A MODERN LOVE STORY
A dashing prince weds a Hollywood princess – and nothing will ever be quite the same for the British royals
WE KNEW it would be something rather different to the usual royal wedding – a ceremony that would reflect the fact that a healthy measure of modernity and diversity was being injected into a family who’ve long ruled over the British people.
After all, the bride was as far from the stiff-upper-lip aristocracy as can be, and her man didn’t bear the same weight of expectation as his big brother.
Nothing could’ve prepared us for the spectacle that unfolded under a dazzling blue sky in Windsor when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle.
A fiery American preacher who set the internet alight with his “love is power” sermon. A bride who did most of her walk down the aisle solo. A gospel choir giving a searing rendition of a soul classic. And a guest list that looked more like the who’s who of Hollywood than the nearest and dearest of the royal family.
There were traditional touches too, of course: choirboys and baritones delivering a goosebump-worthy performance of Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer (Princess Diana’s favourite hymn), an Anglican archbishop leading the service and enough pomp and pageantry to satisfy the most ardent royal fans.
There were also the wonderfully intimate moments between the bride and groom. The couple’s love for each other, evident in their hand-holding and lingering gazes, was plain to see throughout the ceremony.
But it was Meghan – at 36 three years older than the groom – who was mainly in control and tried to put a tense Harry at ease.
Lithe in a simple, elegant pearl-coloured Givenchy gown with train, her face hidden by a veil trailing five metres, she emerged from her chauffeured vintage Rolls-Royce Phantom IV and
proceeded to make her way up St George’s Chapel’s West Steps on her own, with only her clutch of bridesmaids and pageboys, the little lads on hand to help hold her veil.
The move was a break from tradition and it was Meghan’s choice to walk alone down most of the aisle after her father, Thomas Markle, was unable to attend following several days of high drama that ended with him having heart surgery.
Harry’s father, Prince Charles, was on hand at the quire to meet her for the final stretch to the altar. While it was widely expected her mother, Doria Ragland, would step in, Meghan and Harry decided they would ask the Prince of Wales instead, who was said to be “very pleased”. Meghan in turn was “delighted” that he accepted and her mom also gave him her blessing.
MEGHAN was “the picture of calm” throughout the ceremony while Harry was “patently nervous”, says Judi James, a leading body language expert. “She was amazing. As she walked up the aisle by herself, I looked for every smallest sign of suppressed anxiety and nervousness – there was absolutely nothing,” she says.
“I think she probably saw it as her role to help Harry through it rather than the other way around. She sat with her hand over his for quite a bit of the service as though she was reassuring him. To me, she was the strength when it came to the day and the actual performance.”
Meghan was also the undisputed star of the show. From the moment the gleaming Rolls-Royce pulled up bearing the breathtakingly beautiful bride, all eyes were on her – and for Harry, it was almost too much and he was seen wiping away a tear.
By comparison Meghan seemed relaxed after spending her last night as a single woman with her mother at Windsor’s five-star Cliveden House hotel. She even seemed “giggly at times”, the Independent’s Sean O’ Grady says.
“In fact, this was probably the giggliest royal wedding ever.”
But it was the diversity she brought to the occasion the world welcomed most. When Harry married Meghan, he made history.
He not only gave Britain its first royal member of colour, he also helped cast the royal family in a new light – one that embraces modernity and is eager to set aside the stuffy rules of the past.
“Much has been written about Meghan being a strong and independent woman but plainly Harry knows what kind of national institution he wishes to be a part of as well,” O’Grady says. “The House of Windsor is evolving before our eyes.”
It was a gloriously multicultural, multiracial, multinational occasion – a showcase on a global stage that proved the
once stuffy, tradition-before-all-else royal family was beginning to look and sound a little more like the nation they preside over.
Harry is fortunate in many ways: as sixth in line to the throne he’s highly unlikely ever to wear the crown so he was allowed a lot more freedom at his wedding than his brother, Prince William.
Second-in-line William and Kate wed in Westminster Abbey with 2 000 guests and many state dignitaries in attendance. Harry and Meghan were permitted to have their nuptials in the more intimate chapel of Windsor Castle with “only” 600 attendees.
And apart from a selection of senior royals and one former prime minister ( John Major) the rest of the guests were friends – and celebrities.
The 150 000-strong crowd lining the Long Walk leading up to the castle, the 2 000 selected people in the grounds outside the chapel and the hundreds of millions glued to their TV sets could be forgiven for thinking they were watching the red carpet arrivals at the Oscars.
Actors Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Carey Mulligan, Priyanka Chopra and George Clooney and his lawyer wife, Amal, along with singers Joss Stone, Elton John and James Blunt, former soccer star David Beckham and his designer wife, Victoria, and talk-show host Oprah Winfrey rubbed shoulders with Meghan’s Suits co-stars.
Serena Williams and husband Alexis Ohanian had one of the best seats in the house in the front of the church quire – a few rows from the queen.
They were in the pound seats when Harry laid eyes on his bride for the first time. His reaction was everything millions of onlookers wanted it to be – and more! Moments earlier he’d been biting his lip anxiously as he waited at the altar with his
brother and best man, Prince William. But when Meghan joined him, his face lit up.
After thanking his father for walking her down the aisle he told her, “You look amazing.” And then, “I missed you.”
But what really melted hearts was the look of pure love that passed between them when Harry carefully lifted her veil. “Hi,” he whispered, and the world breathed a collective sigh.
The once bad-boy party prince had well and truly lost his heart to a Hollywood princess.
“Harry and Meghan have definitely made a royal wedding look and feel different,” historian Anna Whitelock said.
“It was more than any of us was expecting,” fellow historian Sarah Gristwood added.
“It showed how this wedding is helping to take the royal family forward into the 21st century.”
As one commentator put it, it was a golden day – bathed in soft sunlight and the gilded beginning of a new era.
WHAT better way to wave to an adoring public than from an opentopped horsedrawn carriage on a sun-drenched spring day? The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex rode in the queen’s historic Ascot landau on their procession around Windsor before returning to the castle.
Originally built in 1883 for Queen Victoria, the carriage is one of five kept at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and is used only on big occasions.
“The fair-weather option – it was selected because it’s a wonderfully bright, small, lovely carriage,” Colonel Toby Browne, the UK’s Crown Equerry, explains. “It’s very easy for people to see. The passengers can sit up quite high so there’s lots of visibility for everybody.”
The Windsor Grey horses had the honour of drawing the carriage. These animals play an important role in the ceremonial life of the British royal family and have been drawing carriages for royal members since Queen Victoria’s reign.
Milford Haven, Storm, Plymouth and Tyrone were the four horses used in front while Landau, Sir Basil and Londonderry were the outriders.
“We’ve always had two outriders and traditionally they acted to clear the path and herald the arrival of the principal in their carriage,” Browne says.
In front and behind the carriage were the Household Cavalry travelling escorts.
Philip Barnard-Brown, the senior
coachman to the queen who rode Milford Haven, describes him as a special horse. “He normally has a lead position because he’s a quiet horse and you’ll naturally try to put your quietest horses in the lead. Because it’s a busy and noisy day we always choose our safest, most reliable horses. We tend to go for the older horses that have done it before because we know they’re reliable.”
State cars from the Royal Mews, which include Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and Daimlers, also transported members of the royal family on the day.
THE DRESS
According to tradition, a royal bride must wear white even if she’s been married before (as Meghan has).
Meghan chose a simple yet regal Givenchy gown designed by Clare Waight Keller (48), who last year became the first female artistic director of the French fashion house.
The gown with train, made from pure white silk, boasted a 5-m silk-tulle veil that featured a trim of handembroidered flowers from 53 Commonwealth countries (a protea represented South Africa).
Meghan apparently expressed a desire to have the countries of the Commonwealth with her on her journey through the ceremony.
She also added her own personal favourites – wintersweet, which grows in the grounds of Kensington Palace, and the Californian poppy, the state flower of California where she was born.
Meghan chose Clare because she was said to be impressed by her “timeless and elegant aesthetic, impeccable tailoring and relaxed demeanour”.
The designer did extensive research at fabric mills throughout Europe to develop an exclusive double-bonded silk “perfect for the round sculptural look required”, the palace says.
The veil also included “crops of wheat delicately embroidered and blended into the flora, to symbolise love and charity”.
The silk and organza wedding veil took hundreds of hours of sewing, and workers had to wash their hands every 30 minutes to keep the tulle and threads pristine.
The dress is estimated to have cost around £200 000 (R3,4 million), which was paid for by the royal family.
Meghan paired the dress with a set of Givenchy heels made of silk duchess satin.
THE TIARA
The bride wore a tiara loaned to her by the queen. The tiara is named the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau, after the queen’s grandmother Queen Mary. It was made in 1931 and features a centre brooch of 10 diamonds dating back to 1893 and a band of 11 sections of diamonds and platinum. Meghan kept the rest of her accessories simple, opting for simple diamond stud earrings by French jeweller Cartier, as well as one simple diamond and gold bracelet, also by Cartier.
THE RINGS
As per royal tradition Meghan’s wedding ring was fashioned from a piece of Welsh gold, gifted to her by the queen.
Welsh gold – considered more valuable than other types of gold – has been included in the wedding bands of the royals for decades.
While few men in the monarchy including his brother, William, choose to wear wedding bands, Harry has opted to wear one and is sporting a platinum band with a textured finish.
“There’s no real reason most royal men don’t wear rings,” an insider says. “It’s just a matter of preference.”
Both Meghan and Harry’s rings were made by Cleave and Company – the official royal jewellers based at Buckingham Palace. They also designed Meghan’s engagement ring, which features a diamond from Botswana where the couple holidayed early in their courtship, and two others from Princess Diana’s collection.
THE FLOWERS
Philippa Craddock, the preferred florist for Kensington Palace, was tasked with doing the floral arrangements.
The London-based florist, who counts fashion houses Alexander McQueen and Christian Dior among her clients, said she was honoured to be chosen. She described working with Meghan and Harry as “an absolute pleasure”. “The process was highly collaborative, free-flowing, creative and fun,” she said.
“The final designs will represent them as a couple, which I always aim to achieve in my work, with local sourcing, seasonality and sustainability being at the forefront.”
According to the Palace, the floral displays used foliage that’s in season and naturally blooming in May with most of it taken from the gardens and parkland of the Crown Estate and Windsor Great Park.
After the wedding, the flowers were given to charitable organisations.
The arrangements featured white garden roses, foxgloves and peonies – a favourite of Meghan, who’s an ardent flower fan – as well as branches of beech,
THE WEDDING BOUQUET
Philippa also designed the bouquet with a little help from the groom. According to Kensington Palace, “Harry handpicked several flowers from their private garden at Kensington Palace to add to the bouquet.”
The couple also requested the inclusion of forget-me-nots, Princess Diana’s favourite flower.
The bouquet, smaller than those of previous royal brides, also included scented sweet pea, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine and astrantia, as well as sprigs of myrtle all bound with a naturally dyed, raw silk ribbon.
Myrtle is a symbol of love, with Queen Victoria first planting myrtle in her garden at Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight in 1845.
The sprigs in Meghan’s bouquet are from a plant grown from the same myrtle used in Queen Elizabeth’s wedding bouquet in 1947.
THE CAKE
The couple broke with royal tradition by opting for an organic lemon and elderflower creation instead of the traditional fruitcake. The cake, created by Claire Ptak, owner of the trendy London-based Violet Baker, was presented in three individual tiers on gold cake stands of varying sizes.
The ingredients included 200 Amalfi lemons, 500 organic eggs from Suffolk and 10 bottles of syrup made from elderflowers grown at the queen’s Norfolk estate, Sandringham House. Forgoing the traditional iced finish, the couple opted for a white buttercream decoration made with elderflower Swiss meringue.
It was then adorned with a mix of 150 fresh flowers including Meghan’s favourite peonies and roses. “The texture is really lovely and the flavour is quintessentially spring and British,” Ptak said in a video released by Kensington Palace.
She and her team of six bakers spent five days baking and icing each tier of the cake in Buckingham Palace. Each tier was then transported individually from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle and assembled on the day. The flowers were added at the last moment so they’d be fresh.
Meghan had previously interviewed the US-born pastry chef and food writer for her now defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig.
“I can’t tell you how delighted I am to be chosen to make Prince Harry and Ms Markle’s wedding cake,” Claire said in the run-up to the wedding.
“Knowing that they really share the same values as I do about food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and, most importantly, flavour, makes this the most exciting event to be a part of.”
Confectionary experts praised the cake with the UK’s leading wedding planning website, Bridebook.co.uk, describing it as “a perfect reflection of the current trend in wedding cakes today”.
THE FOOD
The 600 guests invited to the chapel made their way to St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle for a feast fit for a king hosted by the Queen.
A variety of canapés was served, including Scottish langoustines wrapped in smoked salmon with citrus crème fraiche, grilled English asparagus wrapped in Cumbrian ham, garden pea panna cotta with quail eggs and lemon verbena, tomato and basil tartare with balsamic pearls, poached free-range chicken with lightly spiced yoghurt and roasted apricots and a croquette of confit Windsor lamb, roasted vegetables and shallot jam.
“Bowl food” – canapés served in miniature bowls – was also on offer and included fricassee of free-range chicken with morel mushrooms and young leeks, pea and mint risotto with pea shoots, truffle oil and parmesan crisps and 10hour slow-roasted Windsor pork belly with apple compote and crackling.
Three dessert canapés followed – champagne and pistachio macaroons, orange crème brûlée tartlets and miniature rhubarb crumble tartlets.
Around 7 500 servings of food were prepared for the luncheon, a feast led by royal chef Mark Flanagan and assisted by a team of 25.
Guests quaffed Pol Roger Brut Réserve champagne and a selection of wine and soft drinks. A special drink was even concocted for the big day: an apple and elderflower mocktail, made with the same elderflower syrup used in the wedding cake.
At the evening reception at Frogmore House – hosted by Prince Charles – guests were treated to an organic sitdown meal, washed down by beverages from a “drinks of the world”-themed bar. On offer was a ginger and rum cocktail, dubbed When Harry Met Meghan, a cheeky reference to Harry’s red hair.
“Plenty of stodge”, as one insider puts it, was also on offer throughout the night to help soak up the booze. “Dirty burgers” – the name given to messy burgers you’d buy at 2am after a big night out – were brought out around midnight, along with candyfloss, for those craving a sweet nibble.
MOTHER OF THE BRIDE
As the only member of Meghan’s family to attend the wedding, all eyes were on the 62-year-old yoga teacher and social worker, whom Meghan once described as a “free spirit”.
As she thoughtfully sat in the church pew, legs folded with crossed-hands neatly rested in her lap, Doria Ragland was the epitome of a loving mother beaming with pride.
In the face of seemingly never-ending familial woes, that made tabloid headlines just days before the wedding, Doria kept her composure and exuded tranquillity and poise on the big day.
Her mint-green dress, embroidered with white floral detail by Oscar de la Renta and teamed with a matching cocktail hat was a fashion hit.
But it’s her choice of colour that really had critics talking.
“Green is the colour of growth and rebirth,” says June Mc-Leod, a colour consultant and author of Color Psychology Today.
“White symbolises wholeness and unity – fitting for a wedding. White encourages one to be more open-minded and forgiving, and to accept new reality with greater clarity.”
Doria sat in the second row of pews right across from Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip.
She appeared emotional during the ceremony and was seen wiping away tears on more than one occasion, her eyes fixed on her beautiful daughter.
Social media users commended Doria
‘Kudos to #DoriaRagland for sitting there alone’
for attending and sitting alone. “Beautifully dressed Doria sitting alone in such a beautiful historical moment shows strength and grace that must be an inspiration to Meghan,” one wrote. “This is the reality of many single parents.” “Kudos to #DoriaRagland for sitting there alone,” another said. “It can’t be easy with all that pressure and scrutiny.” Still, like her daughter, she seemed to take it all in her stride. She was warmly welcomed by the royal family when she arrived in England three days before the wedding and met the Queen at a tea party the day before the ceremony. A few days earlier she had tea with Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, with whom she apparently got on very well. Charles was seen escorting both Doria and Camilla as he exited the church after the ceremony. Viewers were also impressed that Doria rocked probably the coolest accessory ever seen at a royal wedding – a diamond nose stud!