Video: Thomas Markle Made Prince Harry Promise Never to Hit Meghan, He Says in First Ever TV Interview

Meghan Markle's father Thomas has revealed the promise he asked Prince Harry to make before he gave the couple his blessing to get married, speaking out in his first ever TV interview Monday.

The new Duchess of Sussex's father spoke to Piers Morgan in an interview with Good Morning Britain about his disappointment at missing the royal wedding, which he was too ill to attend following heart surgery, and the phone call he had with his now son-in-law.

Despite never having met Prince Harry in person, Thomas Markle said the royal and Meghan made a joint phone call during which Harry asked for his daughter's hand in marriage.

"She's a smart girl and she made a good pick, didn't she," Markle said in the interview. "Actually, Meghan told me first and then a few times after that, Harry got on the phone with Meghan, they called me together, and Harry asked for her hand over the phone, and I said, 'You're a gentleman, promise me you'll never raise your hand against my daughter and of course I give you my permission'."

The pair had spoken in previous phone calls, with Meghan initially telling her father she had met someone, before later telling him her new boyfriend was a member of the British royal family.

"The first phone calls were 'Dad, I have a new boyfriend'. And I said, 'That's really nice.' And then the next call was like, 'He's British.' And I said, 'That's really nice.' And eventually the third time round was, 'He's a prince,'" Markle said.

"At that point she said, 'It's Harry.' And I said, 'Oh Harry, okay.' And she said, 'Of course, we'll have to call him H so no-one knows we're talking about Harry. It's H.' And then we talked about that, and eventually I spoke to him as well. Very nice man. Gentleman. Very likeable," he added.

But Markle's father did not have an easy time ahead of the royal wedding, after it emerged that he allegedly posed for staged paparazzi photos prior to the nuptials, and due to ongoing health issues, TMZ reported at the time.

Unable to attend the event following his heart surgery, Markle said in the Monday interview that he was disappointed not to have been able to walk his daughter down the aisle.

"She was beautiful. I cried a little watching her," Markle said. "I was very proud and I couldn't see a better moment in my life. The whole world was watching my daughter."

"The unfortunate thing now is that I'm a footnote in one of the greatest moments in history instead of a dad walking his daughter down the aisle," he added. "It was a very emotional moment. I regretted it because I really wanted to walk her down the aisle. But I'm thankful for how it all went."