Who will walk Meghan Markle down the aisle now?

Now that Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, has planned not to go to her wedding, she’ll need someone to walk her down the aisle. There are a few candidates for this role.

If Thomas really doesn’t pitch, Meghan might need to make the walk alone. People reported that Thomas wasn’t attending because of a scandal he’d gotten himself into.

The Royal Wedding is set to occur on May 19, 2018. This doesn’t give Meghan much time to decide who will walk her down the aisle since her father pulled out.

Thomas got caught up in a scandal after he conspired with paparazzi photographers to stage several photoshoots ahead of Meghan’s wedding day. In the photos, the bride’s father was seen reading a book about Great Britain, looking at an online photo gallery of photos of Meghan and Prince Harry and having a fitting for his wedding suit.

Mail on Sunday reported that the photographs were staged. Thomas opened up to TMZ on Monday and admitted that he no longer planned to attend the wedding.

He said he was hoping to avoid any embarrassment to Meghan and the Royal Family. The father of the bride had been set to walk his daughter down the aisle at St. George’s Chapel on Saturday.

‘This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.’

Kensington Palace, People, May 14, 2018

Now that Thomas won’t make it, there are four candidates who might fit the role. The first and most obvious choice is Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.

The former actress and her mother are close, and she’s gotten to know Harry over the past year. During the televised engagement interview for the soon-to-be-married couple, Harry said that Ragland was “awesome.”

Ragland has also been the most supportive parent, attending the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in September 2017. She is expected to accompany her daughter to St. George’s Chapel by car from Cliveden House Hotel, where they will stay the night before the wedding.

Her father-in-law-to-be, Prince Charles, is the second choice. He has no other official duties during the wedding, and he and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have been excited to welcome Meghan into the family.

Charles is even hosting the couple’s evening wedding reception at Frogmore House. If he did walk her, it would be a sweet show of family solidarity and acceptance.

Candidate number three would be her grandfather-in-law-to-be, Prince Philip. He’s an unlikely one though as he recently had hip replacement surgery and it isn’t even certain that he will attend the wedding, let alone walk her.

Her brother-in-law-to-be, Prince William, is candidate number four. Chances of him taking on the role are slim as he’s already Prince Harry’s best man.

Meghan’s last option is herself and it would be a true example of her independence.