Hindustan Times (Patna) - Hindustan Times (Patna) - Live
Meghan’s father cried for missed wedding
Thomas Markle said that he was ‘honoured’ but ‘jealous’ that Prince Charles walked Meghan down the aisle
Meghan Markle’s father has spoken about his deep disappointment at being unable to walk his daughter down the aisle to wed Prince Harry last month, a role Prince Charles had to perform at the 11th hour.
Thomas Markle, who says he is still recovering from his heart surgery, said he cried as he watched his daughter’s royal wedding on television and felt “jealous” that Prince Charles got to perform the role of walking beside his daughter, now the Duchess of Sussex.
“I absolutely wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle… The unfortunate thing for me now is that I’m a footnote to the greatest moment in history rather than the dad who walked his daughter down the aisle,” he said in a video interview.
Meghan had requested Prince Charles, the father-inlaw-to-be, to walk by her side at St George’s Chapel after it was confirmed that her father would not be attending the wedding due to health reasons.
“I can’t think of a better replacement than someone like Prince Charles.
I was thrilled to tears he was doing that; I just wish it had been my hand holding hers,” the 73-year-old former Hollywood lighting director added.
Talking about the moment he told Meghan and Prince Harry that he would not make it to the wedding, Markle said, “They were disappointed. Meghan cried, I’m sure, and they both said, ‘Take care of yourself; we are really worried about you’.”
Markle said that he had prepared a speech for the big day and had hoped to regale wedding guests with the story of how he had told Meghan about “this nice British guy” before thanking the royal family for welcoming her.
“I’m very happy to have a new son-in-law. I love them dearly,” said Markle, who plans to visit London soon to meet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as well as the rest of the royal family.