HarryandMeghan’sweddingto takeplaceondayofFACupFinal

PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle will marry on May 19 next year, Kensington Palace has confirmed.

The pair, whose engagement was confirmed last month, are tying the knot at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

American actress Ms Markle is set to appear at church with the Windsors at Sandringham on Christmas Day.

The wedding falls on the day of the 2018 FA Cup Final. As president of the Football Association, Harry’s older brother the Duke of Cambridge usually attends the high-profile match and presents the trophy. But this year William, who is tipped to be Harry’s best man, looks likely to be otherwise engaged with wedding duties.

Harry and Ms Markle have gone against tradition by choosing a Saturday. Royal weddings usually take place on a weekday. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wed on a Friday and the Queen on a Thursday. But Harry and his fiancee’s choice avoids the issue of whether the royal celebration should be a bank holiday.

The May wedding will also have been picked to give Kate time to recover after the birth of her third child, which is due in April.

Palace aides have already said that the prince and Ms Markle’s wedding will “reflect their characters and personalities” and be a moment of “fun and joy”.

Ms Markle, who is to become a British citizen, is being both baptised and confirmed ahead of the religious ceremony.

The royal family are paying for the wedding, including the church service, the music, the flowers and the reception. But the security costs for the high-profile event are falling to the taxpayer.

The Queen will be there, as will the rest of the royal family, along with Ms Markle’s parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland. Prince George and Princess Charlotte look set to take on the roles of pageboy and bridesmaid.

Meanwhile, Justin Welby has said the wedding is “no tick-box exercise” and their love provides a “model” for the rest of the nation.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “I am very, very sure after conversations that this is no tick-box exercise, ‘we ought to get married in a church’. It’s always a beautiful moment — every wedding is profoundly beautiful.”

He refused to confirm whether he would be conducting the ceremony, saying “I think that’s up to them”, but revealed he was looking forward to the big event.

Harry and Megan officially announcing their engagement last month