The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Feb 19, 2018 | 0 comments

In der St. George's Chapel findet die Trauung von Prinz Harry und Meghan Markle am 19. Mai 2018 statt

Last Updated on 2. May 2018

19th of May 2018 – the big day for Prince Harry and his Meghan Markle. The wedding of the year is on and the whole world will watch the couple when they tie the knot in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. More and more details concerning the big day will be published in the next weeks. All which is known so far can be found in this post. And as soon as there are new details, I will update this page.

The groom Prince Harry

  •  The groom is Prince Harry. His full name is Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales KCVO (the KCVO means Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order). He is the son of Charles, the Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. He is number 5 in line to the throne (after his father Charles, brother William, nephew George and niece Charlotte)
  • Born on the 15th of September 1984 he is 33 years old on his wedding day

The bride-to-be Meghan Markle

  • The bride-to-be Rachel Meghan Markle was born on the 4th of August 1981. She is 36 on her wedding day.
  • Her parents are Tom Markle and Doria Radlan who got divorced when Meghan was 6 years old. Meghan grew up with her mother, they are very close.
  • Her mother is Afro-American and experienced racism in the past. Meghan also had to fight discrimination and evil comments. Her mother works as Yoga teacher, her father was as a light director on television.
  • She has two half-siblings from her father’s side: Samantha Grant and Thomas Markle jr. The relationship to both is not the best. I personally don’t expect them to attend the wedding.
  • From 2011 – 2013 Meghan was married to film producer Trevor Engelson.
  • Since 2011 she portrayed Rachel Zane on the series “Suits” for seven season. She has stopped working as an actress as this is not suitable for a future member of the Royal Family.
  • As US-American she will not automatically become a British citizen after marriage. She needs to apply for the British citizenship just like everybody else. Whether Meghan will retain her US citizenship and take dual nationality is not known yet. Interesting to know: she is in the country as the fiancé of a British citizen. This means that the couple needs to get married within 6 months which could explain why the marriage takes place in May.
  • To show respect to the Queen Meghan will to be baptised and confirmed before the wedding and will be belong to the Church of England afterward
  • Since their engagement announcement many people all over the world are in high spirits. They love Meghan’s friendly and open attitude. Her clothes are sold out immediately after she was seen wearing them. But there are critical voices as well. Meghan doesn’t curtsy deep enough, her hair is too casual. It will be interesting to see how quickly she can adjust to the requirements of the Royal family. She already receives an etiquette training.

 The love story of Harry and Meghan so far …

  • It’s not 100% sure how they met but it looks like they were introduced during the Invictus Games
  • Harry and Meghan started dating in October 2016
  • In February 2017 they were seen holding hands for the first time
  • During 2017 things got serious. This got clear when Harry took Meghan to meet Her Majesty in October
  • In November they got engaged over a roasted chicken
  • Since 27th of November 2017 they are officially engaged
  • This was also celebrated by Street Artist Pegasus who had decorated a black van with a mural of Harry and Meghan celebrating. He drove the van through London but was stopped by police.

The engagement ring

Harry designed the ring himself and went for a “trilogy” design. This means that 3 stones are on the ring with the middle one being the biggest and most striking. The central stone is from Botswana (Harry’s favourite country), the other two diamonds are from from the private collection of his mother, the late Princess Diana.

Some gossip concerning the Royal wedding

  • There are some rumours saying that the couple will break with many Royal traditions. Here is the latest gossip:
    • Meghan will be walked to the altar by her mother
    • Meghan wants to give a speech (which will be against Royal protocol)
    • she will wear a non-white dress

How much truth is in all these? We will see on the 19th of May.

Facts about the Royal wedding

  • The wedding will be on the 19th of May at 12 o’clock in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. This is a Saturday and is different to other royal weddings which normally take place on a weekday.
  • After the wedding there will be a reception at St. George’s Chapel. Harry and Meghan will join their guests after their carriage procession through Windsor.
  • At 1 pm the wed couple will have a carriage procession through Windsor to see their fans. The expected route leaves St George’s Chapel, via Castle Hill towards High Street and then on Long Walk back to the Castle.
  • The father of the groom, Prince Charles, will invite for a private party (family and close friends only) later that day.

Remaining open questions

  • Who will walk Meghan to the altar? Her mother? Her father? A fatherly friend? Nobody?
  • Who designs her wedding dress? Which colour will it be?
  • Will Meghan give a speech herself?
  • Who will be her bridesmaid? Her friend Millie Mackintosh is considered to be the one. The “Made in Chelsea” star is also discussed as being her wedding planner.
  • Who will be invited? Will other European Royals attend the wedding?
  • Which food will the have?
  • How will the wedding cake look like and who will bake it? Here we do have an update, check below to read who has the honour of doing the cake…
  • Will George and Charlotte be the flower kids?
  • Where will the famous first kiss be done? Brother William had shared it from the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the rest of the world. But there will be no balcony at Windsor Castle.

The shared life after the wedding

  • They will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace
  • This is where William and his family live, too. Their mother used to live here as well. The living areas of the Royal family are well secured and not open to the public. But you can visit Kensington Palace.
  • With the wedding they will become “Duke and Duchess of Sussex”
  • Will Meghan turn into Princess Meghan after marriage? This is not possible as the title “Princess + name” is only open to persons of Royal blood. It looks like Meghan will be called “Her Royal Highness Princess Henry of Wales“.

What will change for Meghan after the marriage?

  • Artificial nails and/or colourful nails are regarded as too vulgar by the Queen. A light rose is the only possible option. This rule is mandatory to every woman inside the Royal family.
  • She is no longer allowed to give autographs. This could be harder for her as she is used to do so but this rule is valid for every Royal
  • The Queen hates selfies and therefore, the whole family politely refuses if asked for one
  • Despite being allowed to vote, the whole Royal family wants to be politically neutral. As soon as Meghan became a British citizen, she will no longer be allowed to vote.
  • Even if Meghan is into board games and loves Monopoly, the Queen hates it and therefore, nobody is allowed to play it.

Watch the Royal Wedding live in Windsor

Since the announcement of the wedding date the rooms in Windsor have been fully booked. If you don’t have a room yet but still want to visit Windsor on the big day, simply book a room in London. From London Waterloo or London Paddington it’s max an hour to go to “Windsor & Eton”. From there you need to walk anyway.

Will there be live screenings in London?

When William married in 2011 the whole city was celebrating. Some fans even spent the night before the big day in front of Westminster Abbey to have the best views. For a more relaxed approach one could go for a picnic at Hyde Park and watch the ceremony and the drive from the Abbey to Buckingham Palace on big screens. Highlight was the first kiss of the newly wed couple on the balcony of the palace. Where will Harry and Meghan celebrate this kiss? If there will be screens at Hyde Park is not known yet.

Where will Totally-London celebrate the Royal Wedding?

I will spend the days around the wedding in London together with my blogger colleague Sandra from A decent cup of tea. We want to go to Windsor to get a good view onto the couple. If this will work out or whether we will celebrate in London – we will see..

Royal Wedding Souvenirs

When William and Kate married in 2011 there were tons of souvenirs available. From postcards to memorial books, biscuit tins, mugs, pictures and towels – there was nothing you couldn’t get. I am quite curious what they will offer this year.

The finals weeks before the Royal Wedding

In the next weeks more details will be published. I will update this post regularly so that you have all info at one place. On the 19th of May I will report live from Windsor and London.

What are your plans for the big day? Is this an important date to you and will you celebrate?

Updates

  • 20.2.18: a map with the planned route of the carriage gets published
  • 09.03.18: Meghan gets baptized and confirmed in a private ceremony at St James’s Palace. She is now a member of the Church of England
  • 20.03.18: The wedding cake will be an organic lemon elderflower cake and will be prepared by Claire Ptak from Violet Bakery.
  • 01.04.18: The flowers are chosen. London-based florist Philippa Craddock will create the floral displays for both St. George’s Chapel and St. George’s Hall. They will include branches of beech, birch and hornbeam, white roses, peonies and foxgloves. The bouquets will be donated to charity after the wedding.
  • Since 1913 it has become a tradition that the brides leaves her wedding bouquet on the grave of the unknown soldier when leaving Westminster Abbey. As Meghan and Harry are not getting married in London, it is likely that she will send her bouquet to the Abbey after the wedding.
  • 26. 4.2018: Prince Harry asks his brother William to be his best man
  • 2. May 2018: The carriages have been chosen. After the wedding service the couple will drive through Windsor in a horse-drawn carriage. Harry and Meghan have chosen the Ascot Landau for that occasion. The Landaus are used by the Queen during the yearly “Queen’s Procession” at Ascot. In case of bad weather, they will use the Scottich State Coach. 4 Windsor Grey Horses named Milford Haven, Sir Basil, Tyrone and Storm will pull the carriage, with two additional outriders (Plymouth and Londonderry who are father and son).

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