Thomas Markle has spoken out for the first time about missing the royal wedding in an exclusive interview with Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
The 73-year-old discussed everything from the day she told him she “had a new boyfriend” to not being able to walk her down the aisle and those staged paparazzi photos.
The visible emotional Markle told Good Morning Britain that when his daughter first told him that she was dating Prince Harry, they had to call him ‘H’ so nobody would know it was him.
He went on to say that as Harry asked him for his permission to marry Meghan, he gave his permission before making him promise that he would never “raise a hand to her”.
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: ‘Daddy, I have a new boyfriend’ - Thomas Markle talks about his daughter’s romance with Prince Harry #GMB pic.twitter.com/rzASEpEsKf
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 18, 2018
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan Markle, tells @piersmorgan and @susannareid100 about the moment he gave Prince Harry permission to marry his daughter #GMB pic.twitter.com/3AKKDRVXbI
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 18, 2018
Speaking about the moment he told his daughter and her husband-to-be Prince Harry that he would not make the wedding, he said, “They were disappointed. Meghan cried, I’m sure, she did cry and they both said ‘Take care of yourself, we are really worried about you’.”
“The important thing is that you get better”
Just days before the royal wedding the double Emmy award-winning retired lighting director caused controversy for staging paparazzi photos.
He explained to the breakfast show his reasons behind the feat before saying that they were a “mistake” and insisted Harry and Meghan were “forgiving”.
"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.
It was the stress of this that ultimately caused his ill health.
"I couldn't get over the fact that had happened, all that stuff was working on me. I had a heart condition."
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: ‘I feel bad about it. I apologise for it’ - Mr Markle addresses the staged paparazzi photos leading up to the royal wedding #GMB pic.twitter.com/YrYFfVk7H1
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 18, 2018
Watch more of the exclusive interview below.
