Thomas Markle was famously a no-show at his daughter’s wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 – but the “real reason” behind his absence may be surprising to many fans. As the royal couple – who met two years prior – prepared to tie the knot in Windsor, Thomas, 80, posed for papparazzi photographs, getting his suit for the big day fitted.
The pictures soon became embedded in controversy and, coupled with health problems at the time, Thomas made the decision to skip Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s big day. In the absence of her own father, King Charles was on hand to walk his new daughter-in-law half-way down the aisle.
In a new report posted on Sally Bedell Smith’s Substack, she wrote that a close confidant of the late Queen’s revealed the real reason why Thomas was absent from one of the biggest days in Meghan’s life.
Lady Elizabeth Anson – who the late Queen’s cousin and close friend – told Bedell Smith over the course of conversations they shared that fundamentally Thomas’s motivation for staying away from the high-profile wedding was because he was “frightened”.
His accessibility into St George’s Chapel was reportedly an issue, with the fact that he “didn’t do steps” due to health issues.
However, Meghan’s father was simply “frightened of coming to the wedding” in the end, Lady Elizabeth claimed.
Despite not agreeing with his estranged daughter’s behaviour at time, Thomas has previously said that the “door is always open” to reconcile.
The retired TV lighting director, who had previously lived in a cliffside property near the US border in Rosarito, Mexico, for over a decade, moved to the other side of the world earlier this year.
He made the move to Southeast Asia accompanied by his son Thomas Jr., 58, who is Meghan’s half-brother. Through her father, Meghan also has a half-sister Samantha. The half-siblings are set for a courtroom showdown next month.
Thomas Markle has not met Harry, 40, or his two young grandchildren – Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.