Royal wedding set for May
LONDON — Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will have a May wedding at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel, royal officials announced Tuesday.
Windsor Castle, west of London, is one of Queen Elizabeth’s main residences. The 15th-century chapel is as historic but more intimate than Westminster Abbey, where Harry’s older brother, William, married Kate Middleton in 2011.
Harry’s communications secretary, Jason Knauf, said Windsor “is a very special place for Prince Harry,” and he and Markle have regularly spent time there since they began dating about a year and a half ago.
He said the wedding “will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters of the bride and groom.” The Royal Family will foot the bill.
Harry, 33, and 36-yearold American actress Markle announced their engagement on Monday. Harry’s Kensington Palace office said Markle plans to apply for British citizenship, and will be baptized in the Church of England before she marries Harry, the fifth in line to the throne.
The couple will carry out their first official engagement on Friday, visiting a youth charity and a World Aids Day event in Nottingham, central England. For Markle, it will be a first taste of life as a working royal.
Markle’s future sister-in-law the Duchess of Cambridge, who is married to Prince William, said she was “absolutely thrilled.”
“It’s such exciting news,” Kate said as she visited a museum in London. “It’s a really happy time for any couple and we wish them all the best and hope they enjoy this happy moment.”
Prince Charles’ wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said she was “delighted” her stepson was marrying the U.S. actress.
“America’s loss is our gain,” she said.
Markle’s divorced status would once have barred her from marrying the prince in church.
In the couple’s first joint interview Monday, 33-year-old Harry said Markle immediately fit in with his family. He said when she visited Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen, “the corgis took to her straight away.”