"Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding."

After several days of drama in the lead-up to the royal wedding, Meghan Markle has finally spoken out about her father. In a statement issued by Kensington Palace this morning, Meghan writes in the first person, confirming that her dad won't be by her side on her wedding day. She says that she hopes he can be given the space he needs to recover from his health issues and that she's looking forward to the big day.

A statement from Ms. Meghan Markle: pic.twitter.com/TjBNarmuBU

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 17, 2018

"Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding. "I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space her needs to focus on his health. "I would like to thank everyone who has offered generous messages of support. "Please know how much Harry and I look forward to sharing our special day with you on Saturday." Thomas Markle is currently in hospital recovering after heart surgery yesterday. He told TMZ that he'd had three stents put in his heart. The 73-year-old suffered a heart attack last week. He had three stents put in and has been warned by doctors not to get excited, he told TMZ. "I'm OK," he said. "It will take a long time to heal. Staying in the hospital a few more days. Not allowed to get excited." It was announced by the Palace two weeks ago that he would walk Meghan down the aisle at St George's Chapel in Windsor when she marries Prince Harry on Saturday 19 May. Thomas this week publicly pulled out of the wedding. He suffered a heart attack last week but said he wouldn't be attending as he didn't want to upset his daughter after it was revealed that paparazzi photos of him had been staged.