King Charles’ Heartbreaking, Serious Concern for Meghan Markle Moments Before Walking Her Down the Aisle
Meghan Markle walked halfway down the aisle alone toward Prince Harry on her wedding day, before being joined by his father. King Charles escorted her the remainder of the way, and as he faced his future daughter-in-law, Charles shared a heartbreaking worry.
The king expressed serious concern for Meghan Markle during her wedding to Prince Harry
King Charles was reportedly concerned for Meghan Markle as she walked down the aisle to marry his son, Prince Harry. Per Express, Charles shared some heartbreaking, serious words for Meghan before escorting her to the altar at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor.
Charles said, “You look lovely. Are you OK?” The news outlet did not report Meghan’s response.
His concern did not go unnoticed by Meghan. She explained in the Netflix series Harry & Meghan, “Harry’s dad is very charming. I said to him, ‘I’ve lost my dad in this.’”
“He, as my father-in-law, is very important to me. So I asked him to walk me down the aisle and he said, ‘Yes.’”
Further demonstrating their closeness, royal biographer Angela Levin once told The Sun, “Prince Charles, as he was then, when he was first introduced to Meghan thought she was terrific.”
“He did think she was a breath of fresh air. And he was very happy that Prince Harry had found someone to get married to.”
Despite King Charles’ support, Meghan Markle walked into her wedding on her terms
Meghan Markle reportedly was touched by King Charles’ offer to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. At the time, Meghan was estranged from her father, Thomas Markle.
Weeks before his daughter’s wedding to Prince Harry, Thomas was paid by paparazzi for a photo shoot showing him getting ready for her big day. He reportedly then lied to her about the incident.
Therefore, Meghan did not have a father figure to walk her down the aisle. She planned on walking down the aisle of St. George’s alone to Prince Harry before King Charles stepped in to escort her.
Despite Charles’ offer, Meghan was still intent on doing things independently. In his book Queen of Our Times, author Robert Hardman revealed Meghan compromised with the senior royal.
“The reply [to Charles’ offer], according to one friend, was not quite what he was expecting. ‘Can we meet halfway?'” she asked her future father-in-law.
Despite this, Meghan’s solo walk into the church was royal family first. She was the first woman to not be escorted by their father in royal wedding history.
But was Meghan’s solo walk a new concept?
While Meghan Markle’s solo walk down the aisle to Prince Harry was a new idea for the royal family, it’s not a new concept in the wedding world. Typically, a male figure, whether a father or brother or another family member, walks a bride down the aisle toward her betrothed. But historically, that wasn’t always the case.
Historian Susan Waggoner explained to Brides that a father’s presence at a wedding was typically a way to keep a groom from backing out of an arranged marriage. Waggoner called a bride a “financial liability,” transferred from her father to the groom’s household.
Also, while upper-class fathers typically attended their daughters’ weddings, working-class men were expected to work. Therefore, they would not attend.
Within the royal family, Queen Victoria was given away by her uncle as her father had died. She walked two of her daughters down the aisle due to the same circumstances.
Meghan Markle’s walk down the aisle to Prince Harry was seen as a modern twist to royal weddings. She was met by King Charles at the quire of St. George’s Chapel after walking solo down the nave on May 19, 2018.
