Meghan ‘to be baptised an Anglican this month’
MEGHAN Markle will be baptised and confirmed as an Anglican by the Archbishop of Canterbury ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry.
The 36-year-old divorcee will be welcomed into the church in a private service at Kensington Palace this month, it has been reported.
Ms Markle’s father, Thomas, who has yet to meet his future son-in-law, and her mother, Doria Ragland, are expected to attend the service in the palace’s 19thcentury chapel. The American actress is said to have asked the archbishop, Justin Welby, to conduct the service ‘as she has formed a close bond with him’, according to the Sunday Times.
The archbishop will marry Ms Markle and Prince Harry, 33, on May 19 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Ms Markle, who is to become a British citizen, was raised a Protestant and went to a Catholic school. She married Trevor Engelson, who is Jewish, in 2011 but she did not take his faith. Her mother, a social worker and yoga teacher, is a Protestant while her father, a Hollywood lighting director, is Episcopalian, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Ms Markle’s decision to become an Anglican was announced by Kensington Palace when details of her engagement to the prince were made public in November. The decision was seen as a nod to Queen Elizabeth’s strong faith and commitment to traditions in her role as head of the Church of England.
Officials said Meghan had already begun the process of committing herself to the church. A person wishing to marry in a church is not required to be baptised or confirmed but will usually have a link to that church in some way.
The preparations mirror those of the Kate Middleton, who was confirmed a month before marrying William.