Shortly before her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle found out that her father, Thomas Markle, would not be attending and would not be able to walk her down the aisle as planned. Her soon-to-be father-in-law, Prince Charles, offered to walk her down the aisle. However, in his new book, royal author Robert Hardman reveals Princess Meghan's exact reaction to the Prince of Wales' offer.

In response to his offer, which caught Prince Charles off guard, Princess Meghan responded in four words: "Can we meet on the way?"

The response "showed that she was not a blushing bride, but a confident, independent woman determined to make a grand entrance on her own," Hardman said via the Mirror.

Hardman's latest book, The Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II), details the Markle family drama surrounding the wedding. Ultimately, Meghan's mother, Doria, was the only member of Meghan's family in attendance, and "her [Meghan's] family dynamics certainly outweighed the usual criticisms that the royal family is dysfunctional," says Hardman.

Less than two years later, Harry and Meghan stepped down from the infamous active royal family in January 2020. Some people around Buckingham Palace expected the Sussexes to return, but Hardman said in his book that Her Majesty the Queen knew they would not return for one very important reason.

"She told one visitor that she did not expect them to resume royal life," the Mirror reported. When asked about the couple's future return, she replied, "They have not. 'They've taken the dog with them.'"