He was set to be part of history but Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex expectantly missed his daughter’s wedding to Prince Harry last month. As you’ll recall, a heart operation meant he was unable to fly from Mexico to the United Kingdom for the wedding of the year.
In an exclusive interview with Good Morning Britain in the United Kingdom, the 73-year-old broke his silence and revealed to hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid exactly how he found out his beloved daughter was going to become a royal.
“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,” he explained. Prince Charles ended up walking Meghan down the aisle. Still, he said he couldn’t think of a better person to do so.
““I was honoured. I can’t think of a better replacement than someone like Prince Charles,” he said. “It might have been a treat for him as well because he didn’t have a daughter.”
Thomas also said that during his first ever phone conversation with Prince Harry, talk quickly turned from politics and Donald Trump to the love between the young royals. He also said wasn’t nervous talking to the 33-year-old.
“We talked a little about how they met and how happy they were with each other,” he explained. “He’s quite easy to talk to, he’s quite a comfortable person to talk to. I wasn’t nervous. 10,000 miles apart, it’s hard to be nervous talking to someone on the phone.”
Read more: ‘I wish I was there’: Meghan Markle’s dad gushes about her wedding
He also told the hosts he wasn’t sure when he knew the couple were serious about the relationship, but admitted it was a few months before the pair became engaged.
“My daughter is very intelligent. She knows how to choose who she wants to be with,” he said. “She’s a smart girl and she made a good pick.”
Thomas also suggested the royals were “very complicated” but said his daughter “can always rise to that occasion”.
“My daughter is capable of anything and she will be a compliment to the royal family,” he assured the hosts.
During the interview, he also explained that Prince Harry asked him over the phone for permission to marry Meghan. He agreed, but on one condition.
Read more: Meghan Markle’s dad ‘staged media photos’, despite claims of ‘harassment’
“I said to him, ‘you’re a gentleman, promise me you’ll never raise your hand against my daughter’ and I gave my permission,” he said.
He also revealed he was forced to apologise to his daughter and son-in-law after staged paparazzi shots. He said that all he was trying to do was shape his image after being portrayed negatively in the media. To date, he is yet to meet Prince Harry.
Proudly Australian owned and operated