Who Is Thomas Markle? Meet Meghan’s Father And Prince Harry's Future Father-In-Law

With the engagement of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's youngest son comes attention to the family of the future bride.

Thomas W. Markle, 72, the father of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's future father-in-law, is a television cinematographer and lighting director, who has won and been nominated for several Emmy awards. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction for a Drama Series in 2011 for his work on the long-running daytime soap opera "General Hospital."

Thomas Markle has also served as a cameraman for the hit sitcom "Married with Children," and its short-lived spin-off "Top of the Heap."

He was married to Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, in 1979. The couple divorced in 1988 when their daughter was 2 years old. Meghan said the relationship between her parents was always civil.

According to reports, Thomas met Prince Harry during a trip to Canada and it is also believed that the fifth-in-line to the British throne won over the heart of Meghan's father.

"He first met Prince Harry about six months ago out in Toronto," Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., told the Daily Mail Online in January.

"He’s pretty happy about Harry and he’s extremely proud of her. They have an amazing relationship, they're very close and they always have been," he said at the time.

Meghan's parents, in a statement, said: "We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has already been a kind and loving person. To see her union, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy to us as parents. We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited about their future together.”

Meghan's warm relationship with her father is quite evident from her social media posts, which she updates often.

"Happy Father's Day, daddy. I'm still your buckaroo, and to this day your hugs are still the very best in the whole wide world," Meghan wrote on Instagram in 2016, sharing a throwback snap of her with her father when she was a baby. "Thanks for my work ethic, my love of Busby Berkeley films & club sandwiches, for teaching me the importance of handwritten thank you notes, and for giving me that signature Markle nose. I love you xo -Bean," she wrote in a 2016 Instagram post alongside a picture of herself with her father.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Meghan confirmed that she had a close relationship with her father while growing up — vacationing with him and eating dinners over episodes of "Jeopardy."