Thomas Markle Snr, the estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has moved to an apartment in the Philippines from his cliffside property near the US border in Rosarito, Mexico
Thomas Markle Snr, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, is now living in a £500-a-month high-rise apartment on the island of Cebu in the Philippines, where he is being looked after by his son, Thomas Markle Jnr.
Now 80, Thomas Snr has relocated from his cliffside property near the US border in Rosarito, Mexico and moved more than 7,000 miles from his daughter Meghan, 43, and her family – Prince Harry, 40, and grandchildren Archie, six, and three-year-old Lilibet.
Exclusive pictures obtained by The Mirror showed 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.
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Humprey Nemar )
“I am ready for a change,” he told the Daily Mail. “I have felt stuck in a rut for some time and I am ready to meet new people and experience kindness.”
Speaking in January, when he revealed he was considering relocating to South East Asia, he said: “I travelled in that part of the world when I was a younger man. The people are so kind and welcoming, and they are respectful to older people. It is a place of culture and beauty.
“At 80 it is time to go somewhere where the people are lovely and I can enjoy a quieter, friendlier existence. In South East Asia the medical care is good, you can live reasonably cheaply, the people are kind and respect older people and the food is healthy. Mostly I just want peace. At 80, none of us know how long we have left. I want whatever time I have to be peaceful with none of the awful drama of recent years.”
His move follows a series of serious health issues, including two heart attacks and a stroke. The tropical climate of Cebu presents further challenges, with temperatures reaching 33°C this week and humidity levels nearing 90%.
Locals have seen the retired TV lighting director, once a regional Emmy award-winner, using a walking stick to navigate the uneven roads and heavy traffic near his new home. A source familiar with the situation said: “There are only two kinds of weather in Cebu: hot and humid, and hot and humid with rain. It’s tough even for much younger people, and Thomas looks like he’s having a hard time.”
Despite the difficult adjustment, Thomas Snr and his 58-year-old son – who was pictured leaving the flat hand-in-hand with a young woman – appear to be supporting each other as they settle in. The two had been living in a three-star hotel before recently moving into the apartment. They reportedly made the transition after shipping over personal belongings – including treasured photo albums featuring Meghan – to the island.
Before relocating to the Philippines, Thomas Snr had spent the past decade living in a beachside bungalow in Rosarito, Mexico, just 250 miles from Meghan and Harry’s estate in Montecito, California.
Though their new flat sits near a busy seven-lane road, it’s considered upscale by local standards in a country where the average annual income is around £7,000. Cebu is home to more than three million people, nearly a third of whom live below the poverty line.
The contrast between Thomas Snr’s modest lifestyle and the Sussexes’ multimillion-pound mansion in California is stark. On Tuesday, May 6, Meghan marked her son Archie’s sixth birthday by sharing a photo of him alongside a sweet message calling him her “sweet boy.”
The image, which showed the youngster from behind silhouetted against a bright sunset, was reportedly taken in Mexico.
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