I don’t feel sorry for the dad, or any of them. The only ones who deserve any respect, or sympathy, are Meghan and her mom
The immediate Middleton family have conducted themselves impeccably (mostly) over the past 10+ years and have managed to conduct themselves (mostly) with decorum and discretion. Conversely, the Markle family have stepped straight off the front pages of The Star!
@momo2x2018 I guess you are right, but I’m not any kind of expert in that area.
Has anyone posted this? Meghan could have a whopper of a tax bill.
There were rumblings about things Kate’s brother did.
The Middletons have money, the Markles have far less. I don’t think what the father did, staged or not, was a big deal. “Here I am getting fitted for a tux. Here I am reading a paper.” Who cares whether they paid him to do that or not?
It’s not as though the Windsors are paragons of virtue (with the exception of the Queen who to my knowledge has never set a foot wrong in public or private).
I just saw on NBC news that the dad was reconsidering not going, but now definitely can’t go as he is having heart surgery tomorrow morning.
If the invitation were withdrawn, he ain’t going no matter what he reconsiders, unless he was planning on watching on a TV at a pub in Windsor.
Not sure an invitation was ever withdrawn? According to reports (of , course who knows how accurate), Meghan was still asking her father to come. There was actually a nice picture of her with her dad at her graduation (probably her Northwestern graduation, as she did not look high school age). Hope everything goes well on Saturday!
I don’t thing the royal family would ever publicly say that. But based upon the statement from Kensington Palace asking for privacy on the matter, I would assume that he was allowed to keep the in invitation as a souvenir, but “strongly encouraged” not to attend, similar to what happened with Dutch Princess (now Queen) Máxima’s father at her wedding some years back.
Regardless, I hope his surgery goes well, and that the couple have pleasant weather for their day.
Considering that Harry’s mother died trying to get away from paparazzi, I imagine there is some sensitivity on this matter.
But this isn’t the first time the royal family has dealt with poor judgment or worse, recent and dating way back. This Dad deal could have been minimized, as other issues have been, over time. I fail to see it as scandalous. Just dumb.
“Considering that Harry’s mother died trying to get away from paparazzi, I imagine there is some sensitivity on this matter.”
Hmmm. I know the royals love to blame the paps but it might be that her criminally intoxicated driver had something to do with the crash.
And her own negligence in failing to wear her seat belt.
And I suppose all the insider royals and others are thinking - THIS is why we don’t marry American commoners.
Probably not. Unless they are all Mr. Short Term Memory. They all had a collective eye roll at Sarah Ferguson, too. 
I actually read an article that the extensive criticism is exactly because the father is American. The British press has apparantly been more forgiving of much more excessive foibles of Brits and Royals.
Makes sense, @anomander. Dating back to Wallis Simpson.
The children of a friend of my eldest D will join the ranks of bridesmaids(which are really flower girls) and page boys at the royal wedding. I always enjoy seeing this tradition in action at these weddings! The kids are always so cute.
Whose wedding is this, anyway?
I realize that it’s a moot point because he needs to have a medical procedure and can’t travel to London anyway, but if the bride’s father shows up and the bride wants him to attend, I would think that the formalities wouldn’t matter, especially if the groom supported the bride’s decision (which I think he would).
According to what one reads, the bride called her father earlier in the week and told him that she didn’t care about the photos and she wanted him to come, at which point he changed his mind about his withdrawal. But then the need for surgery was determined.