--- title: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Address Thomas Markle description: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ask for understanding following report that Thomas Markle, Meghan Markle's dad will not go to the wedding. canonical: https://time.com/5277046/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-request-on-thomas-markle/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-14T20:23:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:52:51.467Z og:title: Meghan Markle Asks for Understanding for Thomas Markle og:description: Following a report that her dad would not be going to the wedding og:url: https://time.com/5277046/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-request-on-thomas-markle/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta86ec4bc52da31ad/69892f1d8fd2ee28b135b79b/meghan-markle-something-old-something-new-wedding-dress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Attend Anzac Day Services og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meghan Markle Asks for Understanding for Thomas Markle twitter:description: Following a report that her dad would not be going to the wedding twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta86ec4bc52da31ad/69892f1d8fd2ee28b135b79b/meghan-markle-something-old-something-new-wedding-dress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Request 'Understanding and Respect' for Thomas Markle > Sponsored content. 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Max Mumby/Indigo—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner May 14, 2018 8:23 PM UTC Kensington Palace released a statement on Monday following a [report](http://people.com/royals/who-will-walk-meghan-markle-down-aisle-royal-wedding/) that Meghan Markle’s father, [Thomas Markle](http://time.com/5265579/meghan-markles-parents-in-royal-wedding-prince-harry/), would not be attending her upcoming [royal wedding](http://time.com/5039393/royal-wedding-2018-details/). Markle and Prince Harry are due to wed at Windsor Castle’s [St. George’s Chapel](http://time.com/5176654/st-georges-chapel-windsor-castle-venue/) on Saturday, May 19. “This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding,” the Kensington Palace statement reads. “She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.” Markle’s father was expected to walk his daughter down the aisle during the Saturday ceremony, according to a [previous release](https://www.royal.uk/update-communications-secretary-prince-harry-wedding-prince-harry-and-ms-markle) from Kensington Palace. He is divorced from Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, who also is planning on traveling with her daughter to the wedding. Both parents were further expected to meet the Queen and the rest of the royal family in the lead-up to the big day. “Ms. Markle is delighted to have her parents by her side on this important and happy occasion,” the Palace noted in early May. > [](https://twitter.com/MonarchyUK/status/996116850244276224) Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Markle recently told the [Mail on Sunday](http://people.com/royals/meghan-markles-half-sister-arranged-dad-pose-staged-photos/) that she was involved in a decision to stage photos of Thomas Markle at an internet cafe, following the release of surveillance footage. “I have to say I am entirely the culprit,” Samantha said during her appearance on U.K. talk show _Loose Women_ Monday. “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.” The palace did not offer any updates on whether this latest news would alter the royal wedding guest list. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5277046/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-request-on-thomas-markle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5277046/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-request-on-thomas-markle/"},"headline":"Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Request 'Understanding and Respect' for Thomas Markle","datePublished":"2018-05-14T20:23:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:52:51.467Z","description":"\"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle\"","url":"https://time.com/5277046/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-request-on-thomas-markle/","keywords":["Newsfeed","royal wedding"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta86ec4bc52da31ad/69892f1d8fd2ee28b135b79b/meghan-markle-something-old-something-new-wedding-dress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta86ec4bc52da31ad/69892f1d8fd2ee28b135b79b/meghan-markle-something-old-something-new-wedding-dress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Attend Anzac Day Services","caption":"Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Attend Anzac Day Services in 2018","creditText":"Max Mumby/Indigo—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5277046/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-request-on-thomas-markle/","name":"Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Request 'Understanding and Respect' for Thomas Markle"}}]}] ```