Couple begin married life after a fairytale wedding
AS MARRIED life begins for Harry and Meghan after a glittering ceremony that combined the traditional with the modern, the dust settled on a day that brought together Hollywood royalty with real-life royalty.
Harry and Meghan exchanged vows in front of 600 guests at Windsor Castle on Saturday including the Queen, more than 30 royals and famous faces like US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, tennis champion Serena Williams, actor George Clooney and his barrister wife Amal Clooney, Sir Elton John, David and Victoria Beckham and actor Idris Elba.
Sir Elton, who sang at the funeral service for Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, performed at the lunchtime reception.
While millions watched at home on TV, an estimated 100,000 people turned out to see the couple as they sat in an open-top Ascot Landau for a carriage procession through Windsor.
The royal family later expressed gratitude to all those who enjoyed the wedding, saying on the official Twitter account: “Thank you to everyone who came to Windsor and those who followed from around the UK, the Commonwealth, and the world today. Congratulations once again to the newly-married Duke and Duchess of Sussex. #royalwedding.”
The celebrations culminated in a black-tie wedding dinner staged at Frogmore House and hosted by Charles for 200 of the couple’s closest friends and family.
In a touching gesture, thoughtful Harry gave his wife a poignant wedding-day gift – an emerald-cut aquamarine ring which belonged to his late, beloved mother Diana, Princess of Wales. As the newlyweds get ready to fulfil their next round of royal engagements, Meghan has already spoken of her desire to “hit the ground running” as she becomes a full-time royal.
Tomorrow the couple will join Charles and Camilla on the lawns of Buckingham Palace for a Prince of Wales 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration.
The outdoor event marks the heir to the throne’s milestone birthday – which falls in November – by recognising Charles’ patronages and military affiliations as well as others involved in charities supported by the royal.
Now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the couple will not immediately leave for their honeymoon but remain in the UK for a period before taking the traditional break.
Countries like Botswana – which offer stunning wildlife, breathtaking scenery and, importantly, privacy from prying eyes – could be top of the list.
But it is thought the couple may first spend a few days in Ireland, according to reports, making their inaugural overseas trip as a married couple to the Republic, while their honeymoon is put on hold for a period.
Botswana is a place Harry loves and knows well, and he reportedly whisked his fiancee to the southern African country in 2017 to mark her 36th birthday.
Meanwhile, one Welsh guest lifted the lid on what it was like to attend such a major event.
Veronica German, a charity director at Dolen Cymru, joined the royals and famous names like the Clooneys and the Beckhams for the huge celebration.
And among her highlights were chatting to Meghan’s former co-stars of TV drama suits and hearing Sir Elton john performing at the drinks reception following the service.
Prince Harry has been the patron of Dolen Cymru, which builds links between Wales and Lesotho, since 2007 and Veronica received the invitation through her work.
“It was like being at a family wedding really,” she said. “It was quite normal in some respects with some nice music and it was lovely singing Cwm Rhondda.
“And then we went to the reception and there was Elton John singing Your Song.”
The mother of three, who lives in Llanfrechfa, near Cwmbran, set her alarm for 4.30am to leave the house an hour later for the drive to Windsor. She was driven by her husband
Mike German, a former AM and member of the House of Lords – but she didn’t receive a plus one so he waited in the car with a picnic, while she took her seat next to chart-topping singer James Blunt and his wife.
“I couldn’t really see the Royal Family as they came in through a different door to us but we saw William and Harry and Harry looked a bit nervous,” Mrs German said.
“Meghan looked beautiful – when she arrived I just thought how much smaller she was than I thought she would be and her dress was so white with a lovely, lovely long veil. She looked like she was really enjoying herself. And the little bridesmaids were just hysterical – they kept looking all over the place.”
Following the service, the guests walked to St George’s Hall for the drinks reception. Both the groom and Prince Charles gave speeches during the reception.
“Prince Charles said it was a very emotional time for him seeing his youngest child getting married and every time Harry said ‘my wife’ everyone cheered.”
She added: “It really was brilliant.” Missing from the day was Meghan’s father Thomas Markle, who was thousands of miles away in Mexico after pulling out just days ago due to ill health. He told celebri- ty website TMZ: “My baby looks beautiful and she looks very happy. I wish I were there and I wish them all my love and all happiness.”
Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, who looked moved during the service, was there for her daughter and the Prince of Wales was asked by Meghan to step in and walk her up the aisle of the Quire to meet Harry.
Harry, 33, and 36-year-old Meghan became engaged following a whirlwind 16-month romance after going on a blind date in London.
The prince has told how “all the stars were aligned” when they met.