The royal wedding was a truly beautiful day. But there was a cloud hanging over it, in the shape of Thomas Markle. In the months before the couple tied the knot, there was intense speculation over whether Meghan's father would be in attendance. Unfortunately for the Suits star, the answer was no.
After weeks of conjecture, family feuding and one rather large paparazzi scandal, Thomas revealed that he would be undergoing heart surgery in the days before the ceremony and was unable to fly to fly to London, leaving Prince Charles to walk his new daughter-in-law down the aisle.
However, now, almost exactly a month after the wedding, he has officially broken his silence in a world exclusive interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain. Speaking to hosts Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan, the 73-year-old revealed all about the staged photos, his feelings on missing the St George's Chapel ceremony and what he really thinks of Prince Harry - as well as some key information on Harry's feelings about Donald Trump and Brexit.
When questioned on the May 19 nuptials, Thomas spoke of how upset he was that he was forced to watch from California, naming himself "a footnote in one of the greatest moments in history". He said: "It was incredible watching her. I was very proud. I was very upset that it wasn’t me (walking her down the aisle) but the whole world was watching my daughter. 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."
In addition, he revealed that Meghan cried when he told her that he wouldn't be able to come, saying: "They were disappointed. Meghan cried, I’m sure, and they both said, ‘Take care of yourself, we are really worried about you’."
Despite his dismay at his absence, the retired TV lighting director - who revealed he expects that his daughter will try for children soon - confessed that he was "honoured" that the Prince of Wales took on the job of walking Meghan down the aisle. He told the Good Morning Britain hosts: "I absolutely wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle. I can’t think of a better replacement than someone like Prince Charles."
The Suits' actress' father also commented further on the paparazzi photo scandal, naming the mishap a "serious mistake". "They'd take photos of me grabbing a beer, take photos of me getting into my car... they'd take photos of me making me look negative," he said. "I realised it was a serious mistake. It’s hard to take it back."
He continued to say that he spoke to the royal couple after and apologised for the images, claiming that both Harry and Meghan were "very forgiving" and said that everything was still ready for him to attend the wedding in Windsor. Nonetheless, despite all of the drama, Thomas still seemed somewhat unfazed by his daughter marrying into the royal family, stating his 36-year-old daughter had "been a princess since the day she was born" and adding: "He made a good pick, didn't he? ... Harry asked for her hand on the phone and I said: 'You are a gentleman, promise me you will never raise your hand against my daughter and of course I will grant you my permission'."
He added: "The first phone calls were 'dad I have a new boyfriend' and I said that's really nice and she said 'He's British' and I said 'That's really nice,' and eventually the third time around was like 'He's a Prince.' And at that point, she said 'it's Harry' and I said 'oh, Harry okay!'" He also told Good Morning Britain that his daughter told him he had to call Prince Harry 'H' "so that nobody knows" she was dating him before their relationship was made "official."
Naming Harry as a "great" and "an interesting guy", Thomas revealed that the pair had spoken about politics on the phone, and gave some insight into the prince's feelings on Trump, saying: "Our conversation was I was complaining about not liking Donald Trump, he said 'give Donald Trump a chance'. I sort of disagreed with that." When asked about details of their conversation about Brexit, he said: "It was just a loose conversation... I think he was open to the experiment."
It's good to finally hear Thomas' side of the story, rather than the media storm surrounding him. We hope he gets to reunite with his daughter and meet her new husband soon!