Thomas Markle has finally broken his silence following his emergency heart surgery which kept him from his daughter Meghan Markle’s royal wedding to Prince Harry. The 73-year-old appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday, June 18 and revealed how Harry asked permission to marry his daughter, how he felt when he saw Prince Charles walking Meghan down the aisle, and more.

During the sit-down, Thomas admitted he cried while watching the royal wedding, and also shared what happened during the unhappy moment he had to tell his daughter that he wouldn’t be able to walk her down the aisle. “They were disappointed. Meghan cried, I’m sure, and they both said ‘Take care of yourself, we are really worried about you,'” he confessed.

meghan markle father instagram
Instagram

He added that he “absolutely” wanted to walk his daughter down the aisle but was “honored” the Prince of Wales filled in for him. “I can’t think of a better replacement than someone like Prince Charles,” Thomas said. According to The Sun, Thomas watched his daughter’s big day alone while eating jelly at a $32-a-night Airbnb property in Mexico.

During his new interview, Thomas had nothing but love for his new son-in-law and called him “great” and an “interesting guy,” even though the pair have not yet met in person. The Duke of Sussex even called Thomas to ask permission to marry Meghan. “I said you’re a gentleman, promise me you’ll never raise a hand against my daughter and of course I give you my permission,” he shared.

meghan markle father instagram
Instagram

Thomas also used the opportunity to address claims that he staged photographs with the paparazzi. In the clip, Thomas explained he thought he could use the opportunity to show a more positive side of himself to the public and improve his image. “Obviously that all went to hell,” he said. “I feel bad about it, I apologize for it and that’s all I can do. That was a mistake.”

The sweetest moment of the interview was when Thomas reflected on his daughter’s new title and declared Meghan has always been a princess. “My daughter has been a princess since the day she was born,” he said. “He made a good pick, didn’t he?”

This post was written by Holly Royce. It originally appeared on our sister site, Now to Love.

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