How King Charles Reportedly Felt About Walking Meghan Markle Down The Wedding Aisle

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were set up by a mutual friend and ended up hitting it off right away. They kept their whirlwind romance quiet for a few months, as the two were able to evade media attention and travel the world together before taking their relationship public. They even took a trip to Botswana, living in a tent for nearly a week after their second date, according to People. From there, it was time for Meghan to meet the royal family. "It was all very pleasant," the Duke of Sussex said of the initial introductions, per Us Weekly. The two went on to build their love story, though it wasn't all smooth sailing.

In November 2017, the palace confirmed that Harry and Meghan were engaged to be married and wedding preparations got underway. In May 2018, the couple exchanged vows in a ceremony that was watched by millions of people. And while things really started coming together for the now Duchess of Sussex, other things in her life fell apart. One of those things was her relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, whom she learned had been selling stories to the tabloids, which Meghan later discussed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired in March 2021. Things got so bad that Meghan's dad was out of the wedding, leaving her without someone to walk her down the aisle. The decision was made for Harry's dad, then-Prince Charles, to take on the role — but how did he feel about it?

It's fairly non-traditional for someone's future father-in-law to walk them down the aisle on their wedding day, but King Charles jumped at the opportunity when Meghan Markle asked him if he would. "Prince Charles was very touched to be asked by Meghan to walk her down the aisle and he is very much looking forward to welcoming her into the family," a Buckingham Palace source told Us Weekly. "There is a real growing affection between Charles, Camilla and Meghan, which of course extends to Doria too," the source added, referring to Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland. 

And so it was; Prince Harry and Meghan exchanged vows at Windsor Castle and the two were officially set to embark on a life together, but little did the world know that their life would be flipped upside down. First, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would announce their pregnancy followed by the birth of their first child, a son named Archie. In the weeks that followed, Meghan's mental health took a toll on her, which the couple openly discussed on their Netflix mini-series, "Harry and Meghan." They made the decision to step down as senior members of the royal family and move out of the UK in search of a peace — as Harry has often said, he didn't want history to repeat itself. The couple's relationship with Charles has been strained ever since.

Since before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the decision to step down as senior members of the royal family, Harry's relationship with his dad hasn't been great. Aside from the things that Harry discussed in his memoir, "Spare," he and his dad haven't seen eye-to-eye on several things. For one, King Charles was reportedly upset that Harry and Meghan were speaking out so candidly about personal matters involving the notoriously private royal family. "Charles does not agree with Harry trashing his whole family in public. Charles thinks these matters could have easily been addressed in private," a source told Us Weekly in 2021.

Moreover, there seems to be some serious tension between Charles and Meghan. While things appeared to be going swimmingly at one point in time — Charles even gave Meghan a nickname — their relationship took a downward turn and hasn't recovered. "He loves Harry very much and did like Meghan very much but it's just her behavior that you just have to accept. She's as hard as nails and it's not easy to get through that unless you absolutely do it her own way," royal author Angela Levin previously told The Sun. And things don't appear to be getting any better. On April 12, TMZ reported that Harry will attend his father's coronation ceremony in May without Meghan.