My baby looks so beautiful Joy for Meghan’s dad after op
Niece’s pride in duchess aunt
MEGHAN Markle’s proud father watched her wedding ceremony on television, 5,000 miles away from Windsor, and declared: “My baby looks beautiful.”
Tom Markle, 73, who is staying in a rental property close to his home in Rosarito, Mexico, as he recovers from a heart operation, was joined by a handful of close pals to watch the ceremony in the early hours of the morning, local time.
He told US website TMZ: “She looks very happy. I wish I were there and I wish them all my love and all happiness.”
His friend Brett Hallett, 57, said: “Tom was stunned when Meghan told him she was dating a prince. But the first thing she said to him was that Harry was a good guy, and then Tom knew straight away that it was a good thing – it didn’t actually matter if he was a prince.
“If Meghan thought he was a good guy, then it was always going to work out.
“What also helped is that Harry is a dog person, too, which is a good thing because otherwise I don’t think Meghan would have dated him in the first place.” Brett also told the Sunday Mirror that Tom’s only health problem was a “dodgy knee” before his staged paparazzi photo controversy. The former Hollywood lighting director had been “really looking forward” to the wedding until he suffered a heart complaint brought on by the stress the controversy caused.
Tom moved to a secret location close to his Rosarito home on Thursday night after undergoing an operation at a hospital close to San Diego in the US.
He will spend several days away from MEGHAN Markle’s niece saw her aunt’s wedding procession through Windsor, and said: “It was wonderful to see her on the happiest day of her life.” Noel Rasmussen, 19, was not invited to the wedding, but came from Albuquerque, New his own home as he recovers. He told another pal he was prepared to pay £300 for a week-long stay so that he could avoid being photographed or filmed.
Brett moved to Rosarito from the US in 2001, about the same time as Tom.
He got to know Meghan’s dad because Tom had to drive past his house every day to leave his gated community. Brett sat outside in the day, so they often spoke.
Brett said: “Tom is such a lovely, downto-earth guy. He’s not shy and retiring as has been made out. He’s quite talkative and a blessing to any group he’s in. He’s very entertaining when he wants to be.
“He had a dodgy knee a few weeks ago and he was worried how that was going to affect him travelling to the wedding, but he was still determined to go. He also wanted to lose a bit of weight for his suit.
“But the stress of those pictures made his heart go. He’ll be upset at not being able to go to the wedding, for sure. He was looking forward to it. He wants all the attention to be on Meghan and Harry, not on him, that’s why he’s not going.
“I think it’s really sad he’s not going to be there, but he has friends here and we’ll be here for him when he gets back.
“We call him ‘Old Tom’, he’s just Old Tom, lives by himself, no girlfriend or anything like that. He’s just a normal guy.” Mexico, so she could witness her aunt’s part in history. Noel said: “I’m thrilled by how popular she is with people here. It felt crazy and surreal.” But her “only sadness” was sad that her “Grandpa Thomas”, Meghan’s dad, was missing. Noel said: “Meghan’s his daughter and he should be at the wedding to walk her down the aisle. That’ll have been rough for her. “She looked so beautiful. The way she carried herself and handled it all was incredible.”