Thomas Markle celebrates his 80th birthday without daughter Meghan - who he hasn't spoken to for SIX years

As Thomas Markle celebrates his 80th birthday, it's a milestone coloured with mixed emotions.

The retired lighting director has not spoken to his youngest daughter, Meghan Markle, since 2018, despite allegedly making multiple attempts to reach out.

Their relationship became strained when he posed for paparazzi photos before her wedding to Prince Harry.  

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Markle also suffered two heart attacks just before the ceremony, preventing him from walking his daughter down the aisle.

Since then, Meghan and Harry have not communicated with Thomas, and he has never had the opportunity to meet his son-in-law - or grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

'I've had a good life and I am proud of what I've accomplished, but everything has been overshadowed by what has happened in the last six years,' he told Mail Online earlier this year.

'I've never been one for birthdays, but I know the one person I most want to hear from, Meghan, won't be in touch.'

Thomas has a cliffside home in Rosarito, Mexico, 250 miles from the Sussexes' 16-bathroom mansion in Montecito.

His living room is proudly brimming with memories of Meghan, including her graduation photos from the Little Red Schoolhouse kindergarten and Immaculate Heart High School.

There is also a photograph of the father and daughter attending the Emmy Awards when Meghan was around 10-years-old.

The award-winning lighting director grew up in Pennsylvania with his parents and two siblings.

His mother Doris worked behind the sweet counter at a local 'five-and-dime' store, while his father Gordon was a printer at Olmsted Air Force Base outside the family's hometown of Newport.

Thomas Markle's career began in high school, working on theatre productions before landing a position at WTTW public television in Chicago.

He spent a decade on the live music programme Soundstage, rubbing shoulders with icons like Aretha Franklin and Billy Joel.

After his divorce from his first wife Rosalyn, the mother of his oldest children Samantha and Tom Jr, Thomas decided to pursue opportunities in Hollywood.

He became the lighting director for two prominent shows, General Hospital and Married With Children.

Meghan's mother, Doria, worked as a secretary at the same studio where she and Thomas later began a relationship. However, they divorced when Meghan was two.

As Doria ventured into an import and export business that required extensive travel, Meghan moved in with her father full-time at the age of 11.

After school, Meghan would frequently join Thomas on set.

The pair shared a close bond - Thomas would rise at 5am each morning to help his daughter straighten her hair before school.

Meghan's naturally curly hair became somewhat of an obsession for the former actress, after experiencing racism at an early age.

During one holiday, the duo were travelling from Los Angeles to Florida, when they stopped in Texas in search of a salon to wash and straighten Meghan's hair.

'We tried several, but no-one would take us in because I was a white man with a mixed-race child,' Markle recalled.

However, when she gained recognition as an actress, Meghan used specialist treatments to achieve her smooth tresses.

As she mentioned in 2011, maintaining her look requires considerable effort and expense.

'My mum is black and my dad is Dutch and Irish so the texture of my hair is densely curly,' she said. 'I've been getting Brazilian blow-outs for a couple of years.'

Markle claimed that Meghan's fame altered his daughter's personality.

'The person she's become isn't the girl I raised,' he explained.

'She started to change when she lived in Canada filming Suits and was hanging out with the Soho House [an exclusive members' club and hotel chain] crowd.

'She began acting entitled. Things escalated after she met Harry.

'It upsets me that the Markle name is now associated with negativity. People talk about being 'Markled' when they get dumped for no reason. That saddens me.'

Today, Thomas Markle is unlikely to receive a call from Meghan, but he will likely be celebrating his birthday with his son, Tom Jr.

He may also speak with his eldest daughter, Samantha, over the phone, as her multiple sclerosis prevents her from travelling from her home in Florida to join the celebration.

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