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Meghan Markle’s dad did not walk the blushing bride down the aisle in May when she married Prince Harry as he had undergone heart surgery.
The former lighting director, 73, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain he had a heart stent fitted at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in Tijuana, Mexico, on May 16.
Thomas’s absence from Meghan and Harry’s wedding was confirmed by Kensington Palace two days before they married on Saturday, May 19.
A Palace statement released on Meghan’s behalf said: “Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding.
“I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health.”
But now claims have surfaced saying the clinic said “no such name” had ever checked into the hospital.
A source, who claims to be close to the former US actress, 36, told the Daily Mail the 73-year-old fabricated the entire heart scare.
Did dad Thomas have heart surgery? Thomas Markle health update
A source close to the Duchess of Sussex told the news site: “The whole story about Meghan’s father undergoing heart surgery was made up.
“He had to come up with a good enough reason not to attend her wedding and avoid any further embarrassment after those staged photos went public.”
Thomas admitted staging paparazzi snaps taken of him working out and viewing the royals online prior to the wedding in order to make him look positive.
The source added: “The poor health story was his way of generating some compassion from the public, and taking the attention off those staged photos which were a complete embarrassment to Meghan and the royal family.
“Of course Meghan is upset with him. Her father missed her wedding. He missed walking her down the aisle all because of that ill-conceived publicity stunt.”
Thomas had previously said he was taken to Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in San Diego on May 14 after losing his balance “and getting bad heart palpitations”.
Megan’s father had been due to fly to Britain that day but doctors kept him in and he later underwent surgery for blocked arteries, he said.
However, the Daily Mail says it contacted the hospital for comment on his stay on May 16 but were told “no such name” had been admitted for a stay.
There has been no further comment from Thomas Markle regarding the claims.
What has Meghan and the Royal Family said?
Both Meghan and the Royal Family remain tight-lipped about Thomas, despite his repeated interviews since the Royal Wedding in May.
The Duchess’s father told TMZ two days ago the royals have given given him the cold shoulder and he is no longer in contact with his daughter.
Thomas reportedly said: “I was silent for a full year and the press beat me up every day saying I was a hermit hiding in Mexico, so I gave my story.
“Apparently that interview put the Royal Family in their silence mode… so, I gave another interview to break the silence.
“All they have to do is speak to me.”
A Kensington Palace spokeswoman told Express.co.uk it could not comment on the claims made.
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