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 Harry, sixth-in-line to the throne, and Markle, a star of TV
drama "Suits", will tie the knot at St George's Chapel in
Windsor Castle, home to the British royal family for nearly
1,000 years.
Markle's father, Thomas, had been due to walk his daughter down
the aisle at the 15th Century St George's Chapel in Windsor
Castle on Saturday.
But the former lighting director for TV soaps and sitcoms gave a
series of contradictory statements this week about whether he
would be there, with the Los Angeles-based celebrity website
TMZ.com saying he had undergone heart surgery on Wednesday.
"Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding. I have
always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he
needs to focus on his health," Meghan Markle said in a
statement.
"I would like to thank everyone who has offered generous
messages of support. Please know how much Harry and I look
forward to sharing our special day with you on Saturday."
TMZ said it had spoken to Markle's father after his surgery and
that "he seemed alert and coherent, telling us doctors implanted
stents in his blood vessels". It was not known when he would be
out of the hospital.
Saturday's wedding will be a sumptuous show of British
pageantry, likely to attract a huge world audience.
Supporters hope the union of one of the most popular royals and
a glamorous American actress, a divorcee with a white father and
an African-American mother, will reinvigorate the monarchy.
However, much of the carefully planned and choreographed
build-up to the ceremony has been overshadowed by confusion over
the attendance of Markle's father, who is divorced from her
mother, Doria Ragland, a yoga instructor and social worker.
Ragland has arrived in Britain and is due to meet the
92-year-old queen and her husband Prince Philip, 96, on
Thursday. Royal commentators have speculated she will now walk
her daughter down the aisle instead.
GLOBAL SPECTACLE
More than 5,000 media and support staff have registered for
official positions in Windsor for the wedding, along with more
than 160 photographers and 79 international TV networks,
Kensington Palace said.
After the hour-long ceremony which will be attended by the queen
and senior royals, the couple will take part in a procession
through the town's ancient streets on a 19th Century Ascot
Landau carriage pulled by four Windsor Grey horses.
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Police are expecting more than 100,000 people to throng the streets
outside the Castle, the queen's home west of London and the oldest
and largest inhabited fortress in the world, and have said there
would be tight security for the event.
A large number of officers were present as crowds gathered to watch
the troops who will accompany the newlyweds on the carriage
procession perform a practice run on Thursday.
Britain’s monarchy continues to be a source of fascination around
the world and few other countries can emulate the pageantry which
surrounds the royals.
A global audience will be watching but how polls have suggested that
most Britons are not as enthralled by the nuptials as the media.
A YouGov poll, commissioned by anti-monarchist pressure group
Republic, found that 66 percent of Britons were not interested in
the event, with 60 percent of Britons planning to have a normal
weekend.
The poll also showed that 57 percent of respondents believed the
royal family should pay not only for the wedding but also for the
costs of police, which are expected to surpass the 6 million pound
($8 million) price tag for the 2011 wedding of Harry's brother
Prince William to wife Kate.
However, other surveys show most Britons are in favor of the
monarchy continuing in Britain and that the wedding and the birth
last month of William and Kate's third child, Prince Louis, were
events of which Britain could be proud.
The YouGov survey suggested that the popularity of the royal family
is contingent on the personalities of its members. While the queen
and younger royals such as Harry score highly, heir-to-the-throne
Charles is far less popular.
"This YouGov poll shows a very clear picture of a nation
disinterested and apathetic about the royal family," Graham Smith,
chief executive of Republic, said.
"We're not a nation of republicans yet - but we've stopped being a
nation of royalists."
(Editing by Alison Williams)
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