Meghan Markle’s “Reach Out” Chaos: Dad Says No Call, Hospital Says No Record, Samantha Says ‘Medusa’

The Markle family drama hit full soap-opera mode as Meghan’s team insisted she “reached out” to her recovering father — while Thomas Markle says he’s received nothing, the hospital confirms zero contact, and the supposed message turns out to be an email he hasn’t opened in five years. Samantha jumps in with “Medusa” insults, Thomas gives emotional bedside quotes, doctors detail the massive clot that forced emergency amputation, and insiders whisper he’s now shopping a big TV payday. Meanwhile, palace sources say Meghan feels she can’t win. Add fresh reports of Harry feeling adrift, a new UK security move, Pippa Matthews skipping Kate’s carol service for Abu Dhabi, and the looming return of Andrew at baby Athena’s christening — and the royal holiday season just got even messier.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Callaroga Shark Media BA, Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue.
I am your host, Mark Francis. The Markel family saga
is getting stranger. A spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex
has said that Megan Mirkel has reached out to her father. However,
Thomas Mikel has told outlets he was confused by the claim,

(00:26):
insisting he had received absolutely no messages. He stressed that
he has kept the same phone number for years, precisely
so that his daughter could contact him instantly if she
ever chose to. It later emerged that the supposed contact
referred to by the Sussex teen was an email sent
to an address Thomas has not accessed in at least

(00:47):
five years. Those close to the retired lighting directors say
he never uses email at all. To verify the account,
several hospital departments in Cebu, including administration, RECEPS and the
Intensive Care Unit, reported that they had received no calls
from the Duchess or her representatives. The Mail on Sunday
quoted a hospital employee who said, mister Michael is a

(01:11):
VIP patient. Of course we all know who he is.
If Megan or anyone connected with her had called here,
we would have known. It is a big hospital by
Filipinos standards, but we all know each other and we
all talk. We were all confused when we saw the
story that the duchess had reached out to her dad.
As far as we are aware, it didn't happen. We
would love to see the Duchess here in the Philippines.

(01:35):
A different report in gb News claims that Megan has
been personally ringing hospitals across the Philippines in an effort
to locate her father after his emergency surgery. The Duchess
is reportedly hoping to deliver a handwritten letter to Thomas Markle.
Samantha Michael on social media claimed Houston there's been no contact.

(01:55):
Time to stop the PRBs MEDUSA. The Daily Mail was
Caroline Graham shared a conversation she had with Thomas, in
which he said, of course I want to speak to her,
but I am not sure if these are the right circumstances.
I've always said I am open to reconciling with my daughter.
I have never stopped loving her. I don't want to
die estranged from Megan. I want to meet my grandkids.

(02:18):
It might be nice to meet her husband Too. Graham,
who was visiting Thomas in person, tells us Thomas said,
this is so surreal. We have been through a lot
you and I what a crazy journey it has been.
The nurses have told me that people around the world
are praying for me, and I want to say thank
you for those well wishes. People are so kind. I've
been out of it all week, but I am finally

(02:41):
feeling more like myself and I would like to show
people I'm okay. I'm grateful to the wonderful medical team
who saved my life. I'm grateful to still be alive.
But I wanted to say a big thank you to
all the well wishes and also to the fantastic medical staff.
I really want to say thank you to the people
of the UK who have been so kind to me.

(03:02):
I'm an old man now, but my life has been
saved and I'm grateful for that. I have a long
road ahead. The Mail on Sunday also quoted Dr Alexander Korr,
who was on the surgery teen. Doctor Corr said there
was no chance of saving the leg. The blood clot
was at least fourteen inches long and ran through the
length of his thigh. If we had tried to clear

(03:24):
the blockage. The necrosis from the dying tissue in the foot,
which was gravely infected, could have moved through his blood
screen and caused sapsus, which, with his multiple health conditions,
could have killed him. The biggest threat was an infection
spreading throughout his body. We did emergency surgery to amputate
the leg below the knee, and then we removed the

(03:44):
blood clot. There was no option but to amputate. It
was major surgery. But mister Mikale is doing well and
we are satisfied with his progress. We are taking it
a day at a time. There may be a large
medical bill to be paid. Thomas Michael Junior said, So
got kind of really screwed on insurance here. Nothing that
he had there that he thought he was going to

(04:06):
cover him here. So everything's out of pocket and it's
going to be a day by day thing and figure
this thing out and get him whatever we need to
get him. Dad's going to be okay, but it's going
to be a whole different world than what he's used to.
This is a big, big, serious deal and it's going
to take a lot of extensive care. This just got
bumped up to a whole different level. In a video

(04:26):
posted to his YouTube channel, Junior said, now my channel
and everything that I make off of it, which is
not that much, is going to take care of my father.
He added, I'm working on some other things for some
different revenue or whatever, for like a gofund me or something.
Money problems would lend credence to a claim that comes
from Royal commentator Rob Shooter, who cites Royal insiders, Thomas

(04:47):
is angling for a payday. He wants a TV deal.
He's already done the print interview in the photo. Now
he's shopping the on air version. He wants real money.
Another insider told the commentator he keeps saying the picture
of him without a leg would be powerful. He thinks
TV networks will bite. He's asking around for numbers. He
knows exactly how this tango works. He's done it before.

(05:09):
They added, Thomas isn't subtle about any of this. He's
shopping the story. He thinks people will pay because of
who Megan is and because TV pays more than print.
A Palace adjacent source told the Royal expert she feels
she can't win if she calls him. It's a headline.
If she doesn't, it's a headline too. Another insider added,
she's upset, frustrated, but mostly tired. It's always something. Damned

(05:32):
if she does, damned if she doesn't more palace in
just a Moment. Closer Online, which tends to be on
the gossipy side, quotes an insider as saying Prince Harry
has never felt more adrift than he does now. He's
devoted to the children, yet quietly wrestling with a sense
of displacement that has only grown deeper as the year

(05:54):
draws to a close. Harry's world has shrunk dramatically. While
the public see a man smiling through appearances and charity work,
the reality behind closed doors is far more fragile. Harry
clings to Meghan because he's got nobody else. It's not
love he's lacking. It's a life of his own. Harry
gave everything up for Meghan, his home, his family, the

(06:17):
structures that grounded him, and now he's asking himself what
he gets in return. Not emotionally, Meghan loves him, but
in terms of identity, he doesn't know who he is anymore.
Meghan wears the trousers Harry's not going anywhere, and she
knows it. She is confident, decisive, and forward driving, qualities
Harry wants relied on, but now occasionally feels dwarfed by other.

(06:40):
Sources told Closer Harry wasn't feeling the recent Jenna party.
Meghan was in her element and went home totally starry eyed,
gushing that the sky is the limit now they've been
officially accepted into Chris's high powered click. From Harry's perspective,
it was surreal to be hanging out with that crowd,
and not in a good way. We told Harry to
doesn't seen much of polo player Nacho Figeris, with the

(07:03):
source adding Nacho was his escape valve. They understood each other.
Now Harry has drifted. He mostly sees Megan's friends. While
they're lovely people, they aren't his people. Harry has reportedly
secured a significant development in his long running dispute over
security arrangements during visits to the UK. The Duke of
Sussex is understood to have written to the Home Secretary

(07:25):
Shabana Mahmood shortly after her appointment, submitting a formal request
for a risk assessment to the Executive Committee for the
Protection of Royalty and Public figures, known as RAYVACK and
overseen by the Home Office. A source close to the
Duke indicated in October that the request had been made,
and is now reported that the Home Office has ordered

(07:45):
a threat assessment for the first time since twenty twenty,
Royal watchers have noted what appears to be the reason
behind Pepper Matthew's absence from this year's Christmas Carol Service.
It was Minster Abbey, the sister of Princess Catherine, was
instead seeing at ten ending the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
over the weekend, prompting speculation about her whereabouts. Missus Matthews

(08:06):
and her husband James were briefly shown on Sky Sports
during Saturday's qualifying coverage at the Formula One season finale.
Their appearance abroad coincided with their non attendance of the
Carol Service and events they have missed only once before,
in twenty twenty one, when restrictions remained in place following
the Curvid nineteen pandemic. Andrew mount Patten Windsor and Sarah

(08:27):
Ferguson are said to make a notable return to royal
visibility when they attend their granddaughter's christening On Friday, Princess
Beatrice and her husband Edwaro Mapelle Moozzi will gather close
family and friends at the Chapel Royal on Saint James
Place for the baptism of their daughter Athena. A source
said it's going to be a royal occasion, but everyone
is dreading the thought of seeing Andrew there. According to

(08:49):
The Daily Mail, the same source suggested relations between Beatrice
and her father remain strained, but that it would be
cruel for her not to invite him. They explained, Beatrice
has of course invited her far, but things are not
worn between them. However, she's worried about him. He's going
through a low ebb with his mental health and she
recognizes that he dotes on his grandchildren and it will

(09:10):
be cruel to deprive him of the chance to attend
the christening. The source added that some careful conversations and
diplomacy with King Charles will have taken place to get
to this stage. And there you have it. If you'd
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(09:33):
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a nice little Christmas present, And we love the support

(09:56):
here behind the scenes. I'm Mark Francis my thanks to
John mcdermoth. This is power is intriguing good times. Mm hmm.