Meghan Markle confirmed this Thursday that her father Thomas will not attend her wedding to Prince Harry, which is scheduled to take place at Windsor Castle, in England.
In a statement, Merkle said she "always cared" about her father and that she hopes he is given the space to focus on her health.
He also thanked "everyone who has offered generous messages of support."
In the middle of this week some media reported that the father of Prince Harry's future wife suffers from heart problems and that he had to undergo an intervention.
This news came two days after Thomas Markle, who lives in Mexico, told the American news portal TMZ that he had decided not to attend the royal wedding, following the revelation by the British newspaper Daily Mail that he had reached an agreement with a paparazzo to set up a photo session.
In photographs published by the Daily Mail, Thomas Markle was seen with a celebrity photographer trying on a wedding outfit and reading stories about his daughter in the newspapers.
According to TMZ, Thomas Markle said he didn't want to attend the wedding so his daughter wouldn't be embarrassed.
Meghan Markle's half-sister Samantha told Good Morning Britain earlier this week that the photos were taken with "good intentions" and that her father had suffered a heart attack a few days ago due to stress.
She added that the media "distorted the image" of her and that she "had the moral right to set the record straight and defend herself."
Thomas Markle was due to meet Prince Harry for the first time this week, as well as Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, before walking his daughter down the aisle at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, next Saturday. .
Samantha Markle said her father didn't take the photos for money, tweeting: "The media was unfair in making him look bad so I suggested he take positive photos for his benefit and for the benefit of the royal family."
Paparazzo George Bamby said the arrangement for the photographs was "easy", telling the BBC's Today program that the only reason people do this is for money.
Markle's father was a lighting director on several television shows. He and Doria Ragland, mother of the former Suits actress, divorced when she was only 6 years old. He has two other children, including Samantha, from his first marriage.
Meghan Markle previously described him as loving, hard-working and someone who "invested in my future so I could grow up and have so much."
