The Duchess of Sussex’s father, Thomas Markle, has denied that his phone was “compromised” before his daughter’s wedding.
Texts allegedly sent by Markle in May 2018, as shown in Netflix’s Harry & Meghan, made Meghan question whether or not his phone was being used by someone else.
The messages were exchanged after it was revealed that Markle posed for paparazzi photographs, which he later apologised for.
A text sent by Meghan to her father, as shown in the documentary, states: “Please can I ask that you stop talking to any press [...] You haven’t returned any of our 20+ calls since we all spoke on Saturday morning; which only adds to the hurt you’ve been causing. We aren’t angry but we do really need to speak to u [sic].”
A response from her father read: “I’ve done nothing to hurt you Meghan or anyone else I know nothing about 20 phone calls I’m sorry my heart attack is there any inconvenience for you.”
Speaking to the camera about the message, Meghan explained: “It was really weird. You know how people text, right?
“My dad used a lot of emojis and a lot of ellipses and dot, dot, dot, and this was just the opposite. And it called me Meghan.
“I was like: ‘He’s never called me Meghan any day that I’ve lived on this planet.’ Meg, all my friends call me Meg and my parents call me Meg and I was like, ‘That’s not my dad.’ So then we knew that his phone had been compromised.”
However, Markle has told The Mail on Sunday that his phone had not, in fact, been compromised and he had been texting his daughter from hospital.
“I use it when I am serious, when there are serious issues involved,” he said.
“She does still have a father. I’m here, I still live in the same house and I still have the same number. I’m still her dad. I would love to see my grandchildren.”
