The highly anticipated royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is finally upon us. The wedding came after the couple announced their engagement in November 2017. The wedding held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle was on Saturday, May 19.2018.
Prince Harry, 33, and Markle, 36, are “hugely grateful for the many good wishes they have received since announcing their engagement,” the palace said Feb. 12. “They are very much looking forward to the day and to being able to share their celebrations with the public.”
They’ve invited over 2,000 members of the public into the grounds of Windsor Castle to watch the couple and their guests arrive, and to watch the carriage procession as it departs from the castle. Harry’s father, Prince Charles, held a private reception later that evening for the newlyweds, with close friends and family members in attendance at an undisclosed location.
The Queen will host an early afternoon reception at St George’s Hall for the couple and guests from the congregation, of which there are expected to be around 600 guests.
“The Dean of Windsor will conduct the service and The Archbishop of Canterbury will officiate as the couple make their vows,” Kensington Palace announced on Feb. 12.
The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, was chosen to give the address, Kensington Palace confirmed on May 12.
The wedding venue holds a central location in the history of the royal family. Windsor Castle, west of London, is one of Queen Elizabeth II’s main residences. The 15th-Century chapel is as historic but more intimate than Westminster Abbey, where Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011.
In a statement, Kensington Palace said: “Her Majesty The Queen has granted permission for the wedding to take place at the Chapel. The Royal Family will pay for the wedding.”
Floral designer Philippa Craddock will provide flowers that will include white garden roses, foxgloves and peonies.
It was also announced that the royal couple will have a lemon elderflower cake made by pastry chef Claire Ptak, owner of the London-based Violet Bakery.
An estimated 100,000 people turned out to see the couple as they sat in an open-top Ascot Landau for a carriage procession through Windsor.
The royal family expressed gratitude to all those who enjoyed the wedding, saying on the official Twitter account: “Thank you to everyone who came to Windsor and those who followed from around the UK, the Commonwealth, and the world today. Congratulations once again to the newly-married Duke and Duchess of Sussex. #royalwedding.”
The married couple arrived at the evening reception in ultimate style – riding in a silver blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero, which was originally manufactured in 1968 and has since been converted to electric power to Frogmore House in Windsor.
The car’s number plate bore the date of the wedding – E190518 – and Prince Harry proved he was the perfect gentleman as he opened the door of a vintage car to let his bride step in, as he drove her to their private evening reception in a scene akin to a James Bond film.
Earlier, at the top of the vast West Steps, where the West Door was decorated with hundreds of cream and white flowers and green foliage, Harry and his bride stopped and kissed to the delight of cheering onlookers.
Guest
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged vows in front of 600 guests including the Queen, more than 30 royals and famous faces such as Oprah Winfrey, tennis champion Serena Williams, actor George Clooney and his barrister wife Amal Clooney, Sir Elton John, David and Victoria Beckham and actor Idris Elba.
Sir Elton, who sang at the funeral service for Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, performed at the lunchtime reception.
Why have Prince Harry and Meghan chosen St George’s Chapel?
St George’s Chapel, completed in 1528, is set in the lower ward of Windsor Castle – one of the most famous and iconic landmarks of the British royal family.
Due to its setting within Horseshoe Cloisters and the Henry VIII gate, the chapel will also offer Harry, Meghan, and their famous friends and family some privacy on what is a major global news event.
Following the ceremony, at least part of the reception is likely to take place in St George’s Hall – a grand 180ft-long room within Windsor Castle which is often used for large state banquets. In recent years, Windsor Castle has also played host to Harry’s father Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall’s blessing after their civil ceremony in 2005. While in 1999, Prince William and Harry’s uncle the Earl of Wessex married Sophie Rhys-Jones at the chapel.
The venue is the same church Harry was christened in when he was three months old.
What needed to happen before the wedding?
Queen Elizabeth II needed to give her formal consent before the happy couple, who have already taken their engagement photos, could marry.
On March 14, during a Privy Council meeting, the queen did just that.
“I declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between My Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales and Rachel Meghan Markle, which Consent I am causing to be signified under the Great Seal and to be entered in the Books of the Privy Council,” the statement released to the public the following day read.
The news comes after Markle was baptized on March 6 in the Chapel Royal at St. James Palace, according to a Daily Mail report. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was asked to lead the 45-minute service.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles, attended the baptism as representatives of the crown.
Afterward, Markle was reportedly confirmed into the Anglican faith, allowing her to join her soon-to-be husband at Holy Communion.
And earlier in March, Markle reportedly had a private bridal shower ahead of her big day.
E! News reported that some of Markle’s friends threw her a bridal shower at the Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, England, in early March. Some of the guests reportedly included Lindsay Jill Roth, Heather Dorak and the actress’ mother, Doria Ragland.
Additionally, Ragland “reportedly met Will, Kate, George and Charlotte at a wedding rehearsal within Windsor Castle. And today, she will have tea with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor castle,” Town & Country reported.
The news comes after Markle announced just days before the wedding that her father, Thomas Markle, will not attend his daughter’s big day. As a result, Prince Charles, Prince Harry’s father, will walk his soon-to-be daughter-in-law down the isle, Kensington Palace announced.
Harry and Markle spent the night before the wedding apart. They have been living together in recent months since announcing their engagement.
About wedding gifts?
The pair announced on April 9 that they would be accepting donations to seven charities they support as wedding gifts for their royal nuptials.
“Prince Harry & Ms. Meghan Markle are incredibly grateful for the goodwill they have received since their engagement, [and] have asked that anyone who might wish to mark the occasion of their wedding considers giving to charity, instead of sending a gift,” Kensington Palace wrote in a news release.
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