NEVER HIT MY MEGHAN
New embarrassment as Thomas Markle reveals wedding ultimatum and Prince’s views on Brexit
THOMAS Markle made Prince Harry vow never to assault his daughter Meghan before he would allow the pair to marry.
The 73-year-old, below, said he gave the ultimatum in a phone call with the royal.revealed the prince’s He told Harry: “Promise me you’ll never raise your hand against my daughter and of course I give you my permission.” And he Brexit views, breaking royal protocol on political commentary.
THOMAS Markle has lifted the lid on the lead up to daughter Meghan’s wedding and the dramatic events that ended with him missing her biggest day.
In a bizarre interview yesterday, the 73-year-old revealed he made Prince Harry vow never to “raise his hand” against Meghan before he would give his blessing to the marriage.
Retired lighting director Thomas also risked embarrassing Meghan by telling how she cried when she found out he would not be giving her away as he needed emergency surgery for a dangerous heart problem.
Looking relaxed and speaking slowly and calmly, he said he regretted the staged paparazzi photos fiasco that caused such a drama.
On a happier note, Thomas revealed he expects Meghan, 36, and 33-year-old Harry will have a baby in the not-too-distant future.
But Thomas sparked controversy by revealing the prince was open to the idea of Brexit – despite the fact royals should remain neutral on politics.
In his first interview since the royal wedding on May 19, and speaking without the consent of the Palace, the former Hollywood worker told of the moment Harry asked his permission to marry his daughter last December.
He said: “Meghan told me first and then Harry got on the phone with Meghan and Harry asked for her hand, and I said, ‘You’re a gentleman, promise me you’ll never raise your hand against my daughter and of course I give you my permission.’”
CONFIDED
The call came just 18 months after Harry began dating the US actress.
She had confided in her father about her relationship in the summer of 2016 but asked him to keep it to himself and use code whenever they spoke about the prince.
Thomas added: “The first phone calls were, ‘Dad, I have a new boyfriend.’ And I said, ‘That’s nice.’
“And then the next call was like, ‘He’s British.’ And I said, ‘That’s really nice.’ And eventually, the third time around was, ‘He’s a prince.’ At that point, she said, ‘It’s Harry.’ I said, ‘Oh Harry, OK.’
“And she said, ‘Of course, we’ll have to call him H so no one knows we’re talking about Harry. It’s H.’ And then we talked about that, and eventually, I spoke to him as well. Very nice man. Gentleman. Very likeable.”
Thomas, who lives in Rosarito, Mexico, has yet to meet his son-in-law.
He told how when they first chatted the subject turned to politics, including Brexit and Donald Trump.
Thomas added: “He said, ‘Hello Thomas,’ and I said, ‘Hi Harry.’
“It became a conversation back and forth mostly about politics.
“He was asking me how I was feeling that day, and I was telling him how unhappy I was with the president, or with the idea of Trump, and that’s how it began.
“Then we talked a bit about how they met and how happy they were with each other, and that was pretty much it for the first conversation.”
Recalling their chat about Britain leaving the EU, Thomas told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “It was just a loose conversation about something that we have to try, there was no real commitment to it. I think he was open to the experiment.”
And speaking of the president, he said: “I was complaining that I didn’t like Donald Trump, he said give Donald Trump a chance.
“I kinda of disagreed with that but I still like Harry. That was his politics, I have my politics.”
Asked whether he thought Harry was a Trump supporter, he added: “I would hope not now, but at the time he might have been.”
Thomas said of the prince: “He’s quite easy to talk to.
“He’s a very comfortable person to talk to. I wasn’t nervous – 5,000, 10,000 miles apart it’s hard to be nervous with someone on the phone.
“Of course it’s ‘wow’, it comes out as a ‘wow’, but this is my daughter and she’s certainly a prize for him as well. He’s great, an interesting guy, a prince, but my daughter’s been a princess since the day she was born.”
Thomas told how it was always his plan to walk Meghan down the aisle, despite the frenzied “will he, won’t he” speculation doing the rounds in the weeks before the wedding.
He said: “Absolutely, from the very start. I absolutely wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle. Meghan was putting together fittings for me, to make suits for me, shoe sizes.
Actually, it was all done in sort of secret, they’d arrange for me to show up in Los Angeles or in Beverley Hills under different names to get a fitting.
“I was excited about it and ready for it. The idea of me being at the wedding. Everything was set in place for me to go.” But the plans came crashing down just a week before the wedding when he was also exposed for staging a string of pictures with a British photographer.
Speaking of how he came to be involved, Thomas said: “This was a presentation to me to change my image because for the last year photographs of me were derogatory.
“They took all kinds of pictures making me look negative.
“So I thought this would be a nice way of me improving my look. Well obviously that all went to hell. And I feel bad about it, I apologised for it and that’s all I can do. I can’t do much more. That was a mistake.
“I didn’t do this for money, I did this to change my image.
“For one whole year, I was presented as a hermit hiding out in Mexico. I was looking to change my image and obviously, that went wrong.
“I spoke to them both and I apologised. I realised it was a serious mistake. But hard to take it back.
“They were very forgiving, it wasn’t that difficult. Both Harry and Meghan were very forgiving about it.”
Days after the staged photos made headlines around the world and while making his arrangements to fly to London, Thomas suffered palpitations, which started the series of events that would end with his missing his daughter’s wedding.
He confirmed yesterday: “I talked to Harry and Meghan, we were set up to go, I was going to go the next day or the day after. I got a call from a guy called Sarge who was assigned by
Meghan cried when I told her I had to have heart surgery. They both said they were worried about me
Meghan has wanted children for a long time... there’s got to be one in the making somewhere soon
We talked about politics... he said he was open to Brexit and that we should give Trump a chance
Harry I think. And at that stage, I started getting heart palpitations and I said I have to cancel.
“Meghan cried and they both said ‘take care of yourself we are worried about you’. They said the important thing was I get better.
“It’s because I didn’t take care of the heart problem before, so I had to get a friend to take me back to the
hospital across the border in the States were I was told my condition was very bad and they had to operate and I had heart surgery.
“I told Meghan before I was going in for the surgery. This is what the doctors called the widow-maker, it would have killed me.” Following stent surgery, Thomas signed himself out of hospital checking into an Airbnb
where he watched on a small TV set
as Prince Charles take his place. He said: “I was honoured. I can’t think of a better replacement than someone like Prince Charles.
“He looked very handsome and my daughter looked beautiful with him. I was jealous. I wish I’d been there, I wish it had been me but thank god he was there and thank him for that.
“It might have been a treat for him as he never had a daughter. She was beautiful, it was incredible watching her. I cried a little bit.
“She was so beautiful walking down that aisle and so was very proud I couldn’t see a better
moment in my life. The whole world was watching my daughter and I was very happy about that.
“The unfortunate thing for me now is I’m a footnote in one of the greatest moments in history rather than the dad walking her down the aisle. That upsets me somewhat.
“I wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle. I wanted that moment. But I’m thankful for everything the way it went.”
Thomas told how he expects his daughter and Harry will want kids. He said: “She’s wanted children for a long time and when she met Harry and she spoke about how much she loves him, there’s got to be a child in the making somewhere soon.
“I don’t think there is a stork in the air yet but I think it will happen sooner
or later. As long as they’re happy and they have a great life and have some beautiful children and do good things in the world, I can’t ask for more.”
Thomas said he did not know when he would eventually meet Harry but claimed he was happy to wait a little bit longer so the newlyweds could spend some time alone.
He added: “I look forward to it. I know they are very busy. Right now they’ve earned the right to go away on a honeymoon.
“Going forward, I would certainly love to meet the Queen.
“I’ve had respect for that woman since I was a child. I think she’s one of the most incredible women in the world and I’d love to meet her.”
I’ve had respect for the Queen since I was a child. I think she’s an incredible woman and I would love to meet her She said ‘He’s a prince... it’s Harry. Of course we’ll have to call him H so no one knows we’re talking about Harry’ I was honoured... I can’t think of a better replacement than Prince Charles but I was jealous. I wish it had been me
MEGHAN Markle’s father Thomas chatting to Good Morning Britain must be a shock for a Royal Family that goes to increasing lengths to control its public image.
So it must be asked why his daughter and her new husband, plus the institution itself, never reached out to a formerly semi-reclusive man forced to find his own way of dealing with intensive, if understandable, interest.
Expressing political opinions in private is difficult enough for Harry, never mind the potential constitutional implications when his views are made public.
One can only imagine how strained the relationship might now be between Thomas and Meghan. The monarchy’s learned nothing from mistakes before the wedding, when he was left unsupported. Let’s hope he’s included in future and they move forward together.