A picture of Meghan Markle has a special place in King Charles and Queen Camilla’s London home. On Thursday, December 11th, the Queen hosted a Christmas gathering for children at Clarence House, the royal couple’s primary residence in London.
Family photos displayed on a table could be seen in the background of images from the event, including a portrait from Prince Louis’ 2018 christening featuring Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, as well as Meghan and Prince Harry via PEOPLE.
Next to that, is a framed photo that captures a special moment between Charles, and Meghan, from her 2018 royal wedding. The rare black-and-white snap depicted the future monarch linking arms with his new daughter-in-law at St. George’s Chapel, the church inside Windsor Castle where the wedding ceremony took place.
While Meghan entered the chapel alone, she was arm-in-arm with Charles for the second part of her walk down the aisle to Prince Harry. When Charles greeted his son, Harry memorably smiled and said, “Thank you, Pa.”
The heartwarming moment came following a change in the original plans. Charles stepped in to escort Meghan down the aisle after it was confirmed that her father, Thomas Markle, would not be attending the royal wedding.
Charles stepped into the duty less than 48 hours before the ceremony.
“It was Meghan’s wish, and she is grateful for the Prince of Wales to be doing it,” a royal source told PEOPLE at the time.
Prince Harry later described asking his father to do the honors during the documentary Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70.
“I asked him to, and I think he knew it was coming, and he immediately said, ‘Yes, of course, I’ll do whatever Meghan needs, and I’m here to support you,’ ” the Duke of Sussex said.
Thomas’ attendance at Prince Harry and Meghan’s nuptials came into question in the weeks leading up to the event. Medical reasons were cited as the reason he couldn’t be at the wedding, but Thomas said in the lead-up that he would not attend to avoid embarrassing the royal family and his daughter after it was revealed that he had worked with paparazzi to stage photographs.
