Meghan Markle's dad said he made Prince Harry promise never to 'raise his hand' against her before they could marry
- Meghan Markle's father was interviewed on British television for the first time since his daughter's wedding.
- In the interview, Thomas Markle expressed his regret at missing the wedding.
- He also descirbed the moment Prince Harry asked for his daughter's hand in marriage.
- Markle said he told Harry: "You are a gentleman, promise me you will never raise your hand against my daughter and of course I will grant you my permission."
Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle, appeared in his first broadcast interview on Monday, and told how he made Prince Harry promise never to hit his daughter as a condition of securing his blessing for their marriage.
In the interview with "Good Morning Britain", Markle also expressed his regret at missing his daughter's wedding and his affection for her new husband Prince Harry.
"I'm a footnote to the greatest moment in history rather than the dad who walked his daughter down the aisle. That upsets me somewhat," Markle said.
The Duchess of Sussex's father also detailed the moment Prince Harry asked permission to marry Meghan - including a bizarre warning he issued.
Describing the moment, Markle said he told Prince Harry, "You are a gentleman, promise me you will never raise your hand against my daughter and of course I will grant you my permission."
Markle missed the royal occasion following a paparazzi scandal and health problems.
News broke in the run-up to the wedding that Thomas Markle had accepted money to pose for staged paparazzi photos.
Photos of Markle intently studying "Images of Great Britain: A Pictorial Tour Through History" in a Starbucks quickly went viral - but were later discovered to have been staged.
In addition, Markle told TMZ that he had suffered from a heart attack six days before, but that he had checked himself out of the hospital to attend the wedding.
Speaking about his treatment by the press, Markle told GMB that,"They'd take photos of me grabbing a beer, take photos of me getting into my car... they'd take photos of me making me look negative."
When he told the young couple that he could not attend the wedding, Markle said Harry and Meghan were sad but supportive: "They both said, 'Take care of yourself, we are really worried about you'."