Samantha Markle has insisted the "door has been left open" for Meghan Markle to get in contact with their father.
The Duchess of Sussex has reportedly not spoken to her dad Thomas Markle Snr. in several years, as a rift grew between them, but Samantha says that Meghan is very welcome to get in contact with her father - and knows how to if she wants to.
Appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain today, Samantha spoke of her father's ill health, insisting he is doing much better - but it will take him around six months to a year to fully recover and regain his speech.
Speaking on the show, Samantha said: "He loves all of us and he’s been bashed in the media for always speaking out to extend an olive branch to reach out to her. He is her father so he has a right to reach out to her.
"He has been very honest and open in those feelings and the door is wide open."
She claimed that Meghan has a way of contacting her father, if she so wishes.
"She’s always had his phone number, it hasn’t changed, and his address, so any suggestion that she doesn’t know how to get hold of him and that she wanted to be private is somewhat ridiculous on the grounds that if you want to reach out to your father privately you know how to do it," the insider added.
"And you don’t use PR and media outlets all over the world to make that announcement - that’s not private."
During the chat, Samantha said her dad was recovering well - but it was a long road ahead.
"I think he feels blessed to be alive and he's doing well, he's really doing well," she said, "He can't speak but his language comprehension is perfect, he understands and he can text and communicate that way. He's feeling better every day, so all things considering, two heart attacks, a pandemic and all this, he's coping remarkably well.
"Learning to speak again could take six months to a year. Unlike a child who has to learn to speak and understand words and remember them and form associations, an adult doesn't have to do that. So all he has to do now, because he understands the words perfectly, is he has to train his mouth and his tongue to say the words. So six months to a year realistically.
"He's very patient and he feels very strong about it, and he has a lot of love and support around him."
