Meghan Markle’s father Thomas claims to barred from making wedding speech | Royal | News (Details)

The retired Emmy award-winning Hollywood lighting engineer, was due to walk his daughter up the aisle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on May 19 and give her away.

But he pulled out after claiming he had suffered a heart attack amid controversy over his decision to sell paparazzi pictures.

Even though the hospital concerned has denied that he was admitted, Mr Markle insists that was down to patient condentiality and he really had been treated.

He said: “The insurance bills were $140,000 (£110,000) and I have to pay $20,000 of it as excess.”

What may also have played a part in his choice to pull out was the fact that his daughter did not believe there was enough time for her father to speak at the wedding.

Despite the apparent ban on the father-of-the-bride speech, guests did hear from Prince Charles, Prince William and Harry’s friends Tom Inskip and Charlie Van Straubenzee as well as the Duke and Duchess.

Yesterday, Mr Markle, 74, said her snub left him hurt.

He said: “I was going to recount the funny story about how she broke the news to me about dating Harry: ‘Daddy, I’ve met a man. Daddy, he’s English. Daddy, he’s a prince.’

“It was a cute story. Like any father I wanted to say a few words. I was going to thank the Royal Family for welcoming my beautiful daughter into their family. But it was a speech that I was never going to be allowed to give. That hurt.”

He and his daughter have not spoken since he began criticising her and the Royal Family for the way he has been cut out of their lives.

The intense media spotlight trained on Meghan and Harry’s romance brought “chaos” to his once-quiet retirement in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, near the border.

Mr Markle has lost almost 3st since his heart attack and insists, while he is happy for his daughter, he “loathes” the circus that came with her relationship.

Harry, 33, and Meghan, 37, were embarrassed after Mr Markle was exposed for colluding with a Los Angeles photo agency which paid for pictures purporting to show him preparing for the wedding, including fitting his suit.

Kensington Palace complained he was being hounded by paparazzi and insisted he had not colluded with anyone, even the British newspaper industry could see the photos had been posed.

On Saturday, the Daily Express reported claims that he had lied about the photos in a call from Harry eight days before the wedding.

Yesterday, Mr Markle confirmed the story and went on to tell how he ended up angrily hanging up on the “rude” Prince three days later.

Harry who has never met his father-in-law, had warned him from the start not to speak to the media.

Mr Markle said: “Harry told me I should never go to the press, that it would end in tears. He said: ‘They will eat you alive.’ He was right.”

But he ignored the advice, some- thing he now claims to regret.

But when Harry rang to ask him whether photos of him being fitted for his wedding suit had been staged, he lied, telling him: “No, I was being measured for a new hoodie.”

Three days later, in the week before the wedding, Harry and Meghan rang again, when he claims he was in hospital recovering from heart surgery.

According to his account, Harry told him: “If you had listened to me this would never have happened.”

He told how he thought the Prince was “rude” and says he replied: “Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead… then you could pretend to be sad. Then I hung up.”

Prince Harry and Kensington Pal- ace refused to comment yesterday.

The retired Emmy award-winning Hollywood lighting engineer, was due to walk his daughter up the aisle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on May 19 and give her away.

But he pulled out after claiming he had suffered a heart attack amid controversy over his decision to sell paparazzi pictures.

Even though the hospital concerned has denied that he was admitted, Mr Markle insists that was down to patient condentiality and he really had been treated.

He said: “The insurance bills were $140,000 (£110,000) and I have to pay $20,000 of it as excess.”

What may also have played a part in his choice to pull out was the fact that his daughter did not believe there was enough time for her father to speak at the wedding.

Despite the apparent ban on the father-of-the-bride speech, guests did hear from Prince Charles, Prince William and Harry’s friends Tom Inskip and Charlie Van Straubenzee as well as the Duke and Duchess.

Yesterday, Mr Markle, 74, said her snub left him hurt.

He said: “I was going to recount the funny story about how she broke the news to me about dating Harry: ‘Daddy, I’ve met a man. Daddy, he’s English. Daddy, he’s a prince.’

“It was a cute story. Like any father I wanted to say a few words. I was going to thank the Royal Family for welcoming my beautiful daughter into their family. But it was a speech that I was never going to be allowed to give. That hurt.”

He and his daughter have not spoken since he began criticising her and the Royal Family for the way he has been cut out of their lives.

The intense media spotlight trained on Meghan and Harry’s romance brought “chaos” to his once-quiet retirement in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, near the border.

Mr Markle has lost almost 3st since his heart attack and insists, while he is happy for his daughter, he “loathes” the circus that came with her relationship.

Harry, 33, and Meghan, 37, were embarrassed after Mr Markle was exposed for colluding with a Los Angeles photo agency which paid for pictures purporting to show him preparing for the wedding, including fitting his suit.

Kensington Palace complained he was being hounded by paparazzi and insisted he had not colluded with anyone, even the British news- paper industry could see the photos had been posed.

On Saturday, the Daily Express reported claims that he had lied about the photos in a call from Harry eight days before the wedding.

Yesterday, Mr Markle confirmed the story and went on to tell how he ended up angrily hanging up on the “rude” Prince three days later.

Harry who has never met his father-in-law, had warned him from the start not to speak to the media.

Mr Markle said: “Harry told me I should never go to the press, that it would end in tears.

He said: ‘They will eat you alive.’ He was right.”

But he ignored the advice, something he now claims to regret.

But when Harry rang to ask him whether photos of him being fitted for his wedding suit had been staged, he lied, telling him: “No, I was being measured for a new hoodie.”

Three days later, in the week before the wedding, Harry and Meghan rang again, when he claims he was in hospital recovering from heart surgery.

According to his account, Harry told him: “If you had listened to me this would never have happened.”

He told how he thought the Prince was “rude” and says he replied: “Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead… then you could pretend to be sad. Then I hung up.”

Prince Harry and Kensington Palace refused to comment yesterday.