Heartbroken : Meghan Markle appears to hint at sadness over lack of relationship with her father Thomas Markle

Meghan Markle has hinted at sadness over the lack of a relationship with her father Thomas Markle.

The Duchess of Sussex shared a poignant message at a London charity carol concert, featuring Maya Angelou’s reflective poem that appears to hint at her feelings about her estranged father.

Meghan, 43, chose the poem “I’ve Learned” to be read at Tuesday’s Smart Works fundraising event at St Marylebone Parish Church.

The emotionally charged piece includes striking lines about parent-child relationships, coming at a time when the duchess remains estranged from her father, Thomas Markle.

The selection appears particularly meaningful as the festive season approaches, traditionally a time for family reconciliation.

The poem was accompanied by a personal message from the duchess to Smart Works, a charity where she has served as patron since 2019.

The poem’s most resonant line reads: “I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.”

This sentiment carries particular weight given Meghan’s complicated relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, 80, who has not spoken to his daughter since 2018.

Their rift began when Thomas posed for paparazzi photographs before Meghan’s royal wedding, which he ultimately missed due to a heart attack.

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,” Thomas told The Mail earlier this year.

The 80-year-old has never met his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibett, despite living just 250 miles from the Sussexes’ Montecito home.

Before their estrangement, Meghan and her father shared a notably close relationship, as revealed in her former blog, The Tig.

In a 2014 Father’s Day post, she described Thomas as “thoughtful, inspiring, hardworking” and praised his dedication to her future.

Thomas, a retired lighting director, would wake at 5am to help straighten Meghan’s hair before school and regularly took her to dance classes, despite working 75-hour weeks.

Meghan lived with her father full-time from the age of 11 and often joined him on television sets where he worked on shows like General Hospital and Married With Children.

However, Thomas claims his daughter changed after finding fame. “The person she’s become isn’t the girl I raised,” he explained, suggesting her personality shifted during her time filming Suits in Canada.

His living room in Mexico still displays Meghan’s graduation photos and memories of their time together, including a picture from their Emmy Awards attendance.

Smart Works operates with 300 trained volunteers across the UK, including centres in Edinburgh, Manchester, Reading, Birmingham and Newcastle.

Despite relocating to the US, Meghan has maintained her support for the organisation through her Archewell Foundation.