Meghan Markle's father calls staged paparazzi photos a 'serious mistake' as he apologises and reveals his daughter and Prince Harry were 'very forgiving'
- Thomas Markle gave a sombre reflection on staged paparazzi photographs
- Images beamed around the world showed him googling images of the couple
- The 73-year-old said: 'I realised it was a serious mistake. It's hard to take it back'
Thomas Markle Snr has given a sombre reflection on staged paparazzi photographs which were beamed around the world in the run-up to his daughter's wedding.
In May it surfaced Mr Markle had secretly collaborated with a British paparazzi photographer to stage a series of pictures which were subsequently sold to newspapers around the world.
The 73-year-old today revealed his regret at allowing the pictures - which showed him looking at images of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in an internet cafe - to be taken.
This comes as it emerged Mr Markle was paid a fee of a 'few thousand pounds' to appear on Good Morning Britain today and give a world-exclusive interview which laid bare his story.
Thomas Markle Snr has given a sombre reflection on staged paparazzi photographs which were beamed around the world in the run-up to his daughter's wedding
In May it surfaced Mr Markle had secretly collaborated with a British paparazzi photographer to stage a series of pictures which were subsequently sold to newspapers around the world
Piers Morgan told This Morning that Mr Markle was paid a fee of a ‘few thousand pounds’ to do the GMB interview, which was set up in the middle of last week with a GMB team sent over to see him over the weekend.
He said Mr Markle wanted to ‘set the record straight’ and chose GMB as they offered the longest slot. The presenter said he 'didn't believe any member of the royal family were aware of the interview beforehand'.
Mr Markle this morning opened up about conversations he had with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about the media attention surrounding him.
He told GMB: 'Most part of it was, 'Don't speak to the press.' The rest of the things were just be careful.
'But they were very emphatic about not giving any information to the press or talking to them, because it just encourages them more. So none the less, that's what I tried to do.'
Despite these conversations however, allegations later surfaced that he had staged photographs with the paparazzi.
Footage obtained by The Mail on Sunday showed the 73-year-old former lighting director arriving at an internet cafe with photographer Jeff Rayner.
Minutes later the pair were seen preparing to photograph Mr Markle while he was sitting at a computer looking at a news story about his daughter and Prince Harry.
Shortly after the furore, Mr Markle was taken to hospital to have three stents fitted.
He told GMB he had apologised to both Harry and Meghan and denied staging the shots for money, insisting they were taken in a bid to 'change his image'.
He added: 'I realised it was a serious mistake. It's hard to take it back.'
Mr Markle opened up about conversations he had with the pair about the media attention surrounding him
He told the show: 'There was a presentation to me to change my image because for the last year because photographs of me were always derogatory.
'They would take pictures of me with my hand on a beer, taking the bins out, buying a toilet and making a big deal of it and it all made me look negative.
'That all went to hell and I feel bad about it I apologise for it and that’s all I can do, that was a mistake.
'I didn’t do this for money, I did it to change my image. For one whole year I was presented as a hermit living in Mexico and obviously that was a mistake and it all went wrong.
'I spoke to them both and I apologised. I realised it was a serious mistake but it’s hard to take it back but again it was to improve my look, I had been seen negatively for an entire year.
'It wasn’t a hard conversation with them and they were very forgiving, both Harry and Meghan were forgiving about it.'
Mr Markle said he is 'on the mend' after surgery and plans to come to Britain soon to meet Harry and the rest of the royal family
The staged photographs came despite Kensington Palace issuing a warning to publishers to respect Mr Markle’s privacy, saying he had been ‘harassed’ by paparazzi.
A Mail on Sunday investigation established that the internet cafe pictures were part of a series Rayner took of Meghan’s father.
They were published in newspapers, magazines and on websites around the world.
Other pictures of Mr Markle taken by Rayner include one of him studying a book of British landmarks at a Starbucks cafe, and another in which he appears to be working out with weights to get in shape for the big day.
Another picture apparently showing Mr Markle exercising in a bid to shed weight ahead of the big day also appeared in a British newspaper.
Kensington Palace declined to comment on Mr Markle's Good Morning Britain interview.
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