Royal expert Kate Nicholl tells ET the bride-to-be had a long conversation with her father last night and 'it worked.'
There's a chance Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle, will still be walking his daughter down the aisle at her royal wedding to Prince Harry.
Following reports that he would no longer be attending the May 19 nuptials at St. George's Chapel after he was accused of staging photos for the paparazzi, Thomas has changed his mind and would like to be in England to watch his daughter say "I do," according to TMZ.
The website also notes, however, that Thomas, who reportedly had a heart attack seven days ago, is back in the hospital after experiencing serious chest pains, and is hoping to get cleared by doctors to fly to Windsor in time for the wedding. "I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle," he shared with the outlet.
A source told ET earlier on Tuesday that Meghan was "devastated" when she first learned that her father would no longer be attending.
"This was his decision entirely," the source says. "Meghan would still like him to come."
ET also spoke with Daily Mail editor-at-large Piers Morgan about the allegations against Meghan's father, and how he could potentially turn things around if he ends up showing up to the wedding.
"All he has to do is come up, face the music," Morgan explains. "Be a man and just say, 'I've really screwed this up and I'm incredibly sorry and I've hurt my daughter. I've let her down. I tried to do something I thought was the smart thing to do and it's backfired horribly and I apologize to everybody. But I can't miss her wedding. I'm getting on a plane and I'll be the proudest man in the world when I walk her down the aisle.' And we'll all go, 'Ahh, crisis over.'"
"If he doesn't get on the plane -- if he stays at home and he breaks Meghan's heart by doing that -- that's an unforgivable betrayal far worse than what he's done with these pictures," he continues. "You can't have a bride walk by herself. Maybe Prince William will step in to help his brother out, maybe Prince Charles, maybe the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, if he can get down the aisle."
Morgan adds, "Look, we are in uncharted territory. I don't think there are any other male Markle family members who are gonna be at the wedding, so I don't know who's going to do it, but again, Thomas' position [makes it] all that more difficult. Come on, you let her down. Now do the decent thing. The public are very forgiving if you do the right thing in the end."
Royal expert Katie Nicholl echoed those statements, telling ET that all the recent drama is "madness."
"There is so much confusion, there have been so many mixed messages," she explains. "I mean, frankly, this is not how we do royal weddings."
"[Queen Elizabeth II] is hosting one of her many annual Garden Parties. I'm sure no one wants to upset the queen by mentioning the whole Thomas Markle debate, and who knows whether she has been updated with the latest [news]," she continues.
Nicholl tells ET that she spoke with Kensington Palace on Tuesday, but "apparently no changes were made to the order of service," which originally stated that Thomas would be walking Meghan down the aisle.
"I think it would be a bit of a giveaway had they reprinted or changed the order to reflect the fact perhaps Thomas Markle wasn't coming," she says. "I was told that Meghan had been in 11th hour talks with her father [last night]. They had quite a few conversations late into the night, with Meghan really pleading with her dad, telling him that this didn't matter, they can get over this, but she really wanted him to be there for her special day. And I guess the 'Please, Daddy' -- it worked."
"I was told by sources close to Meghan last night that she was utterly heartbroken that she couldn't believe that this was happening just days before her wedding," she adds. "That she is close to her father, they always had a special relationship, and that she feels that what he did in terms of staging those photographs were never meant with a cruel intention -- it was actually meant to present himself in a more positive light. He didn't ever have any understanding or any suspicions that this could have backfired on him as badly as it has done."
ET has reached out to Thomas for comment.
Keep up with all of ET's coverage of the royal wedding as we count down to May 19.
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