AceShowbiz - Thomas Markle has voiced his "deep sorrow for the entire royal family" after the passing of Queen Elizabeth. Although never meeting the monarch - who passed away aged 96 on Thursday (08.09.22) - because ill health meant he was unable to attend the wedding of his daughter Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and the queen's grandson, Prince Harry, in 2018, the retired lighting director has vowed she will be "never forgotten" and always in his thoughts.

"On this very sad day, the world has lost the most amazing queen in history," he said in a joint statement with his son Thomas Jr. "Queen Elizabeth II, you will always be loved and never forgotten as our hearts, prayers and thoughts will always be with you, along with our deepest sorrow and sympathy for the entire royal family."

The 78 year old - who has been estranged from Meghan since her wedding - admitted the passing of the queen feels like losing "a member of our family." He told DailyMail.com, "My heart goes out to the Royal Family and to the British people for their loss of the most-loved and admired Queen Elizabeth.

"Her service, grace and devotion signals the end of an era and she will always be cherished in our memories. Truly a loss to the world. In a way it feels like we've all lost a member of our family."

Although Meghan and Harry now live in California after stepping away from royal life, they have been in the UK this week for a number of private engagements, and the prince made the dash to join his family at the queen's Balmoral estate on Thursday, but his plane was still in the air when news was announced she had passed away.

Buckingham Palace announced in a statement, "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Liz Truss later revealed the politician had been given the news of the queen's death at 4.30pm, around two hours before it was announced publicly.