Royal wedding confusion after reports Meghan Markle's father has pulled out

Palace asks for 'understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation'

Reports Meghan Markle’s father will not attend the royal wedding have sparked confusion and speculation over who will walk the American actor down the aisle.

There has been uncertainty over whether Thomas Markle Sr will give his daughter away since the celebrity news website TMZ claimed the 74-year-old would not attend the ceremony. It comes amid allegations that he cooperated with an LA based photo agency to stage pictures of himself getting ready for the wedding.

Earlier this month Kensington Palace announced that Mr Markle, a retired television lighting engineer who lives in Mexico, would give his daughter away to Prince Harry at Windsor Castle this Saturday.

Mr Markle told TMZ he suffered a heart attack six days ago but checked himself out of the hospital so he could attend the wedding.

But according to the site Mr Markle has “now decided not to go because he doesn’t want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter”.

Prince Harry and Ms Markle have called for "understanding and respect" to be given to the Suits actor’s father.

A Kensington Palace spokesperson said: "This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation."

A number of media outlets published pictures of Mr Markle out and about getting measured for his wedding suit, reading a book about the UK while having coffee, and looking up reports about his daughter's wedding in an internet cafe. They initially appeared to have been taken by a paparazzo without Mr Markle's knowledge - but the Mail on Sunday later published CCTV footage which purported to showed Mr Markle and the photographer entering the internet cafe together.

Ms Markle's half-sister, Samantha Markle, has now sought to defend their father and argued he was pressured into a "dangerous situation".

"He was living a very quiet peaceful life, not as a recluse. He's a very intelligent man, he's been gregarious and worked in entertainment for 40 years,” she told Good Morning Britain on Tuesday.

"He had spoken with press and was doing just that, but when he called me panicking on the freeway because he's in a dangerous situation being followed by seven or eight cars, I think there have been examples in history of how dangerous that can be.

"So he was so stressed out they rented the house next to him in Mexico, four or five of them, he can't open his blinds, he can't go anywhere without being followed and really it's quite atrocious and intrusive and I think it's highly unethical."

She did not directly answer whether her sister still wants him at the wedding but said: "He was really having heart pains and suffered a heart attack, it was an unbelievable amount of stress."

On Monday, Meghan’s half-sister admitted to arranging the photo shoots of their father but claimed they were motivated by well-meaning intentions.

“There’s a lot of scrutiny that it was money motivated, it was not,” she told ITV talk show Loose Women.

She also tweeted it was her idea for Mr Markle to pose for what she described as "positive photos" in an attempt to counter his "bad" portrayal in the press.

"The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault,” she tweeted.

"The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family. We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money."

TMZ also reported Mr Markle had not meant to cause harm to his daughter or the royal family when he allowed the photo agency to take the pictures.

Ms Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, is still expected to attend the royal wedding and will be staying at a hotel with her daughter the night before the big day.