Thomas Markle Snr is said to be overjoyed to have been invited to the royal wedding in May
MEGHAN Markle’s reclusive father will overcome his shyness to walk his daughter down the aisle to Prince Harry at their wedding in May.
MEGHAN Markle has invited her reclusive dad to her wedding — and he will beat his crippling shyness to walk her down the aisle.
There were rumours 73-year-old Thomas Markle Snr would be blanked after Meghan decided against asking half-brother Thomas Jnr and half-sister Samantha, The Sun reported.
But a family friend told The Sun on Sunday: “Thomas Snr is overjoyed to be beside his little girl on the day she becomes a princess — even if he has to battle his demons to get there.
“He’s not exactly thrilled at facing the world’s glare. He lives a reclusive life in Mexico.
“But nothing will stop him from having Meghan on his arm for the big day.”
Mum Doria Ragland, who divorced Thomas when Meghan was six, is also invited.
Thomas Jnr missed out, and blamed a drunken bust-up with his fiancee.
Samantha will be in Windsor for the May 19 wedding to Prince Harry — but as a guest of a TV channel.
Late last week the wedding invitations were officially posted to about 600 lucky guests.
In a statement, Kensington Palace revealed about 600 wedding invites had been issued this week for the couple’s service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Per royal family tradition, the invites were issued in the name of Prince Harry’s father Prince Charles.
“All 600 guests have also been invited to the lunchtime reception at St George’s Hall, which is being given by Her Majesty The Queen,” the statement said.
“Later that evening, around 200 guests are being invited to the private reception at Frogmore House given by The Prince of Wales.”
Rumours abound, of course, over who is and isn’t on the guest list. The Sun is reporting that three of Harry’s former flames, pop star Ellie Goulding, Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas are all on the guest list.
A source told The Sun: “Ellie has stayed good pals with Harry and is obviously really excited.
“She has no plans to perform this time but just wants to celebrate her friend’s marriage.
“Princess Eugenie’s also a close friend, so she’ll fit right in.”
Etiquette expert Grant Harrold, who used to work as a butler for the royal family, told News Corp that it was likely to be a star-studded event.
“Given Meghan was a successful Hollywood actress it’s likely there will be a lot of star spotting on the day,” he said.
An additional 2600 people including schoolchildren, wounded soldiers and community youth leaders have been invited into the grounds of Windsor Castle for a front-row view of the wedding.
This article was originally published in The Sun and has been republished here with permission.