It’s T minus 4 days to the much-anticipated wedding of Prince Harry and his soon-to-be bride, former actress Meghan Markle. We’ve kept you in the loop from the moment that these two announced their engagement, and we remain committed to providing you with every detail until the couple officially ties the knot.
Now, with less than 96 hours to go until the big day, you’d think that all arranged plans would go off without a hitch, but unfortunately, it looks like that is anything but the case.
There’s been some controversy stirring over Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, who hasn’t been particularly fond of how the media has been portraying him. Paparazzi have hounded Markle for weeks, just to frame him in a less-than-kind light time and time again.
In an effort to help both his image and the image of the royal family, Markle Sr. staged a photo shoot with a paparazzi agency to paint him in a more positive light. But in hindsight, the move was a huge mistake.
The set of photos, which the dad refers to as “hammy,” showed him getting fitted for a tux and reading up on his daughter and the Prince at an Internet cafe. No one might have guessed these photos were staged – although, to be fair, they are a bit cheesy – but media outlet Mail on Sunday got footage of Markle walking into venues with the photographer and assisting with the pictures being taken.
Yikes.
His eldest daughter, Samantha, brokered the deal, a move that reportedly caused family infighting.
The two sisters have been estranged for over two decades and Samantha has even badmouthed her younger half-sister in the media. Thomas feels that he made a mistake by striking the deal with the paparazzi agency because it made him look like he was making a buck off of Meghan’s fame.
Reports have stated that he’s changed his mind about attending the wedding, saying that he doesn’t want to “embarrass the royal family” after this media circus ensued. And as fans who have been following this wedding from the start, knowing that Meghan’s father might not be in attendance absolutely broke our hearts.
However, sources close to the Royal Family say that, even with this indiscretion, the bride still wants her father to walk her down the aisle — and apparently he does, too. He spoke to TMZ on the “spontaneous” photos and how he feels about going to the royal wedding. At the end of the day, it seems he simply wants to be there for his daughter:
“Of course I’d walk her down the aisle,” the father says. “This is a historic moment. I’d like to be part of history.”
But things would get even more complicated. Soon after the planned shoot, Markle suffered from a heart attack. Though he quickly checked himself out of the hospital to travel to England for the big day, sources report he is currently back in the hospital.
As it turns out, the original heart attack was much more serious than the doctors originally thought; the dad began experiencing chest pains 24 hours ago and now he is undergoing tests to determine just how much damage his heart endured from the cardiac event.
Now, there’s been a lot of flip-flopping online; some outlets claim Markle will be attending the wedding despite the failed media bribe, while others report Markle won’t be showing his face. However, these recent medical issues have made it unclear if he can attend period, despite his own wishes.
Markle says that his doctors are still bombarding him with tests and have not yet determined if he is healthy enough to cross the pond for the big day.
At the moment, it looks like Meghan’s mother, Doria Radlan, will stand in for her ex-husband, if he cannot, in fact, make it over for the ceremony.
Sad stuff all around! To learn even more about this royal wedding shakeup, be sure to watch the video below!
What are your thoughts on this wedding day twist? Do you think Thomas Markle should attempt to make it to the wedding? Do you think Meghan and Harry should cancel their ceremony? Was it right for the dad to strike the deal with the paparazzi agency?