Royal biographer Ingrid Seward writes that Queen Elizabeth II was privately uncomfortable when the Prince of Wales stepped in to meet Meghan Markle halfway down the aisle at her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018, according to passages in Seward’s book My Mother and I cited by multiple accounts.
The last‑minute change followed the withdrawal of Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, amid a row over staged paparazzi photographs. Meghan and Harry arranged for Charles to walk the bride halfway into St George’s Chapel after discussions between the couple, and Charles later said he was "pleased to welcome her to the Royal Family in this way," accounts of the wedding reported at the time show.
Seward writes that the Queen did not voice her objections broadly but shared them with close confidantes, saying she was uneasy about the Prince of Wales standing in for the bride’s father. Seward also reported that the Queen was concerned about the 96‑year‑old Duke of Edinburgh walking without a stick so soon after a hip replacement.
Other biographers and royal experts have recounted different elements of the decision and the debates that preceded it. Robert Hardman, writing in Queen of Our Times, quoted friends who cast Meghan’s proposed entrance—her request that Charles "meet halfway"—as an indication of a confident, independent bride. Duncan Larcombe, another royal biographer, said the possibility of Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, walking her daughter down the aisle had been discussed but that Ragland ultimately felt it would be too much under the global spotlight.
Harry has described the moment he asked his father on camera, saying Charles replied, "Yes, of course, I’ll do whatever Meghan needs and I’m here to support you." The Palace issued a formal statement at the time noting Charles’s role in welcoming Meghan into the royal family.
Seward’s account and other recollections also include sharper private remarks. The book quotes the Queen as telling a confidante that Meghan’s Givenchy wedding gown appeared "too white." Seward further relays that Prince Philip privately cast the Duchess of Sussex as "the new Wallis Simpson," a controversial comparison to the American divorcée whose relationship with Edward VIII precipitated his abdication.
Sally Bedell Smith, reporting in her Substack newsletter Royals Extra and citing conversations with Lady Elizabeth Anson, has described additional tension in the months before the wedding. Bedell Smith said Anson told her the Queen grew "very worried" as Meghan allegedly became more demanding in the run‑up to the nuptials and that a meeting prior to the wedding left the monarch upset by how Harry addressed her. Bedell Smith later said the Queen felt excluded from some wedding plans in the months and weeks beforehand.
Observers at the time were also surprised by elements of the service that departed from long‑standing royal custom, including the passionate sermon by Bishop Michael Curry and the gospel choir’s rendition of "Stand By Me." Seward wrote that both the Queen and Prince Philip disliked long sermons and were "desperate for him to finish."
Meghan’s relationship with her parents has remained strained since 2018. Thomas Markle did not attend the ceremony; Doria Ragland was the only member of Meghan’s family present. Multiple accounts say Meghan and her father have not spoken since their relationship fractured shortly before the wedding. Meghan later told Bloomberg that, as a working royal, she "couldn't be as vocal" and at times wore clothes that were "not very myself."
The recollections and private remarks described in books, documentaries and interviews have added to the public record of interpersonal tensions within the royal family around the Sussexes’ wedding. Authors and insiders quoted in recent accounts framed those tensions as both personal and emblematic of wider differences about tradition, public roles and how the couple planned their ceremony under intense global scrutiny.