Happily ever after
HARRY, MARKLE EXCHANGE VOWS IN EMOTIONAL SERVICE THAT BROUGHT US TV STAR INTO HEART OF MONARCHY
Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle ride a horse-drawn carriage after their wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. To kick off the festivities, Queen Elizabeth II honoured her red-headed, 33-year-old grandson with a new title: the Duke of Sussex, making Markle the Duchess of Sussex.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot yesterday in a star-studded Windsor Castle ceremony watched the world over, that married British tradition and US razzmatazz.
The new Duke and Duchess of Sussex exchanged vows at the altar in St George’s Chapel in an emotional service, sealed with a kiss, that brought the biracial US TV star into the heart of the British monarchy.
As more than 100,000 people packed the sun-baked Windsor streets, Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family were joined in the chapel by stars including Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, George Clooney and David Beckham.
The couple held hands throughout and exchanged vows in a traditional Church of England wedding featuring some unusual twists.
Firebrand US pastor Michael Curry delivered a full-throttle address invoking slaves and the power of love, and a gospel choir sang Stand By Me.
With the words “I will”, 33-yearold Harry, and US former actress Meghan, 36, declared they would love, comfort, honour and protect each other. Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, looked visibly moved.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Church of England’s spiritual leader, declared them husband and wife. With her father recovering from a heart operation in Mexico, Markle walked down the aisle on her own, before being accompanied to the altar by Harry’s father Prince Charles.
Thomas Markle followed his daughter’s wedding on TV and voiced regret he was unable to attend, US celebrity news website TMZ reported.
“My baby looks beautiful and she looks very happy. I wish I were there,” he was quoted as saying.
Markle’s flowing white silk dress was designed by Clare Waight Keller at the French fashion house Givenchy. It contained floral designs from her native California and all 53 Commonwealth countries. Her bouquet included flowers hand-picked by Harry from the gardens of their Kensington Palace home. Markle wore queen Mary’s 1932 diamond bandeau tiara.
Harry wore the blue doeskin frockcoat uniform of a major in the Blues and Royals, the regiment he served with in Afghanistan during his 10 years in the British army.