Meghan Markle rarely gets to see her father-in-law King Charles since moving back to the US – but there was a time when the pair were close.
The Duchess spoke about Charles in the fourth episode of Netflix’s Harry & Meghan and praised the monarch as she remembered the moment she asked him to walk her down the aisle.
Thomas Markle, Meghan’s estranged father, was not in attendance at her 2018 wedding to Harry. It was something she spoke to Charles about in a touching conversation.
“Harry’s dad is very charming,” she said on the show during an emotional moment.
“And I said to him, ‘I’ve lost my dad in this’, so him as my father-in-law was really important to me, so I asked him to walk me down the aisle and he said yes.”
As footage of her and Charles walking together played, Meghan said, “The whole thing was surreal. It was at that moment, I could also see H.”
Given her father’s absence, Meghan made the decision to walk herself halfway down the aisle before she was met by Charles, who accompanied her the reminder of the way, from the Quire of St. George’s Chapel. It was the first time any royal bride had walked down the aisle of her wedding on her own.
The palace announced on the eve of the couple’s royal wedding that Meghan had asked Charles to accompany her down the aisle. A statement at the time said that Harry’s father was “pleased to be able to welcome Ms. Markle to The Royal Family in this way”.
Prince Harry also spoke about his father’s role at the wedding in the documentary, Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70 . “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 guys.”
The Duke added, “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 going to be there for us.”
It was by no means Charles’s only contribution on the big day. “My father helped us choose an orchestra, which made all the difference,” Harry previously shared. And he also helped select the Kingdom Choir, the gospel choir that famously performed Stand By Me – “More help from my dad on that one.”
The King, too, hosted the evening reception at Frogmore House. According to reports, the father-of-the-groom gave a moving speech, which left the audience in tears. Referring to him as ‘my darling old Harry,’ he was apparently emotional about the marriage of his youngest son, who he said he still remembered so clearly as a baby.
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Source: USA Today