Meghan Markle’s Dad Won’t Go To Wedding & Walk Her Down The Aisle After Heart Attack

Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle will be MIA at his daughter’s romantic Royal Wedding after suffering a heart attack six days ago! Is he OK?

Meghan Markle‘s father Thomas Markle, 73, won’t be walking his daughter, 36, down the aisle after all at the Royal Wedding on May 19, after suffering a heart attack. He checked into a hospital six days ago, and while he has thankfully recovered, he will still steer clear of her 600-person televised wedding in front of expected millions of viewers around the world. The real reason he’s refusing to attend the wedding is to avoid embarrassing Meghan and the Royal Family after reports have surfaced that he staged and sold pictures of himself to the paparazzi, which ran on media outlets all over the world on May 11, according to TMZ.

Thomas admits that he made a deal with a photo agency to show himself getting ready for the royal wedding, but that his payout was nowhere near the $100,000 sum that was reported. While he did acknowledge that the photos looked “stupid and hammy”, he said that he meant no harm to Meghan or the Royal Family. Although he was paid for the pictures, he revealed that it wasn’t money that drove him to strike the deal. Over the past year, he claims that the paparazzi have caught him in unflattering situations, particularly when he was buying beer, supposed for the guards outside of his home, while looking disheveled.

He believes that these pictures portrayed him in an uncharacteristically negative light. On top of that, Thomas has said that this isn’t the first deal he’s been offered since Prince Harry proposed to Meghan. In fact, he’s been repeatedly offered interviews in the neighborhood of $50,000 to $100,000 each, but so far has said no to them all. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more about Meghan’s response to the news about her father backing out of the ceremony, plus who will walk her down the aisle.

But this isn’t the only family drama plaguing Meghan –her half-sister Samantha Grant, 52, has slammed her multiple times, saying that the royal bride-to-be is a “social climber” with a “soft spot for gingers”. Since Thomas’ paparazzi scandal, Samantha has taken responsibility for it, saying it was her idea all along. And while he penned an open letter begging to be invited to the royal wedding, Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Markle Jr., 51, has said that Prince Harry marrying Meghan would be the “biggest mistake in royal history” in another scathing letter addressed to the prince. Thomas Sr. and Meghan’s mother Doria Loyce Ragland, 61, divorced in 1988 back when Meghan was 6 years old.

UPDATE: Following the news of Mr. Markle’s heart attack, the Palace released the following statement, which was obtained by Us Weekly: ““This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.””