The Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father is living in a £500-a-month high-rise flat in the Philippines, where he is being cared for by her half-brother.
Thomas Markle Snr, 80, has moved to the densely populated island of Cebu, more than 7,000 miles away from Meghan, 43, Prince Harry, 40, and his grandkids Archie and Lilibet. Our exclusive pictures show the former Hollywood lighting director sitting alone while resting in blistering heat outside a supermarket near his new home on Wednesday. That was the day after Archie’s sixth birthday, which he missed.
Thomas has had two heart attacks and a stroke in recent years and now must deal with the tropical island’s punishing heat. Temperatures this week reached 33C and humidity levels almost 90%. The regional Emmy award-winner has been seen using a walking stick to help him get around the area’s uneven roads and paths, many of which are affected by constant traffic and the unforgiving climate.
A source said: “There are only two types of weather in Cebu: hot and humid, and hot and humid and raining. It’s brutal even for men half his age, but it’s still sad to see him looking as though he’s struggling.” The source went on: “Thomas and his son only recently moved into the property and they are still finding their feet in Cebu after the big move abroad, but they’re here together and are firmly supporting each other.”
It is understood Thomas Snr and Meghan’s older half-brother Thomas Jnr, 58 – who was yesterday seen leaving the flat hand-in-hand with a young woman – had previously been staying in a three-star hotel on Cebu before moving in to the flat. Thomas Snr had spent the past decade living in a beachside bungalow in Rosarito, Mexico – which is only around 250 miles from the Sussexes’ home in Montecito, California.
They moved out after boxes of Thomas’s belongings, understood to include some of his most prized possessions, including albums of family photos featuring Meghan, arrived on the island. Despite its humble location, yards from a busy seven-lane main road, the apartment block is considered grand by many folk in the Philippines, where the average wage is just over £7,000 a year.
Cebu has a population of more than three million, and some 900,000 residents exist below the poverty line, according to the latest figures. Life here is a world away from the luxury Thomas’s daughter and son-in-law Harry enjoy at their multi-million pound Californian mansion. Meghan posted a photo of Archie alongside a message wishing her “sweet boy” a happy sixth birthday on Tuesday.
