The Latest on BritainB次元官网网址檚 royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday:

Meghan MarkleB次元官网网址檚 father may have changed his mind and hopes to attend the royal wedding after all.

The website TMZ quotes Thomas Markle as saying he now wants to come to the wedding Saturday in Windsor, if doctors allow it.

The retired television cinematographer had been due to walk his daughter down the aisle at Windsor CastleB次元官网网址檚 St. GeorgeB次元官网网址檚 Chapel on Saturday.

On Monday, TMZ reported that the elder Markle has decided to stay away amid criticism over his decision to pose for mocked up wedding-preparation shots taken by a paparazzi agency.

Thomas Markle also said he suffered a heart attack last week.

On Tuesday TMZ quoted him as saying B次元官网网址淚 hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle.B次元官网网址� But he also reportedly said doctors are still performing tests and he is not sure whether he will be released from the hospital in time for SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 wedding.

Samantha Markle told Good Morning Britain on Tuesday that Thomas Markle panicked while driving on the highway because he was being followed by numerous press cars.

Thomas Markle is not the first person to be bruised in the collision between BritainB次元官网网址檚 royal family and the media B次元官网网址� a relationship that is deep, complex and sometimes toxic.

B次元官网网址淚t is a symbiotic and parasitic relationship which is harmful to both sides,B次元官网网址� said Graham Smith of anti-monarchy group Republic, who is resolutely unaffected by royal wedding fever. B次元官网网址淐ertainly harmful to the British public in terms of the way in which we are fed this hype and nonsense B次元官网网址� and clearly harmful to the family.B次元官网网址�

For centuries, BritainB次元官网网址檚 royal dramas played out at a distance from the public, as a deferential media protected the secrets of the monarchy. In the 1930s, the romance between King Edward VIII and divorced American Wallis Simpson was headline news in the U.S. press, but barely mentioned in Britain until the king abdicated, forced to choose between the crown and the woman he loved.

That changed by the time Prince Charles married 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 in a ceremony watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world. The media charted every twist in the saga that followed: the births of sons William and Harry, DianaB次元官网网址檚 glamour and charity work, and her evident and growing unhappiness in the marriage.

WATCH: A History of British Royal Wedding Dresses

Charles and Diana both used the media as a weapon as their marriage foundered, giving TV interviews to present themselves in a sympathetic light. It was ratings gold, reaching a peak when Diana told an interviewer that B次元官网网址渢here were three of usB次元官网网址� in the marriage B次元官网网址� Diana, Charles and his then-paramour Camilla Parker Bowles, who is now CharlesB次元官网网址� wife.

B次元官网网址淒iana turned the royal family inside out,B次元官网网址� said Ellis Cashmore, honorary professor of sociology at Aston University and author of books on celebrity culture. B次元官网网址淎ll the dirty secrets had come into the public domain.B次元官网网址�

Diana became the most famous woman on Earth, trailed by paparazzi wherever she went B次元官网网址� including to her death. She was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being pursued by photographers.

DianaB次元官网网址檚 death provoked a crisis for the monarchy B次元官网网址� which was portrayed as remote and cold at a time of national grief B次元官网网址� and for the media, accused of hounding a vulnerable woman.

In the years that followed, palace and press reached an uneasy truce. The royal family made concessions to popular interests, including carefully staged interviews and photo opportunities with William and Harry as they grew up. That practice has continued with the three young children of William and his wife Kate.

But DianaB次元官网网址檚 sons retain a deeply ingrained mistrust of the media.

B次元官网网址淗arryB次元官网网址檚 attitude towards the press is he doesnB次元官网网址檛 like the press,B次元官网网址� former Sun newspaper royal editor Duncan Larcombe, author of B次元官网网址淧rince Harry: The Inside Story,B次元官网网址� told Town & Country magazine. B次元官网网址淚n HarryB次元官网网址檚 mind, it was the press that killed his mother.B次元官网网址�

When Harry and Markle decided to make their relationship public, the prince fired a broadside at the media, saying that the biracial Markle had faced B次元官网网址渁 wave of abuse and harassment,B次元官网网址� including B次元官网网址渞acial undertonesB次元官网网址� in comment articles.

B次元官网网址淭his is not a game B次元官网网址� it is her life and his,B次元官网网址� said the statement from HarryB次元官网网址檚 press secretary.

Still, MarkleB次元官网网址檚 media experience, gained during her career as an actress, has been evident from the start. At the coupleB次元官网网址檚 televised engagement interview she appeared relaxed, confident and happy. It was a far cry from a 1981 interview with shy Diana and awkward Charles, who replied B次元官网网址渨hatever love meansB次元官网网址� when asked if he was in love.

SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 wedding is expected to draw more than 5,000 media staff and 79 television networks from around the world to Windsor. American and international TV networks plan hours of live coverage.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think anything can quite prepare her,B次元官网网址� Cashmore said B次元官网网址� though as B次元官网网址渁n independent-minded woman, brimming with confidence,B次元官网网址� Markle is well equipped to deal with intense media interest that is unlikely to fade.

B次元官网网址淭he media are the publicB次元官网网址檚 proxy,B次元官网网址� Cashmore said. B次元官网网址淭he reason they go for these stories that are ever more intrusive is that we want it.B次元官网网址�

The Associated Press

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