Meghan Markle: Dad won’t attend wedding due to health issues

Ending days of speculation, Meghan Markle said Thursday that her father will not be able to attend her wedding to Prince Harry due to health problems. The news came as British military personnel rehearsed for a gala procession through Windsor that will follow Saturday’s ceremony, which will be televised live around the world.

“Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding,” Markle said in a statement released by Kensington Palace. “I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health.” The palace has not revealed any details about Thomas Markle’s health issues, but the celebrity website TMZ says the 73-year-old retired Hollywood cinematographer is hospitalized in California after undergoing a procedure to clear blocked coronary arteries.

He reportedly told the website he was OK after three stents had been inserted but needed to rest.

Thomas Markle had been scheduled to walk his daughter down the aisle when she weds her prince Saturday in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

It’s possible that Doria Ragland, the bride’s mother, could fill that role instead. No replacement has been officially named. Meghan Markle may also choose to walk down the aisle by herself.

Harry and Markle, who had remained out of the public eye in recent days, were spotted being driven onto the grounds of Windsor Castle on Thursday afternoon.

On the streets of Windsor, military personnel rehearsed their procession through the town, watched by thousands of enthusiastic royal fans.

The wedding day festivities will include a 25-minute carriage ride outside the ground of Windsor Castle by the newlyweds after the ceremony. More than 2,600 members of the public have been invited onto the castle grounds to watch the procession.