The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle appeared at her first official event on Tuesday, which seemed to be a pretty definite marker that her new life as a royal has begun. That doesn't mean her old life came to a full stop, however. According to at least one royal family insider, the newlyweds are reportedly planning a trip to visit Markle's father, Thomas, in Mexico.
Thomas Markle was one of the most talked-about men in the world last week, when he had to undergo surgery to place stents in his heart instead of walking his daughter down the aisle of St. George's Chapel for her Royal Wedding. Maybe most people have turned their attention elsewhere by now, but not his daughter.
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"We don't know when this trip might happen.... I'm hearing from people close to Meghan and Harry that they're very keen to do it," Katie Nicholl, a freelance writer and royal expert for Vanity Fair, told Entertainment Tonight. She said while Markle is naturally concerned for her dad's health, Harry is also eager to make the trip.
"He feels it's very important that he gets to meet Thomas," Nicholl said.
This echoes a similar story from British tabloid The Sun over the weekend. Refinery29 has reached out for official word from Kensington Palace on this, but since the newlyweds have not even announced when or where they'll be going for their honeymoon, which they postponed for official duties, we don't think an answer on this is forthcoming quite yet.
A visit isn’t just a nice thing to do; it makes sense on a PR level as well. Markle's relationship with her father isn't something we've got intimate knowledge of. Though she did plan to have him walk her down the aisle, he was also the source of some headaches when it was revealed he staged some photos for the paparazzi last month. Going to visit him would be not just a daughterly thing to do, but would also probably stop everyone from buzzing about whether the royals would rather pretend the Markle side of the family didn't exist.
On a human level, the poor guy does seem really bummed about missing Saturday's festivities, so we hope the Duke and Duchess get to do something nice for him eventually.
"My baby looks beautiful and she looks very happy,” Thomas Markle told TMZ after watching the wedding on TV. “I wish I were there and I wish them all my love and happiness.”
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