Junior Rasmussen
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place on Saturday 19 May 2018 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in the United Kingdom. The ceremony was due to commence at 12:00 midday BST, with members of the public invited to stand inside the grounds of Windsor Castle from 9:00 am GMT. The 600 guests invited to attend the ceremony inside the chapel began to arrive at 9:30 am GMT, followed by members of the Royal Family at 11:25 am GMT. The wedding was not declared a bank holiday, as is sometimes customary for royal weddings.
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What You'll Learn
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding timeline
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place on Saturday, 19 May 2018, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The wedding was a break from royal tradition, as royal weddings typically take place during the weekday. The ceremony commenced at 12:00 midday BST, with members of the royal family arriving from 6:20 am ET (11:20 am local time). Prince Harry made his entrance with his brother, Prince William, at 6:45 am ET, followed by their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. The bride, Meghan Markle, arrived with her mother, Doria Ragland, at 7:00 am ET.
The ceremony was officiated by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and included elements of African-American culture. The couple's first kiss took place on the steps of the chapel, as there was no royal balcony. Following the ceremony, the newlyweds rode in an open-top Ascot Landau horse-drawn carriage through the streets of London.
A luncheon reception was hosted by the Queen for 600 guests at St. George's Hall in Windsor Castle. The wedding cake, a light sponge cake with Amalfi lemon curd, elderflower syrup, and elderflower buttercream, was served alongside canapes and "bowl food." The bridal bouquet was placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey, following royal tradition.
The couple delayed their honeymoon until a week after their wedding, making their first public appearance as a married couple at Prince Charles' 70th Birthday Patronage celebration at Buckingham Palace on 22 May.
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The wedding's estimated cost
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place on 19 May 2018 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The royal family announced that they would pay for the wedding, with the overall cost expected to be around £32 million. The costs for the cake, the florist, and the catering were estimated to be £50,000, £110,000, and £286,000 respectively. Security costs were expected to be lower than those of the 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, estimated to be between £2 million and £4 million. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead spent £2.6 million on cleaning the town and roads.
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was not declared a bank holiday, unlike the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. The guest list included 600 people, with 1,200 members of the public invited to stand inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. The bride's dress was expected to be a six-figure cost, paid for by Markle herself, in line with tradition. The wedding cake was made by East London pastry chef Claire Ptak, with a reported cost of $80,000. Flowers were estimated to cost $157,600, and food and drinks around $686,000. Security was estimated to cost $43 million, including snipers, undercover police, military technology, and security drones.
The total cost of the wedding was estimated to be $45 million, with 94% of that amount dedicated to security. The high cost of security is a common feature of royal weddings, with the 2011 wedding of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge spending an estimated $33 million on security alone. The royal family typically covers the cost of the wedding itself, including the church service, music, flowers, decorations, and the reception. The local authorities may also contribute to the costs if they exceed a certain percentage of the annual budget for the police force.
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was expected to boost the economy by up to £500 million due to a predicted tourism boom. The Royal Mint produced an official £5 coin to commemorate the occasion, and Royal Mail issued commemorative postage stamps featuring the couple's official engagement photographs. The wedding ceremony was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and included elements of African-American culture. The couple spent their wedding night at Windsor Castle and planned to carry out their first public engagement just days after the wedding.
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The wedding's location
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place at St George's Chapel, located within the grounds of Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The castle is one of the Queen's official residences and is the oldest inhabited castle in the world.
The couple spent their wedding night at Windsor Castle and later departed for an evening event at Frogmore House, a seven-minute drive from the castle.
The grounds of Windsor Castle hosted 2,640 people, including 1,200 members of the public who were invited to stand inside the grounds in thanks for their community work. The remaining attendees were made up of 530 members of staff from the Royal Household and Crown Estate, 600 people from the Windsor Castle community, 100 local school children, and 200 people from various charities that Harry and Meghan work with.
The chapel itself hosted 600 guests, including members of the Royal Family and Meghan's family. The Queen was the last member of the Royal Family to arrive before the ceremony, as is tradition.
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The wedding's guests
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was a grand affair, with a guest list of 600 people. The guests included members of the British royal family, such as the Queen, her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, their son Prince Charles (Harry's father), and his siblings. Prince Harry's maternal aunt, Baroness Fellowes, was also in attendance and read a scripture lesson from The Song of Solomon. The wedding was held at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, with the ceremony commencing at 12:00 midday BST.
The guest list also included Meghan Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, who travelled with the bride to the chapel. Markle's father, Thomas Markle, was originally slated to walk his daughter up the aisle, but due to health issues, Prince Charles accompanied her instead. Markle's "Suits" co-stars were also expected to attend, as well as actress Priyanka Chopra, tennis star Serena Williams, David and Victoria Beckham, and the Spice Girls, who were rumoured to perform.
Elton John, a close friend of Princess Diana, was also speculated to be among the guests, although he did not confirm his attendance. Other potential guests included members of Harry's charities, with 200 representatives gathered in the Horseshoe Cloister at the bottom of the steps. More than 250 members of the British Armed Forces were also present, providing ceremonial support.
The wedding ceremony was conducted by the Right Rev. David Conner, the dean of Windsor and spiritual head of St. George's Chapel. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, officiated the vows, and Bishop Michael Bruce Curry, the first African-American leader of the Episcopal Church, gave a powerful address, citing Martin Luther King Jr.
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The wedding's dress code
The dress code for a royal wedding is a topic of fascination for many, especially given all the royal style rules. While the bride chooses her wedding gown and works with a designer on the style, it's the Queen who has the final say. The Queen approved Kate Middleton's Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton gown and did the same for Meghan Markle's dress. The Queen also gets a private sneak peek of the dress before its big reveal.
It is traditional for royal brides to wear white. The white wedding dress trend is attributed to Queen Victoria, who wore a white dress for her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. Meghan Markle is expected to follow this royal protocol. It is also likely that Markle will follow the tradition of leaving her bouquet at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in London's Westminster Abbey, as started by the late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, at her marriage to King George VI in 1923. The bouquet must contain myrtle, whether it's a sprig or the whole bouquet, as per a tradition started by Queen Victoria.
For guests, the royal wedding dress code is surprisingly similar to that of a typical summer wedding. As it is a daytime affair, guests are not expected to wear formal evening attire. Women can wear maxi dresses and sundresses, and if opting for a shorter dress, stockings are not required. However, flashing undergarments or bare shoulders in the chapel is a no-go. Floral prints and bright colors are expected to be popular, while guests should avoid wearing white to not upstage the bride. Men are expected to wear a morning suit, which includes a long black or grey coat, striped trousers, and a top hat. Men who have served in the armed forces will likely wear their uniforms.
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Frequently asked questions
Members of the Royal Family started arriving at 11:20 a.m. or 11:25 a.m. GMT. The Queen was the last member of the Royal Family to arrive at the chapel at 11:52 a.m. GMT.
The wedding ceremony began at 12:00 p.m. GMT.
The newlyweds exited the chapel at 1:00 p.m. GMT.
The public started arriving at the grounds of Windsor Castle at 8:00 a.m. GMT.
