It turns out Meghan Markle is not the first woman that Prince Charles has escorted to the altar! The future king walked Princess Diana’s goddaughter, Alexandra Knatchbull, down the aisle at her 2016 nuptials to Thomas Hooper.
Daily Mail reports that Knatchbull’s father, Lord Norton Braboune, was in attendance at the wedding, but the bride asked Charles, 69, to do the honor. The outlet adds that the lord was rumored to be in “poor health” at the time.
Kensington Palace announced on Friday, May 18, that Charles is going to walk Markle, 36, down the aisle at her wedding to Prince Harry after her father, Thomas Markle, backed out. The former lighting director told TMZ on Tuesday, May 15, that he suffered a heart attack and could no longer travel to London. News of his health issues surfaced just days after he was seemingly caught staging photos with the paparazzi.
“Ms. Meghan Markle has asked His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to accompany her down the aisle of the quire of St George’s Chapel on her wedding day,” the palace said in a statement. “The Prince of Wales is pleased to be able to welcome Ms. Markle to the royal family in this way.”
An insider told Us Weekly on Friday that Charles is “very touched” that the former Suits star asked him to join her on her trip to the altar at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday, May 19. Markle, alongside her bridesmaids and pageboys, will walk herself halfway down the aisle and then be joined by Charles from the end of the nave to the altar.
“He is very much looking forward to welcoming her into the family,” the insider explained.
Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, met Charles and his wife, Duchess Camilla, for tea on Wednesday after she touched down in London. The insider added that there is a “real growing affection between Charles, Camilla and Meghan, which of course extends to Doria too.”
