Pages from the Past: 2018

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is printing one page a day from each of the 200 years since the first issue of the Arkansas Gazette was printed Nov. 20, 1819. We chose these pages for reasons that range from historic significance to how legible we can make the antique ink. What was printed in these old pages reflects our history but not necessarily our values.

Prince Harry of Great Britain and his American bride, Meghan Markle, graced the front page of this May 20, 2018, Arkansas

Democrat-Gazette.

Shown on the front steps of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, the newly dubbed Duke and Duchess of Sussex kissed and waved to the crowd, then folded themselves (and Markle’s 16-foot train) into a carriage for a ride past what was estimated to be 100,000 beaming, cheering well-wishers packed into the city of Windsor.

The marriage and ceremony were described in an article inside the front section as a “trans-Atlantic union, mixing Anglican prayers and tradition, classical music and a gospel choir.”

Markle wore a dress of white silk by designer Clare Waight Keller, and her cascading veil bore “floral references” to all 53 countries in the British Commonwealth.

Wintersweet and California poppies were the bride’s choices for personally meaningful additions to the veil.

The couple worked with British floral designer Philippa Craddock to design Markle’s bouquet of sweet peas, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine, astrantia and — Harry’s late mother Diana’s favorite — forget-me-nots. Following royal wedding tradition dating to the Victorian era, the bouquet also included a sprig of myrtle, a flower signifying love, fertility and innocence, according to the Royal Family’s website.

Wedding flowers were afterward donated to brighten the rooms of patients at St. Joseph’s Hospice in London. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex’s bouquet was placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, another royal wedding tradition that began in 1923 when Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (Queen Elizabeth II’s mother) on her way down the aisle placed her wedding bouquet on the grave in honor of her brother who died in World War I.

Nontraditional aspects of the royal union included Harry’s decision to wear a wedding ring, something British royalty and aristocracy, in general, don’t do.

Markle, an actor who starred for seven years on the TV show Suits, began her walk down the aisle unaccompanied but was met halfway by Harry’s father, Prince Charles.

The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, head of the American Episcopal Church, gave the sermon, which “offered a particularly rousing U.S. touch” and has been hailed as one of the most nontraditional aspects of the day’s events. His was the now-famous line, “With this, I’ll sit you down. We gotta get y’all married,” which the Democrat-Gazette’s compilation of wire reports stated “visibly shock[ed] some members of the royal family.”

More pictures can be seen at arkansasonline.com/200/2018/.