Welcome To The Family! Meghan Markle's Parents Will Play A Key Part In The Royal Wedding
And will meet The Queen.
What you need to know
- Meghan Markle's father will walk her down the aisle
- Her mother will accompany her in the car to the event
- All three of Princess Di's siblings will be in attendance
- Meghan's parents, who are divorced, will spend time with The Queen before the wedding takes place
It's official. Meghan Markle's divorced parents will not only be attending the royal wedding they will have official starring roles to play.
As in they will be involved in the wedding party. Yip!
In a statement released by Kensington Palace on Friday May 4, it was confirmed that Meghan's parents, Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle -- who divorced when Meghan was a young girl -- would have important duties relating to the royal nuptials.
The Palace also confirmed that Meghan's parents will spend time with Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh and other high-ranking royals. Double yip!
"Mr. Thomas Markle and Ms. Doria Ragland will be arriving in the UK in the week of the wedding, allowing time for Prince Harry's family, including The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to spend time with them before the big day," read the official Palace statement.
"On the morning of the wedding, Ms. Ragland will travel with Ms. Markle by car to Windsor Castle. Mr. Markle will walk his daughter down the aisle of St George's Chapel. Ms. Markle is delighted to have her parents by her side on this important and happy occasion."
We don't quite know how they managed to pull it off -- Meghan's family is notoriously estranged with numerous members refusing to have anything to do with several others -- but pull it off they did. And we're thrilled.
In addition to having the support of The Queen, his father The Prince of Wales, and his brother Prince William as Best Man, Prince Harry has shared that he is "keen" to involve his late mother's family in his wedding.
All three siblings of Diana, the Princess of Wales -- who tragically died in a car accident in 1997 -- will be in attendance. And Diana's older sister, Lady Jane Fellowes will give a reading at the wedding.
"Prince Harry and Ms. Markle both feel honoured that Lady Jane will be representing her family and helping to celebrate the memory of the late Princess on the wedding day," said the Palace statement.
May 19 is promising to be a truly magical day with the perfect blend of Hollywood glamour, royalty and true love. No wonder Meghan and Harry's story is being referred to so often as a genuine fairy tale - it really does seem to be so.
The sadness here of course is that Harry's mother Princess Diana won't be there to see him walk down the aisle and take this terribly important step into manhood. There's no doubt he will be thinking of her however and who knows -- perhaps in some way she will be thinking of him too. We certainly like to think so. Princess Di was a royal but more than that, a mum whose love for her boys was palpable.
