Harry And Meghan's Wedding: Where To Watch

The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was shown all over the world. In the UK, coverage of the royal wedding was shown on BBC One, ITV, Sky News, CNN and E! while in the US, it aired on ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, PBS, E!, BBC America, TLC, HBO and CNN. In Canada, CBC broadcast the wedding, and in New Zealand and Australia, TVNZ and SBS and Nine screened it.

The wedding's TV coverage

The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was televised across the world, with an estimated 1.9 billion viewers tuning in to watch the ceremony. In the UK, coverage was shown on BBC One, ITV, Sky News, CNN and E! and was streamed live on YouTube. In the US, the wedding was aired on ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, PBS, E!, BBC America, TLC, HBO and CNN.

In the UK, the BBC's chief news anchor Huw Edwards hosted coverage for BBC TV, while Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham hosted coverage for ITV. Sky's coverage was hosted by Kay Burley, Anna Botting and Alastair Bruce, and E!'s coverage was hosted by Giuliana Rancic, Sarah-Jane Crawford, Melanie Bromley and Brad Goreski.

In the US, CBS's coverage was presented by Gayle King, ABC's by a special edition of Good Morning America, and NBC's by a special edition of The Today Show. The pay-subscription network HBO hosted a live broadcast titled "The Royal Wedding Live with Cord and Tish!", presented by former Saturday Night Live actors Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon. BBC America provided a live simulcast of BBC One's coverage.

The wedding was also aired on the Republic of Ireland's national broadcaster, RTÉ.

The wedding's guest list

The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was a grand affair, with 600 guests in attendance at St. George's Chapel, and over 2,000 others on the grounds of Windsor Castle. The guest list included a mix of royal family members, celebrities, and friends of the couple.

Relatives of the Groom:

The guest list included several of Prince Harry's relatives, including his paternal grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh; his father and stepmother, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall; his brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge; his nephew, Prince George of Cambridge; and his niece, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. Other relatives included various cousins, aunts, and uncles, such as the Princess Royal and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of York, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

Relatives of the Bride:

The bride's mother, Doria Ragland, was also in attendance.

Members of Reigning and Non-Reigning Royal Families:

Several members of reigning and non-reigning royal families were present, including Prince Seeiso and Princess Mabereng Seeiso of Lesotho, the Hereditary Prince and Princess of Oettingen-Spielberg, and various dukes, duchesses, princes, and princesses from the groom's extended family.

Friends of the Couple:

The couple's friends also made up a significant portion of the guest list. Notable friends in attendance included Victoria Aitken, Markus Anderson, Cressida Bonas, Chelsy Davy, Heather Dorak, Misan Harriman, Ben Murray, Genevieve Hillis, Tom Inskip, Lindsay Jordan, Brian Kocinski, Arthur Landon, Tiggy Pettifer, Guy Pelly, Julia Samuel, Dean and Alana Stott, Alexander and Claire van Straubenzee, and many others.

Celebrities and Notable Guests:

The wedding also attracted a host of celebrities and notable figures. Some of the famous guests included:

• Patrick J. Adams and Troian Bellisario
• David and Victoria Beckham
• James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley
• Priyanka Chopra
• George and Amal Clooney
• James Corden and Julia Carey
• Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre
• Elton John and David Furnish
• Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford
• Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian
• Oprah Winfrey
• Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley
• Delfina Blaquier
• Abigail Spencer
• Joss Stone
• Gina Torres
• Jonny Wilkinson and Shelley Jenkins
• And many more!

The wedding's venue

The wedding venue of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was St George's Chapel, located within the grounds of Windsor Castle. The historic site of worship has been the location for several royal weddings, including King Edward VII's marriage to Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 and the blessing of King Charles III's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005.

The chapel has also served as the final resting place for several monarchs, including King George VI, the Queen Mother Elizabeth, Henry VIII, Charles I, King Edward IV, King Edward VII, King George III, King William IV and King George V. More recently, Prince Harry's grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, were also laid to rest in the chapel following their deaths in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The choice of St George's Chapel as the wedding venue held special significance for the couple. In a statement, Kensington Palace Communications Secretary Jason Knauf said, "Prince Harry and Ms Markle are delighted that the beautiful grounds of Windsor Castle will be where they begin their lives together as a married couple."

The chapel's rich history and royal connections made it an ideal setting for the highly anticipated wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which captivated audiences worldwide and was estimated to have been viewed by 1.9 billion people.

The wedding's receptions

The weddings receptions

The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was a grand affair, with two receptions held to celebrate the newlyweds. The first reception, hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, took place immediately after the ceremony in St. George's Hall inside Windsor Castle. This reception was a luncheon, with 600 guests invited to attend. The menu included a variety of canapés, bowl foods, and dessert canapés, such as salmon, asparagus, panna cotta with quail egg, pea and mint risotto, and orange crème brûlée tartlets. The guests were also treated to a performance by Sir Elton John, who sang several songs, including "Tiny Dancer," which he dedicated to Meghan.

The second reception was a more intimate affair, hosted by Prince Charles in the evening for the couple's 200 closest friends and family. It was held in a large tent erected in the grounds of Frogmore House, a short drive from Windsor Castle. Harry and Meghan arrived at the reception in style, hopping into a vintage blue Jaguar E-type convertible adorned with a special license plate bearing their wedding date.

The evening reception was a fun and lively affair, with music provided by DJ Idris Elba, a close friend of the couple. Elba played a mix of tunes, including a playlist sent to him by Meghan, that had the guests dancing and grooving all night. George Clooney also joined in the festivities, acting as a bartender and serving up cocktails to the guests. The food at the reception included baked potato, pork belly, and meringue for dessert, and there were even games, with Serena Williams playing beer pong!

The couple's wedding cake was also served at the evening reception, breaking from royal tradition with its lemon sponge and elderflower flavours. Created by baker Claire Ptak, the cake incorporated "the bright flavours of spring" and was adorned with 150 fresh flowers, including peonies and roses. Harry and Meghan cut the cake using a ceremonial saber, a memorable moment captured in their Netflix docuseries, "Harry & Meghan."

The first dance of the newlyweds was another highlight of the evening, with the couple choosing the 1967 song "I'm in Love" by Wilson Pickett. Meghan, who changed into a custom halter gown with an open back by Stella McCartney for the reception, later recalled their dance as "spinning like a whirlwind" and a truly magical moment.

The wedding's cake

The wedding cake was a masterpiece created by London-based baker Claire Ptak, owner of East London bakery Violet Cakes. The cake broke from royal tradition, opting for a refreshing and unique flavour instead of the traditional fruit cake. It was a lemon and elderflower cake, inspired by the spring wedding date, with a swiss meringue buttercream frosting. The cake was decorated with 150 fresh flowers, including British peonies and roses, and displayed on gold ornate stands from the royal collection.

The cake was made with 200 Amalfi lemons, 500 organic eggs from Suffolk, butter, flour, sugar, and 10 bottles of Sandringham Elderflower Cordial, made from flowers harvested at one of Queen Elizabeth's private homes. The cordial was used to soak the cake layers, adding a floral flavour to the batter and the frosting, which balanced the sweetness of the cake.

Ptak and her team spent five days baking and icing the cake, which consisted of one two-tiered cake and two single-tiered cakes. The cakes were modest in size compared to other royal wedding cakes, standing much shorter than the eight-tiered cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton, or the nine-foot-tall cake of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

The cost of the cake was estimated to be around $70,000, with the high price tag due to the top-end ingredients, including the specialty Amalfi lemons, and the labour involved in creating the cake.

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