Junior Rasmussen
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The ceremony began at 12 p.m. BST (7 a.m. ET) and was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The wedding was highly anticipated and widely reported for its inclusion of African-American culture and departure from traditional royal family customs. It was broadcast live on various channels, with coverage starting as early as 4 a.m. ET and 1 a.m. PT in the US.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, May 19, 2018 |
| Time (BST) | 12 p.m. |
| Time (ET) | 7 a.m. |
| Location | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle |
| Officiant | Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby |
| Conducter of the Service | Dean of Windsor, bishop David Conner |
| Address | American Michael Bruce Curry, presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church |
| Number of Guests | 600 |
| Peak Viewing Figures (UK) | 27.7 million |
| Average Audience (UK) | 11.5 million |
| Number of Viewers (US) | 29 million |
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The wedding ceremony
The wedding broke with several royal traditions. Markle, a former actress, became the first American to be officially engaged to a British royal. She is also a woman of colour, divorced, and was raised Catholic. Markle chose to omit the promise "to obey" from her wedding vows, and her choice of dress, cake, and flowers were speculated to influence other British brides.
The ceremony took place in front of 600 guests inside the chapel. Members of the British royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II, her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, their son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and various cousins, were in attendance. Prince William served as Harry's best man, and his children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were a page boy and a bridesmaid, respectively. Markle was joined by six bridesmaids and four page boys, including Princess Charlotte.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds embarked on a 1 p.m. carriage procession through Windsor town before returning to the castle for a lunchtime reception hosted by the Queen at St. George's Hall.
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The procession
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at 12 p.m. BST. The procession began an hour later at 1 p.m. when the newlyweds embarked on a carriage ride through Windsor town before returning to the castle for a lunchtime reception hosted by the Queen at St. George's Hall.
In addition to the carriage procession, the newlyweds also had a car procession as they departed from the castle to begin their honeymoon. They were driven in a silver-blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero, originally owned by Harry's father, Prince Charles, and converted to electric power. This choice of car was a modern and environmentally conscious twist on a classic, reflecting the couple's values and interests.
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The luncheon
The wedding ceremony was noted for its inclusion of African-American culture and departure from traditional royal customs. For example, Meghan Markle, an American actress of colour, chose to omit the promise "to obey" from her wedding vows, and the couple's wedding cake was an American-style cake with lemon elderflower flavour and buttercream frosting, rather than the traditional fruit cake.
The wedding inspired a 2019 television film, "Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal," and the couple's choice of cake and other details were speculated to influence the decisions of other British brides. The wedding also set a precedent, with Meghan becoming the first American to be officially engaged to a British royal.
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The private dinner
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The ceremony began at 12 p.m. BST (7 a.m. ET) and was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Following the wedding ceremony and a carriage procession through Windsor town, the newlyweds returned to the castle for a lunchtime reception hosted by the Queen.
After the afternoon luncheon, the couple departed Windsor Castle for a private sit-down dinner for 200 guests, hosted by Prince Charles. This was their first private engagement as a married couple, as they delayed their honeymoon to attend.
The dinner was likely an elegant and intimate affair, with the newlyweds surrounded by their closest friends and family. The menu would have been carefully curated, reflecting the couple's tastes and perhaps incorporating elements of American cuisine, given Meghan Markle's background.
The dinner was likely held in a grand hall or ballroom, adorned with elegant decorations and floral arrangements. The tables would have been set with fine china and crystal, and the atmosphere would have been filled with music and laughter.
As the sun set on their wedding day, the private dinner would have been a magical and memorable experience for the couple, a time to create lasting memories with their loved ones before embarking on their new life together.
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The wedding cake
The cake was made up of three tiers: two single-tiered cakes and one two-tiered cake. The two-tiered cake was placed in the middle, with the single-tiered cakes on either side. The cakes were decorated with Swiss meringue and lemon curd layered inside, and buttercream on the outside. The cake was designed to serve 600 guests at the wedding.
To make the cake, Ptak used elderflower cordial from Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham estate. The recipe for the cake includes flour, baking powder, butter, milk, elderflower liqueur, lemon curd, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and juice. The cake layers are baked in three 8-inch cake pans and weighed about 300 grams each. The baking time is 15 to 20 minutes, and the layers are cooled in the pans for 15 minutes before being released and inverted onto a wire rack to cool completely.
The frosting is made by combining butter and confectioners' sugar, then adding milk, more confectioners' sugar, and lemon zest and juice. The frosting should be thin enough to spread but thick enough to not run off the cake. It can be chilled in the refrigerator before assembling the cake. To assemble, place a dab of frosting in the middle of a cardboard cake round or a large plate. Place the cake layer in the center, with the cordial-soaked side up. Squeeze a border of frosting around the top of the cake, just inside the edge, to create a dam for the filling.
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Frequently asked questions
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place at 7 a.m. ET (noon in the UK).
CNN, CBS, NBC, and PBS all aired the wedding, starting their coverage at 4 a.m. ET (1 a.m. PT). BBC America's coverage began at 4:15 a.m. ET.
The wedding began at 12 p.m. BST (6 a.m. ET).
The wedding took place on Saturday, May 19.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, officiated the wedding using the standard Anglican church service for Holy Matrimony.
