Markle debacle: Meghan’s father to skip royal wedding, after reportedly selling access to UK tabloid
Kensington Palace requests ‘understanding and respect’ for Thomas Markle, amid ‘a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding’; estranged half-sister says paparazzi photo deal was her fault
This weekend’s carefully planned wedding of Britain’s Prince Harry and to his fiancée Meghan Markle was mired in confusion on Tuesday after the father of the American actress told a celebrity news website he was no longer coming.
Harry, 33, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and the sixth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, will marry on Saturday at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in a ceremony that has sparked huge global media interest.
Markle’s father Thomas, 73, was due to walk his daughter down the aisle in front of 600 guests including all the senior Britain’s royals and smattering of celebrities.
However, the TMZ website reported on Monday that he had decided not to attend the glittering wedding at the castle, the home of English and British monarchs for almost 1,000 years.
TMZ said Thomas Markle was upset over the way his decision to have staged paparazzi photos for UK tabloid The Sun, taken of him preparing for the wedding, had been received and decided to miss the wedding to avoid embarrassing his daughter and the royal family.