A storybook royal wedding between Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle has become an occasion for an embarrassing plot twist cameoed by the father of the bride-to-be, Thomas Markle.

The rabid British tabloid media could not resist targeting the father for the photographic scam.

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After the press staged pics with him, the goods were sold for as much as $136,000, according to the Daily Mail.

Thomas Markle was snapped wearing a blue hoodie at an internet café — and seemed to be browsing stories about the upcoming royal wedding featuring his daughter.

Additional photos show him reading a book, “Images of Britain,” along with exercising and being measured for a suit, The Telegraph noted.

CCTV footage obtained by The Mail on Sunday shows Los Angeles-based photographer Jeff Rayner coaching Markle on the shot at the Omega Internet Café in Rosarito, Mexico. The sensational photo made waves worldwide — but is only one of a series of photos reportedly set for release.

The imbroglio comes as Kensington Palace had warned journalists to stay away from Meghan Markle’s father ahead of the royal wedding at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, this coming Saturday.

The missives describe how Thomas Markle had been “followed and harassed” by paparazzi in the weeks before the slated wedding.

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The side story is a throwback to the bygone days of the late Princess Diana — mother of Prince William and Prince Harry (shown below) — also reputed to have colluded from time to time with the British press.

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The upcoming royal wedding is being drummed up not only in the U.K., but in the United States, as CNN rolls out biopics invoking the atmosphere that surrounded the wedding of Charles and Diana.

The comparison of Meghan Markle with Princess Diana can be taken too far, however, as Diana was generally a beloved figure renown for her poise and dignity, while Meghan Markle has garnered adoration mostly only in the U.S. media so far.

Markle is a self-described “proud feminist” — someone who expressed unabashed support for Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the last presidential election. She also lambasted Donald Trump as “divisive” and “misogynistic.”

“Yes, of course, Trump is divisive,” Markle said on “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore” back in 2016 — well before any announcement of a royal engagement.

“Think about just female voters alone,” she also said. “I think it was in 2012 — the Republican Party lost the female vote by 12 points. That’s a huge number, and as misogynistic as Trump is and so vocal about it, that’s a huge chunk of it.”

Related: Meghan Markle: Who Is She, Really?

While the soon-to-be royal bride is certainly entitled to her opinion, one hopes her comments will be left behind when she becomes actual royalty.

That would be befitting of the legacy of Princess Diana — who showed the world she could carry the responsibility of the honorary office with true dignity and class.

Kyle Becker is a content writer and producer with LifeZette. Follow him on Twitter. 

(photo credit, inline image: Princess Diana, CC BY 2.0, by Paisley Scotland)