THE Royal Wedding WILL go ahead on Saturday – despite Meghan Markle’s desperate behind-the scenes pleading with her dad Tom to come.
Friends say that Meghan and Harry have tried to contact Thomas Markle, 73, after he pulled out of walking his daughter down the aisle.
But the decision that he wouldn’t come was purely his alone.
A pal said: “Thomas Senior was never uninvited to the wedding and he made the decision not to come himself.
“Meghan is upset and devastated.
“Both Harry and Meghan want him to come and this couldn’t have come at a worse time.
What we know so far...
“They are very concerned for her father’s well-being.
“They have attempted to contact him to try and change his mind.”
Retired Hollywood lighting director Thomas decided not to come to this Saturday’s wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle late last night.
But despite Meghan, 36, frantically trying to call her dad the wedding won’t be postponed.
Whether he comes or not, she and Harry will marry at 12pm in four days’ time.
Thomas, who lives a reclusive life in Rosarito, Mexico, has not been seen since Saturday when he answered the door to reporters.
If Mr Markle still refuses to travel to the UK, it’s understood that Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland, 61, could walk her down the aisle.
Meghan, 36, had originally asked her mum to be on standby if her dad was too unwell to come.
Ladbrokes has since put it at 4/6 odds that Doria will be by Meghan's side, while Prince Charles is tipped at 2/1.
The Duke of Cambridge has also been tipped to step up to the plate, with 5/1 odds of walking Meghan down the aisle.
Mr Markle was supposed to be flying to London this week and meeting the Queen, Duke of Edinburghy, Prince Charles, Camilla, Wills and Kate for lunch ahead of the wedding.
But in the most extraordinary interview with American website TMZ, Mr Markle admitted he’d made a deal with a photo agency to take pictures of him.
They showed him in his home town of Rosarito, Mexico, reading a book on British history, working out with weights, being measured for a suit at a tailors and looking up Harry and Meghan at an internet café.
The pictures were sold around the world before the Mail on Sunday revealed they’d all been staged.
It was particularly embarrassing for Kensington Palace who had issued strong legal letters in an attempt to protect his privacy.
Mr Markle admitted that the staged pictures looked “stupid and hammy”.
A source said: “Tom was really upset when he was photographed looking unkempt and dishevelled earlier this year.
“He thought they made him look like a lush and he wanted a more positive image of him out there.
“So that’s why he colluded with the picture agency and photographer to do better shots.”
Mr Markle admitted to accepting money from the agency – Coleman Rayner – as it would help “recast his image”.
He said he had suffered a heart attack six days ago, last Tuesday, and had checked himself out of hospital so he could attend the wedding.
Yet he was pictured driving away from his Mexico home last Wednesday to the American border and staying the night at a motel in San Diego.
The next day, Thursday, he lifted two heavy pots of flowering plants onto Doria Ragland’s door step in Los Angeles with a pink card.
He was then seen driving around LA visiting the post office, pharmacy and bank before driving back to Mexico that evening.
His daughter – and Meghan’s estranged half-sister - Samantha Markle, who has not been invited to the wedding, said the picture stunt was all her idea.
Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women she said: “My father doing staged photos is my fault. I suggested he do positive photos. It was not for money. I have no idea [if he was paid] but if he was it would have been a pittance.
“I'm entirely the culprit. I said to him to show the world "I'm getting in shape and getting healthy" so I suggested it to benefit him and the royal family.”
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