The Markle interview: An ordinary guy caught up in extraordinary circumstances

So what are we to make of Thomas Markle’s decision to speak to Good Morning Britain today?

You can imagine Kensington Palace watching the interview through the gaps in their fingers with their hands over their eyes.

It’s not that Mr Markle intended to cause any embarrassment to his daughter or her new family – he appeared to be an honest and genuine person – but he did reveal parts of his conversations with Prince Harry about very sensitive political issues, like Donald Trump and Brexit.

They are subjects which are simply way too close to the current political debate for the Royal Family.

Meghan’s father – who is no fan of President Trump - revealed that Prince Harry said Trump should be given "a chance" and Brexit was an "experiment" that "we have to try".

Like the rest of the Royal Family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are supposed to sit above politics.

It had echoes of the week before the Royal Wedding in May when Mr Markle was calling the US showbiz website TMZ.

I understand that Prince Harry’s office was not told in advance of today’s interview, but, given what happened in the run up to the wedding, you’d have thought Mr Markle might have forewarned his daughter.

That said, it was, on the whole, a very touching interview during which Meghan’s father revealed she had cried when he said he couldn’t make her wedding and that Harry had offered to send one of his security staff to the USA.

Mr Markle also thanked Prince Charles for standing in for him to walk his daughter down the aisle.

Thomas had heart surgery just days before the royal wedding, he’d been moved from his home in Mexico across the border to a hospital in the USA.

And the father of the most famous bride in the world watched his daughter’s wedding in Windsor from the sofa of a small B&B, because he feared he might be spotted had he checked into a nearby hotel.

He said he "was jealous" of Prince Charles for talking Meghan’s arm at St George’s Chapel.

But added: "Thank God he was there … how can I ask for a better replacement?"

And he expressed his sadness that he had become a "footnote in history" rather than the man who walked the Duchess of Sussex down the aisle in the biggest wedding the world had seen – and will see – for years.

"That upsets me somewhat," came his conclusion.

And as for those staged paparazzi photographs that kicked off days of confusion in the week before Meghan and Harry’s wedding day, Thomas Markle admitted that it was a mistake.

"That all went to hell," he exclaimed before saying he’d apologised to his daughter and son-in-law.

Mr Markle said he did it to change his image.

Good Morning Britain has confirmed that it did pay Thomas Markle for the interview but the show’s managers have not confirmed how much.

It’s thought Mr Markle had been offered as much as £250,000 by some US networks.

We understand he was paid ‘a few thousand pounds’ by the ITV breakfast show.

At the end of it, we are left with an impression of a very ordinary, hard working American dad who found himself caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

Does he have regrets? Yes, of course.

But you’d be hard pushed not to feel sorry for a guy whose daughter was being watched by the world and he didn’t quite know how to cope with the consequences.

He might find, however, that he will be advised – not for the first time - to keep his private conversations with the Duke and Duchess, private.