Meghan Markle's father in intensive care after being rushed into emergency surgery

He underwent three hours of surgery on last Thursday and is currently in intensive care.

The 81-year-old has been estranged from his daughter since her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018.

He will need a second procedure to remove a blood clot.

His son Thomas Jr. said: “I took dad to a hospital close to our home and they did various scans and the doctors said his life was in imminent danger.

“They raced us by ambulance, with the sirens going, to a much bigger hospital in the centre of the city. My dad has undergone emergency surgery. I would ask everyone around the world to keep him in their thoughts."

Thomas’s daughter, Samantha, said she believed the strain of the last few years had taken its toll and added to his fragility.

She revealed: “He is a strong man, but he has been through so much. I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this.

“My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke and an earthquake. I hope he can pull through this,” she told the Mail.

Mr Markle has been struggling with his health for numerous years, suffering two heart attacks on the night before Meghan’s wedding, preventing him from getting on a plane from Los Angeles to London.

King Charles walked the Duchess of Sussex partway down the aisle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, something Mr Markle said: “was the most gracious and kind thing to do. I shall be forever in his debt.”

The 81-year-old also had a significant stroke in 2022, which left him unable to speak. After months of therapy, he was able to regain some speech but has become increasingly frail in recent years.

Tom Markle Jr, 53, who has been the primary caregiver for his father since the stroke, pleaded: “My only wish is that Meghan shows my father some compassion. He is literally fighting for his life.”

Mr Markle moved to the Philippines in January to “escape” from the reminders of his estrangement from Meghan.

He said to the Mail: “Every day there was some story or other about Meghan and Harry. It was a constant reminder that my daughter is no longer speaking to me.

“I still do not understand why she continues to ghost me. My only wish is to see my grandchildren before I die.”

“Meghan and Harry did nothing to prepare me for the attention I was getting.

“The paparazzi were getting pictures of me every day and they were very unflattering. I believed the photographer when he said putting nice pictures out there would show me in a better light.

“I reached out every way I could. I appealed to them publicly and I wrote private letters. They cut me dead. It broke my heart.”