Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle will no longer be attending the royal wedding on May 19.
Thomas Markle Sr. has now decided to pull out just a day after it was revealed he had staged paparazzi photos and sold them for over $150,000.
TMZ reports the former lighting director also suffered a heart attack six days ago, and checked himself out of hospital so that he could attend his daughter’s wedding. This is yet to be confirmed.
Despite Kensington Palace announcing the Mr Markle would walk Meghan down the aisle, it is believed this will not longer take place.
Kensington Palace confirmed in a statement, ‘This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.’
Talking to TMZ, Mr Markle revealed that he was being harassed by paparazzi ever since news of his daughter dating Prince Harry broke, and even more so when their engagement was announced in November 2017. Unhappy with the way he was being portrayed in those photographs, Mr Markle revealed that his daughter Samantha set up the arrangement for those photographs to be taken.
In a shocking interview with British talk show Loose Women on Monday, Samantha said: ‘I have to say I am entirely the culprit.’
‘As we know the media can take very unflattering photographs of people on their casual days and blow it way out of proportion. I said, you know, the world has no idea you’re getting in shape, doing healthy things. They don’t photograph you buying vegetables and PH water. They photograph you as unflattering ways as they can.’
She added, ‘So I said, really you need to show the world that you’re getting in shape and doing great healthy things. So I suggested it. There’s a lot of scrutiny that it was money motivated, it was not. It was my suggestion that to benefit him and to benefit the royal family that everyone looked good and they depict you as you are – in shape and doing healthy things.’
Mr Markle told TMZ he hoped the photographs would make him be portrayed in a ‘better light.’
Thomas further told the outlet that he now thinks the photos — which showed him getting fitted for his wedding outfit, reading a book about photos of Great Britain, and looking at pictures of Meghan and Harry — are ‘stupid and hammy,’ and that he was following the instructions of the paparazzi agency in posing the photographs.
He says that his motivation in posing for the photographs was not financial, and that he has turned down several paid interview requests since Meghan and Harry started dating.
Meghan has decided to not invite her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. and half-sister Samantha Markle to her May 19 nuptials.
A source told PEOPLE that Meghan is not close with her half-siblings.
‘Meghan has no relationship with her half-siblings, nor has she ever had one,’ the source said. ‘They were out of the house by the time she was born.’
Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, will be staying at a hotel with Meghan the night before the royal wedding. They will then travel together by car to St. George’s Chapel where they were expected to meet Meghan’s dad to walk her down the aisle.
It is now unclear as to who will walk Meghan down the aisle.
