After a considerable amount of publicity and hype, the furore over the royal wedding has finally ended. In picture-perfect fairytale fashion, the dashing Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle at a lavish ceremony at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Now the cute couple has moved into Kensington Palace together, and things are looking rosy; especially now that we know there's a baby on the way.
One of the most memorable moments from the wedding was when Meghan strode down the aisle with her father-in-law Prince Charles, after her own dad was unavailable. A lot of people wondered what Charles' reaction to being offered this important role actually was, and now Harry has graciously decided to put us all in the picture.
In a candid interview recorded for a BBC documentary honouring Charles' upcoming 70th birthday, Harry stated: "I asked him to and I think he knew it was coming, and he immediately said 'yes, of course, I'll do whatever Meghan needs and I'm here to support you.' For him that's a fantastic opportunity to step up and be that support and you know he's our father so of course, he's gonna be there for us."
He also explained why he felt obligated to thank his father for making the gesture a the ceremony, stating: "I've been brought up well, you've gotta say thank you," he explained. "Just because he's my father doesn't mean I can sort of go, 'ok that's all, I'll take it from here."
Indeed, it seems as though Meghan is getting along famously with her father-in-law. According to a source close to the royal family, Prince Charles often calls Meghan "Tungsten" a Swedish term, which means "heavy stone." Although that might sound like a comment about her weight, it's apparently a reference to the fact that Charles thinks that Meghan is tough and dependable.
The same source added: "Prince Charles admires Meghan for her strength and the backbone she gives Harry, who needs a tungsten-type figure in his life as he can be a bit of a softy. It’s become a term of endearment."
Bizarrely, despite the fact that he has been vocal in his criticism of the royal family in the past, Meghan's father Thomas Markle seems to approve of Prince Charles. In fact, in a recent interview on the British talk show Good Morning Britain, he actually expressed his gratitude that Charles walked his daughter down the aisle in his absence.
Markle stated that he couldn'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."
What a touching moment it truly was, and I bet Charles is really looking forward to being a grandfather again!