So will YOU get an invite to wedding of the year?
Meghan and Harry ask 2,640 ‘ordinary folk’ to share big day
THEY had promised that it would be a ‘people’s wedding’. And Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem determined to deliver.
They are inviting 2,640 members of the public into the grounds of Windsor Castle to share in their special day on May 19.
The crowd will gather in the castle’s Lower Ward, outside St George’s Chapel where the marriage will take place, and will have ringside seats as the couple and their guests arrive.
They will also be the first to see them start their carriage procession through Windsor after the ceremony as man and wife.
Kensington Palace yesterday announced that 1,200 would be young leaders and community stalwarts from ‘every corner of the United Kingdom’. They will be chosen by the nine regional Lord Lieutenants of the UK.
A spokesman said: ‘Ultimately it’s up for the respective Lord Lieutenants to nominate who they wish to come but there is some basic guidance for them and that is to choose people who have served in their communities, particularly inspirational young people.’ There will also be 200 people chosen from a range of charities and organisations with which Harry, 33, and Miss Markle, 36, have a close association. One of the charities invited is WellChild, a national organisation for children with serious and terminal health needs that Harry has supported as patron since 2007.
Two schools with strong affiliations with the Windsor Castle community will also be able to choose 100 pupils to attend on the big day.
The Royal School in the heart of Windsor Great Park is a Church of England school with only 100 pupils, while St George’s School is a £5,000-a-term private school which boasts Harry’s cousin Princess Beatrice as an alumni.
The crowd will also include 610 members of staff from Windsor Castle and St George’s Chapel, as well as many of those who live within the castle precincts.
Finally there will be 530 members of the individual Royal Households – Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace – as well as the Crown Estate.
Kensington Palace said the couple ‘want their wedding day to be shaped so as to allow members of the public to feel part of the celebrations too’.
The Daily Mail understands that invitations will formally go out next week.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will marry the couple, while the Right Rev David Conner, Dean of Windsor, will conduct the service. Afterwards a reception will be held in St George’s Hall.