Thousands of years of UK regal matrimonial history

WHEN Meghan Markle walks down the aisle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor to marry Prince Harry today, she will be following in the footsteps trod by England’s royals for nearly a thousand years.

The marriage between the American actress and Queen Elizabeth’s grandson at Windsor Castle takes place at the oldest and largest inhabited fortress in the world.

Dripping with historical connections to the royals, the chapel at the castle con- tains the remains of 10 British monarchs, including the queen’s father George VI, her mother, and her sister Princess Margaret.

Harry was baptised there in December 1984 while his father, heir- to- the- throne Prince Charles, received a blessing after his marriage to second wife, Camilla, in 2005.

“As she ( Markle) walks down from the altar, she will walk over the tomb of Henry VIII and Charles I and (Henry VIII’s third wife) Jane Seymour,” Hugo Vickers said.

The chapel was commis- sioned by Edward IV in 1475 and completed 53 years later in the reign of Henry VIII. Throughout the building, its royal links are clear.

It is also the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter, the oldest chivalric order still in existence which dates back to 1348 and the reign of Edward III, whose select group of members have included the likes of Britain’s World War II leader Winston Churchill.

“It’s a very beautiful place, it’s one of the finest examples of perpendicular architecture you will ever see,” Vickers said.

The castle itself, on a huge site occupying the equivalent of 268 tennis courts, dominates Windsor and is just a short distance from the exclusive Eton College where Harry and his elder brother William attended school.

It has been a royal residence since 1066 when William the Conqueror, the Norman king who invaded England and from whom all subsequent monarchs trace their lineage, built a castle. Forty monarchs since then have called it home.

In latter years, it has been a residence rather than a fort- ress, but remains close to the hearts of royals. Elizabeth’s great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who ruled for 64 years, proposed to her husband Albert at the castle and they spent their honeymoon there.

The current 92- year- old queen and her husband still spend most of her weekends there.

Inside its thick walls, where the couple will hold their wedding reception, are grand state rooms where portraits of past monarchs and famous British war leaders adorn the walls along with large displays of weaponry and armour.

Part of the castle was badly damaged by fire on November 20, 1992, the queen’s wedding anniversary. It was part of a annus horribilis (horrible year) for the 92-year-old monarch, which saw the breakdown of three of her four children’s marriages and growing disapproval of what detractors called a royal soap opera.

After the death of Princess Diana in 1997, the castle was restored to much of its former glory. The reception today will take place in the castle’s huge St George’s Hall. – Reuters