Samantha Markle says 'door is always open' for Meghan to re-contact her father Thomas

Meghan Markle's half-sister has said the 'door is always open' for the Duchess of Sussex to make contact with her father Thomas after he suffered a stroke earlier this month.

It is believed Meghan has not spoken to her father in several years after a highly publicised rift developed between them soon after she began her relationship with Prince Harry.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Meghan's sister Samantha discussed Mr Markle's ill health and said he faced a long road to recovery.

Watch: Samantha Markle gives us an update on the health of her father, Thomas Markle

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Samantha said: "He loves all of us and he’s been bashed in the media for always speaking out to extend an olive branch to reach out to her. He is her father so he has a right to reach out to her.

"He has been very honest and open in those feelings and the door is wide open."

She said the Duchess has always got her father's number and privacy could be guaranteed saying "you don’t use PR and media outlets all over the world" to announce you've had the discussion.

Samantha spoke to GB News over the weekend and said Meghan had a "moral obligation" to talk to her father after his recent health issues.

She said: "If she [Meghan] doesn't have the moral conscience to reach back to him while his life hangs in the balance and he's reaching out to her and then there is no point, and then shame on her."

Thomas Markle, 77, had a stroke last week and had to be rushed to hospital.

Markle had been planning to fly to the UK in June for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with hopes to meet members of the royal family and his grandchildren – Archie and Lilibet – for the first time.

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Samantha said about him: "I think he feels blessed to be alive and he's doing well, he's really doing well," she said, "He can't speak but his language comprehension is perfect, he understands and he can text and communicate that way. He's feeling better every day, so all things considering, two heart attacks, a pandemic and all this, he's coping remarkably well.

"Learning to speak again could take six months to a year. Unlike a child who has to learn to speak and understand words and remember them and form associations, an adult doesn't have to do that. So all he has to do now, because he understands the words perfectly, is he has to train his mouth and his tongue to say the words. So six months to a year realistically.

"He's very patient and he feels very strong about it, and he has a lot of love and support around him."