Prince Charles will replace Meghan Markle's dad at the royal wedding and walk her down the aisle

• Meghan Markle has asked Prince Charles to walk her down the aisle at the royal wedding.
• Her father was supposed to do it, but pulled out after an embarrassing paparazzi scandal.
• Kensington Palace announced the change the day before the wedding.

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Meghan Markle has asked Prince Charles to replace her father at the royal wedding by walking her down the aisle.

Kensington Palace announced the change in a statement on Friday morning, just over 24 hours before the ceremony. Charles is Prince Harry's father, and will become Meghan's father-in-law once they are married.

An update on the #RoyalWedding: pic.twitter.com/wfJ6ZFyzHi

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 18, 2018

Markle senior was originally supposed to walk his daughter down the aisle, a moment that will be the dramatic center of the grand ceremony.

But the story turned sour after he was exposed for accepting money from a paparazzi photographer to stage tabloid photos of himself getting ready for the big day, a major break with royal protocol.

In a series of interviews with the gossip site TMZ, Markle senior said he was pulling out of the wedding, changed his mind, then changed his mind again, citing a need for urgent heart surgery.

On Thursday, the palace ended all speculation by saying definitively that Meghan's father would play no part in the ceremony.

Friday's statement said: "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 Prince of Wales is pleased to be able to welcome Ms. Markle to The Royal Family in this way."

This is not the first time Prince Charles, the father of two sons, has escorted a bride down the aisle.

In 2016, he gave away Alexandra Knatchbull, the daughter of his close friends Lord and Lady Brabourne, and goddaughter of the late Princess Diana, at her wedding to Thomas Hooper.

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