photos and screencaps courtesy of Avalon Red, ITV, Cover Images and The Telegraph.