Cape Town - Meghan’s close friend has jumped to her defence!
A close friend of The Duchess of Sussex (36) said Thomas Markle only pretended to have heart surgery in order to give the royal wedding a miss, reports the Daily Mail.
“The whole story about Meghan's father undergoing heart surgery was made up,” the source told the Mail.
“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.”
The pal of the former Suits actress went on to say people shouldn’t feel sorry for the 74-year-old and should instead turn their attention to the sadness the Duchess felt after her dad missed her wedding.
“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,” the source said.
The source added that Thomas was simply trying to gain sympathy after staged paparazzi photos emerged one week before the wedding, embarrassing both Meghan and the royal family, reports news.com.au.
“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.”
Two days after his alleged heart surgery, the Duchess’ dad was spotted with two McDonalds Happy Meals and a chocolate shake and later had dinner at KFC, writes Daily Mail.
Sources: Daily Mail, news.com.au News24/Kauthar Gool