Hope to walk Meghan down the aisle, says father Thomas Markle

The father of Meghan Markle says he hopes to walk his daughter down the aisle when the American actress marries Britain's Prince Harry next year, saying he was delighted at news of their upcoming wedding, Britain's Daily Mirror reported on Friday.

Harry, 33, Queen Elizabeth's grandson and fifth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, announced last month they were engaged and will marry at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, a venue with associations with the British royal family going back centuries.

Asked if he would be give his daughter away at the ceremony, Markle's father Thomas said: "Yes. I'd love to."

"I'm very pleased. I'm delighted," the 73-year-old, a former lighting director for TV soaps and sitcoms, told the paper in Mexico where he now lives.

Markle's parents are divorced and while Harry has met her mother Doria Ragland, who the prince described as "amazing", he is yet to meet her father.

Harry, the younger son of heir-to-the throne Prince Charles and his first wife, Princess Diana, and Markle, who is a divorcee herself, met in July 2016 after they were introduced through a mutual friend.

The prince said he had fallen in love with the actress, best known for her leading role in U.S. legal drama "Suits", "incredibly quickly". Last week, the couple undertook their first official appearance, drawing large crowds and global media interest.