Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, the late Lady Elizabeth Anson, reportedly believed that Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, was nervous about attending Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding.
Before her death in 2020, Anson shared her thoughts with royal author Sally Bedell Smith. According to Smith, Anson once said Thomas Markle was “frightened of coming to the wedding,” although she didn’t explain exactly why.
Anson also thought it seemed odd that Meghan would arrive with only her mother, Doria Ragland. She said Thomas planned to avoid climbing the chapel steps by entering through a side door and then meeting Meghan at the main entrance.
However, in May 2018, Thomas was caught staging photos with the paparazzi. Not long after, he told TMZ he had suffered a heart attack and decided not to attend the wedding. Instead, King Charles, who was then Prince Charles, walked Meghan down the aisle.
Smith also revealed that Anson, who liked to be called Liza, was troubled that Harry had asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to perform the ceremony without first getting permission from the Dean of Windsor. Liza said Harry wrote to her claiming his grandmother, the Queen, was “content with this,” but when Anson spoke with the Queen, she found out the Queen actually was not pleased. Anson also told Smith she worried Meghan “could turn into nothing but trouble” because she viewed things differently.
Despite all this, Harry and Meghan have continued to live life on their own terms. They stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to Montecito, California, where they’re now raising their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
