(CNN)Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, has reportedly said he will not attend his daughter’s wedding to Prince Harry, prompting speculation over who will walk her down the aisle on Saturday.
It’s the latest in a series of challenges for the royal couple who announced their engagement last November, and are due to tie in the knot in front of a worldwide audience at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor.
From controversy over the photos to racist online abuse, here are the issues Meghan and Harry have had to deal with on their way to the aisle.
The problem of Markle’s father’s no-show arose Monday when he said he wouldn’t be attending due to embarrassment over a series of staged photographs.
A British newspaper revealed that her father had worked with a picture agency to take photos of him preparing himself for the wedding.
Thomas Markle said he now thought the pictures were “stupid and hammy,” according to a TMZ report, and that he made the decision to skip the wedding so he wouldn’t embarrass the royal family or his daughter.
Markle’s half-sister, Samantha, told a British TV network on Monday that she urged their father to stage the photos for the paparazzi to help improve his image.
The decision to bail out of the wedding has sparked a firestorm of interest over who will walk Markle down the aisle. Those mooted to take over his role include Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, Prince Charles and Prince William.
Prince Charles, Meghan’s future father-in-law, may be the most obvious choice to replace her father. But Prince William has spent more time with the bride and therefore may fit the bill, adding to his job as Prince Harry’s best man.
But Ragland is perhaps most likely to take on the task, given her particularly close relationship with her daughter.
This is not the first blot on couple’s weddings…
