Thomas Markle could 'die tomorrow' amid anxiety over Meghan privacy case

Meghan Markle's father Thomas has spoken out after his daughter's privacy case was delayed. Photos / Getty Images

Meghan Markle's father Thomas is afraid he could "die tomorrow" as her lawsuit against a publisher is causing him anxiety.

Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers, publisher of MailOnline and The Mail On Sunday, over reproducing parts of a letter she sent to her father in August 2018.

The trial, originally due to start on January 11 next year, was adjourned until next autumn at a High Court hearing this week, reports the Mirror UK.

Justice Warby said a private hearing was necessary to protect Meghan's confidentiality of information in her application to postpone.

But Associated Newspaper's lawyers asked Warby to consider Thomas Markle's situation, saying he's "elderly and sick" and still plans to give evidence during the trial.

The publishing group's editorial legal director Liz Hartley provided a summary of what Markle had told her.

He'd said, "This case is causing me anxiety and I want to get it over with as quickly as possible", she told the judge.

Markle told Hartley he has several serious health conditions and added that "None of my male relatives has ever lived beyond 80 years of age.

"I am a realist and I could die tomorrow. The sooner this case takes place the better."

Hartley said Markle "continues to feel that he has been misrepresented and that the claimant should not be pursuing this claim".

In a Channel 5 TV documentary, Thomas Markle describes Meghan and Harry's behaviour as embarrassing. Photo / Channel 5

"He is anxious that he should have his day in court so that he can tell the truth in public, have his evidence tested under cross-examination and defend himself against the suggestion that he breached the claimant's privacy without any reasonable justification.

"Despite his state of health, Mr Markle was and is planning to travel to London to give evidence in person and I can confirm that his intention to give evidence is as firm as it has always been."

Full summary of Thomas Markle's statements

"I am 76 years old and as a result of my heart condition and surgery I am on blood thinners which have had an effect on my breathing.

"I am unable to walk far or up many stairs.

"I can't manage to take more than 30 or 40 steps without getting winded and needing to slow down until I have caught my breath.

"I have had a cold for three to four years which is connected to my heart and lung disease.

"I am clinically obese and I have gained more weight during the past months because I have been unable to leave my house to take any exercise.

"I am pre-diabetic. I don't know what the position will be in several months' time.

"I have not been back to Chula Vista hospital and although I see a local doctor and I am willing to see a doctor to have my heart and lungs checked, I do not want to know whether I now have cancer or any other serious conditions.

"None of my male relatives has ever lived beyond 80 years of age.

"I am a realist and I could die tomorrow. The sooner this case takes place the better."