Thomas Markle has finally broken his silence following his emergency heart surgery which kept him from his daughter, Meghan Markle’s, royal wedding to Prince Harry.
The 73-year-old has spoken on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today, opening up about Prince Harry asking permission to marry his daughter, how he felt when he saw Prince Charles walking Meghan down the aisle and officially apologised for staging paparazzi photos.
Mr Markle admitted he cried while watching the royal wedding, and also shared what happened during the unhappy moment he had to tell his daughter that he wouldn’t be able to walk her down the aisle.
“They were disappointed. Meghan cried, I’m sure, and they both said ‘take care of yourself, we are really worried about you’.”
He added wistfully that he “absolutely” wanted to walk his daughter down the aisle but was “honoured” the Prince of Wales filled in for him.
“I can’t think of a better replacement than someone like Prince Charles.”
According to The Sun, Thomas Markle Sr. watched his daughter’s big day alone while eating jelly at a $43-a-night Airbnb property in Mexico.
Mr Markle had nothing but love for his new son-in-law, calling him a “great” and an “interesting guy”, even though the pair have not yet met in person.
The Duke of Sussex even phoned to ask permission to marry Meghan.
“I said you’re a gentleman, promise me you’ll never raise a hand against my daughter and of course I give you my permission.”
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Thomas also used the opportunity to address claims he staged photographs with the paparazzi.
In the clip above, Thomas explains he thought he could use the opportunity to show a more positive side of himself to the public and improve his image.
“Obviously that all went to hell,” he said. “I feel bad about it, I apologise for it and that’s all I can do. That was a mistake.”
The sweetest moment of the interview has to have been when Mr Markle reflects on his daughter new title, declaring Meghan has always been a princess.
“My daughter has been a princess since the day she was born,” he said. “He made a good pick, didn’t he?”