--- title: Meghan Markle's Dad Thomas Will Not Attend Her Royal Wedding description: Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle will/will not attend his daughter's upcoming royal wedding to Prince Harry following health issues. canonical: https://time.com/5278568/thomas-markle-wedding/ copyright: © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. terms: https://legal.time.com/terms-of-service/ license_contact: syndication@time.com author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-17T10:50:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:27:59.249Z og:title: Meghan Markle's Dad Thomas Will Not Attend Her Royal Wedding og:description: Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle will/will not attend his daughter's upcoming royal wedding to Prince Harry following health issues. og:url: https://time.com/5278568/thomas-markle-wedding/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88985e4d5f06062b/69892eb98fd2eec1cd35b6d3/meghan-markle.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2821 og:image:height: 1587 og:image:alt: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Attend Anzac Day Services og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meghan Markle's Dad Thomas Will Not Attend Her Royal Wedding twitter:description: Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle will/will not attend his daughter's upcoming royal wedding to Prince Harry following health issues. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88985e4d5f06062b/69892eb98fd2eec1cd35b6d3/meghan-markle.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meghan Markle Says Her Father Will Not Attend the Royal Wedding > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=c0d1c9d5-749c-42a3-a1a9-787e3e94e8fe&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Meghan Markle Says Her Father Will Not Attend the Royal Wedding [Watch (HLS stream): Meghan Markle Says Her Father Will Not Attend the Royal Wedding](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RlDjApjk.m3u8) (1:04)  _Published 2018-05-17. Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, will not walk his daughter down the aisle during her royal wedding to Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on Saturday, Kensington Palace has confirmed_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner May 17, 2018 10:50 AM UTC Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, will not walk his daughter down the aisle during her royal wedding to Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on Saturday, Kensington Palace has confirmed  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner May 17, 2018 10:50 AM UTC [Meghan Markle’s father](http://time.com/5277643/meghan-markle-father-thomas-royal-wedding/), Thomas Markle, will not walk his daughter down the aisle during her [royal wedding](http://time.com/5218450/meghan-markle-rules/) to Prince Harry at [Windsor Castle](http://time.com/5039393/royal-wedding-2018-details/) on Saturday, Kensington Palace has confirmed. In a statement, Markle suggested her father’s health was to blame for his absence. “Sadly, my father will not be attending the wedding,” she wrote. “I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health.” > [](https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/997060884034924544) The statement comes days after a [report](http://people.com/royals/meghan-markles-half-sister-arranged-dad-pose-staged-photos/) said Thomas Markle would not attend the wedding amid heart problems and news that he had staged photo shoots. Meghan Markle’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, who said she has not spoken to Meghan in years, told the British morning show _Good Morning Britain_ on Tuesday that [her father sold photos of himself](http://time.com/5277643/meghan-markle-father-thomas-royal-wedding/) because he “can’t go anywhere without being followed” by the press. On Wednesday, Samantha Markle, told the Australia show _Sunrise_ that her father [was](https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/996507863748034560) prepping for imminent surgery for his [heart issues](http://people.com/royals/meghan-markles-father-undergo-heart-surgery-wont-attend-royal-wedding/), and added that he hoped to attend the wedding. Earlier in the week, a report surfaced that Markle’s father, who currently lives in Mexico, had suffered a recent heart attack. Soon after, Kensington Palace released a [a statement](http://time.com/5277046/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-request-on-thomas-markle/) asking for “understanding and respect” during the “deeply personal moment” for Markle and Prince Harry. “This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding,” the statement said. “She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.” Markle’s mother, [Doria Ragland](http://time.com/5265579/meghan-markles-parents-in-royal-wedding-prince-harry/), is still expected to participate in the wedding as planned, which includes introductions to the royal family and the Queen. She and Thomas Markle [have been divorced](http://time.com/5037786/meghan-markle-prince-harry-engagement/) since Meghan was six years old. The rest of Meghan’s half-siblings were not invited to the wedding. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5278568/thomas-markle-wedding/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5278568/thomas-markle-wedding/"},"headline":"Meghan Markle Says Her Father Will Not Attend the Royal Wedding","datePublished":"2018-05-17T10:50:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T09:27:59.249Z","description":"Thomas Markle won't be walking her down the aisle after all","url":"https://time.com/5278568/thomas-markle-wedding/","keywords":["Newsfeed","royals","royal wedding"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88985e4d5f06062b/69892eb98fd2eec1cd35b6d3/meghan-markle.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88985e4d5f06062b/69892eb98fd2eec1cd35b6d3/meghan-markle.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Attend Anzac Day Services","caption":"Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Attend Anzac Day Services","creditText":"WPA Pool—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5278568/thomas-markle-wedding/","name":"Meghan Markle Says Her Father Will Not Attend the Royal Wedding"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Meghan Markle Says Her Father Will Not Attend the Royal Wedding","description":"Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, will not walk his daughter down the aisle during her royal wedding to Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on Saturday, Kensington Palace has confirmed","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/RlDjApjk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-05-17T13:25:46.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RlDjApjk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5278568/thomas-markle-wedding/","duration":"PT1M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5278568/thomas-markle-wedding/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```