Divorcee to wed Harry in church
Chapel at Windsor Castle is likely venue after Welby gives blessing
DIVORCEE Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will marry in church after the Archbishop of Canterbury gave them his blessing.
The Most Reverend Justin Welby said yesterday that he was ‘so happy’ they had ‘chosen to make their vows before God’.
He had already made clear he had no objections to Miss Markle, who divorced film producer Trevor Engelson in 2013, marrying Harry in a church, and indicated he would be willing to conduct the service if asked. Kensington Palace sources confirmed last night that the couple would have a full church wedding – not a civil ceremony followed by a blessing, like fellow divorcees Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. Details will be announced today. St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle is thought be the most likely venue. The Mail understands that although she was educated at a Catholic school, Miss Markle is a Protestant and her father, Thomas, is a member of the Episcopal Church of the United States, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Her mother, Doria Ragland, is also of the Protestant faith.
The last time a senior royal wanted to marry an American divorcee, it sparked a constitutional crisis. Edward VIII – Prince Harry’s greatgreat-uncle – had to abdicate in 1936 to wed Wallis Simpson. But members of the Royal Family are no longer barred from marrying divorcees.
The Church of England agreed in 2002 that people could remarry in church, albeit under strict conditions. It insists divorcees are asked questions to ensure their previous marriage has been fully resolved and ‘past hurts’ have been healed.
Essentially, it is up to the priest, or in this case probably Dr Welby, to decide. Dr Welby has a liberal view
‘I wish them many years of love’
on remarriage. Two months ago he conducted the wedding of a divorcee at Lambeth Palace.
His predecessor Rowan Williams refused to let Charles and Camilla marry in church because of their adulterous history, and because her ex-husband was living. Instead, they had a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, followed by a blessing at St George’s Chapel.
Dr Welby’s own parents divorced when he was three and in a sermon last year he said it is ‘important to remember the golden-age mythology of stable Victorian values was just that, mythology’.
He said yesterday: ‘I am so happy that Prince Harry and Ms Markle have chosen to make their vows before God. I wish them many years of love, happiness and fulfilment and ask that God blesses them through- out their married life.’ Deciding who to invite to the wedding may prove a headache for Harry and Miss Markle, with tough decisions about who to leave off the list.
The main contender for chief bridesmaid is her best friend, Canadian stylist Jessica Mulroney, 36, whose husband Ben is the son of a former Canadian prime minister.
The two women met when Miss Markle moved to Canada to film TV show Suits. Other friends of Miss Markle likely to be invited include
tennis star Serena Williams, 36. Whether she will invite her siblings remains to be seen. Her half-sister Samantha Grant, 52, has not spoken to her in ten years, while her half-brother Thomas Markle Jnr, 50, was once arrested for allegedly holding a gun to his girlfriend’s head.
Harry’s longstanding – and sometimes controversial – friends include party-loving Tom Inskip, 30, who was described as his ‘partner in crime’ during their 20s and was with him on the night he was photographed playing pool naked in Las Vegas. Filmmaker Arthur Landon and nightclub boss Guy Pelly are likely to be invited. Harry has also forged a strong bond with Barack and Michelle Obama, through his work with servicemen. But inviting them could prove awkward if Donald Trump – who has been criticised by Meghan in the past – is left off the list.
Harry may be planning to whisk Miss Markle to his beloved Africa for their honeymoon. He revealed yesterday that he had taken the actress to the continent he holds close to his heart weeks after they met. He said they spent five days together ‘sleeping under the stars’ in Botswana, adding: ‘ We were really by ourselves which was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to know each other.’
And Harry took Miss Markle back to Botswana to celebrate her 36th birthday this year. They were reported to have stayed in romantic hideaway lodges and visited Victoria Falls in Zambia.
Biographer Penny Junor has also said that Africa is the ‘ one place he can be properly free’. She wrote in the Mail this year: ‘ He is not a prince under African skies. He is just Harry.’