On Saturday 19th May 2018, Prince Henry of Wales, known as Prince Harry, married Ms Rachel Meghan Markle, known as Meghan. Upon their marriage, the Queen gave them the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The Groom & Best Man
The Groom was accompanied by his brother, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, to the church. Prince William was best man, and the brothers had stayed over the night before at nearby Cowarth Park Hotel. Having surprised visitors with an impromptu walkabout the evening before (similar to what the pair did along the mall on the eve of Prince William’s wedding back in 2011), they appeared in good spirits, although Harry was perhaps a little nervous. Both wore the Frock Coat of the Household Cavalry Blues and Royals, and are in the rank of Major. The choice of this uniform is significant because it is what Harry served with during his active duty. Both he and William hold far more senior positions in other regiments, but this is the one that is close to Harry’s heart, one sign of many that this wedding was personal for the bride and groom, not a state occasion. It is a nod to Prince Harry’s fellow Blues and Royals service men, and recognition of the role they have played in his life, as well as a reminder to all of us that Harry did see active service, and is not simply all uniform and no action.
Royal Guests
The Queen was the last to arrive, as is befitting her role! Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, despite his hip replacement 6 weeks ago, the Queen and Duke took their cushioned seats along with other members of the royal family. This was the Duke’s second public appearance since his operation, the first being the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Other members of the Royal Family included the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Princess Royal and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Peter and Autumn Philips, Mike and Zara Tindall (who was 8 months pregnant), the Duke of York, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, Viscount Severn, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Earl and Countess of Snowdon, Viscount Linley, Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto, Arthur Chatto, and Samuel Chatto. The Duchess of York was also present, although she arrived and sat separately from her daughters and ex-husband. The Duchess was not invited to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding 7 years ago. The Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George (pageboy) and Princess Charlotte (bridesmaid) arrived with the other pageboys and bridesmaids and their mothers. The Duchess of Cambridge then joined the rest of the royals in the Quire.
The Bride, her dress & the flowers
Meghan Markle had stayed the night before her wedding with her mother, Ms Doria Ragland, at Cliveden House hotel. They left together for the 30 minute drive to St George’s Chapel.
The father of the bride, Mr Thomas Markle, was unable to attend the wedding due to ill health. I expected Meghan’s mum to walk her down the aisle, but Kensington Palace released a statement a few days before the wedding stating that Prince Charles, her future father-in-law, would in fact be walking her down the aisle. Meghan’s dress was designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy. The designer is the first female artistic director of the fashion house. According to Kensington Palace, the bride chose to work with her because of her,"timeless and elegant aesthetic, impeccable tailoring, and relaxed demeanour.” The dress featured a boat neck and ¾ length sleeves, and was made from double-bonded silk cady, with a triple layer silk organza underskirt. It had a train, and was worn with a 5 metre long veil that had a flower from each of the 53 countries of the commonwealth embroidered on it. I am glad the bride chose this design, as it shows her awareness of her new job role, and will help raise the profile of the commonwealth. The veil design also included Wintersweet from Kensington Palace, where the couple will live, and the California Poppy, from Meghan’s hometown.Those hand embroidering the veil washed their hands every 30 minutes to ensure the veil maintained its pristine whiteness. The tiara the bride wore was leant to her by the Queen; the Queen normally lends a tiara to royal brides. It was Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau tiara, named after the wife of King George V (the Queen’s grandfather). The centre of the bandeau is a broach made up of 10 diamonds, originally given to Queen Mary on her marriage in 1893, and later incorporated into the bandeau in 1932. The bandeau includes diamond and platinum in 11 sections, and the bride also wore a bracelet and earrings by Cartier. Quite what Queen Mary, who is renowned for her sternness and sense of duty, would have made of this royal wedding I am not sure! But she would be pleased that the royal family are sustaining the monarchy in the 21st Century. The bride’s bouquet contained the traditional sprig of myrtle from the bush growing at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, the beloved home of Queen Victoria. The bush has grown from the myrtle that Queen Victoria planted there after it featured in her wedding bouquet, and royal brides have continued to feature it in theirs ever since. The late Princess of Wales’ favourite flower, forget-me-nots, are also in the bouquet. The wedding florist was Philippa Craddock, and she also created huge floral displays inside and outside the chapel, using local and seasonal flowers and foliage, in keeping with the environmentally-conscious couple’s requests. The flowers have since been made into bouquets and sent to residents in a London hospice; the couple are sharing their wedding with the nation, and ensuring things are not wasted. The actual bride’s bouquet has now been placed on the tmb of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey, as is tradition since the late Queen Mother placed her bouquet on the grave.
The Bridal Party & Procession
Meghan walked part of the way down the aisle by herself, accompanied by her 4 pageboys and 6 bridesmaids. Her pageboys were Prince George (the groom’s nephew), Jasper Dyer (the groom’s godson), and twin brothers Brian and John Mulroney (sons of the bride’s best friend). The bridesmaids were Princess Charlotte (the groom’s niece), Ivy Mulroney (daughter of the bride’s best friend), Florence Van-Cutsem (the groom’s goddaughter), Zalie Warren (the groom’s goddaughter), and sisters Remi and Rylan Litt (the bride’s goddaughters). Brian and John Mulroney held the long veil of the bride as she walked down the aisle. Part way down the aisle, as she entered the quire, the bride was joined by the Prince of Wales who escorted her the rest of the way, although he didn’t give her away formally.
The Ceremony
The ceremony included 2 hymns, one of which was sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and at the wedding of the Cambridge’s. There were pieces performed by the St George’s chapel choir, and a gospel choir called The Kingdom Choir. The service was led by the Dean of Windsor, David Connery, and the actual marriage vows were conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The address was given by the head of the Episcopal church, Bishop Michael Curry; he was asked to contribute to the service after he was recommended to the couple by Justin Welby. The bible passage from the Song of Solomon was read by Lady Jane Fellowes, the late Princess of Wales’ sister. This was one way Harry ensured the memory of his mother was included in the wedding. The couple both gave and received rings. The bride’s was yellow gold, and came from the piece of welsh yellow gold that bridal wedding rings traditionally come from in the royal family. The groom was the first male member of the royal family to wear a wedding ring; his was engraved platinum. During the signing of the register, the 19 year old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason performed, accompanied by a group of musicians. The Prince of Wales, very courteously, I thought, escorted Ms Ragland to a private area of the chapel, as they signed the register with the couple.
The couple emerged and the national anthem played. It was noted that Harry, as is customary, bowed from the neck up to the Queen, but I cannot be sure that the bride performed a curtsey, as I was expecting. The couple, and their immediate families, walked back up the aisle and out onto the steps of St George’s chapel. They had their first kiss, before taking their seats in the Ascot Landau coach, drawn by Windsor Grey’s.
Carriage Procession & Afternoon Reception
The couple, escorted by the Household Cavalry, went on a carriage procession around the town of Windsor, to greet the crowds. I was surprised none of the other royals accompanied them in the procession, but then this was the bride and groom’s big day. The couple finished up at the long walk, leading to the castle. There they had their official wedding photographs, taken by the same photographer as took their official engagement photographs. The 600 guests at the chapel attended an afternoon reception at the castle, hosted by the Queen. It is rumoured Elton John played a set of his songs, and both Prince Charles and the groom gave speeches. The wedding cake was created by Hackney baker Claire Ptak. It was not the traditional fruit cake, but lemon and elderflower, made using elderflower cordial from the elderflower trees on the Sandringham estate owned by the Queen in Norfolk, another environmentally friendly choice. The cake was decorated with fresh flowers, including Meghan’s favourite Peony’s, and was served to guests during the reception.
Evening Reception
Later on, at around 7:00, the new Duke and Duchess emerged from the castle and travelled to Frogmore for their evening reception, hosted by Prince Charles, for 200 guests. The Duke drove them in a blue Jaguar E-type sports car, that is electrically powered, reflecting the couple’s interest in being environmentally friendly. The number plate featured their wedding date, 190518. The Duchess wore her second wedding dress, an elegant lily white halterneck gown, designed by Stella McCartney. It featured a train that the Duke carefully helped the Duchess pack into the car. Her hair was in an updo like earlier, but was slightly different. The Duke wore a tuxedo and black bow tie. The evening reception included a 3 course dinner, dancing, and fireworks. Reportedly, the couple’s first dance was to Whitney Houston’s, ‘I wanna dance with somebody.’ James Corden, a guest at the wedding, compiered the evening. The bride made a speech, breaking with tradition, but it was to be expected, as the bride identifies as a feminist. The best man, Prince William, also made a speech, accompanied by the groom’s good friend Charles van Straubenzee. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall left early to let the younger royals and their guests let their hair down. The couple left in a car that Prince William tied a ladder too, in reference to when Harry hurt his arm falling from a ladder when fixing a lightbulb for Meghan. Actor Idris Elba is said to have had a go as DJ during the evening.
What the Royal Wedding reveals about the Couple
As with any wedding, the little details reveal something of the couple’s ethos, values, heritage, personalities, and what is important to them. The royal wedding featured a lot of carefully thought out details.
Remembering Diana, Princess of Wales
Lady Jane Fellowes, the late Princess’ sister, did the reading
Forget-me-not’s, a favourite flower of the late Princess, in the wedding bouquet
Guide me, O Thou Great Redeemer was sung, as it was at the Princess’ funeral
The new Duchess wore the late Princess’ aquamarine ring to the evening reception
Diamond’s from the late Princess’ collection feature in the engagement ring
Environmentally Friendly Choices
Local flowers and foliage in the floral displays and bouquets; the flowers were later re-made into bouquets and given to residents of a London Hospice to reduce wastage
Elderflowers from the Queen’s Sandringham estate used to make the elderflower cordial that featured in the wedding cake
The couple drove to their evening reception in an electrically powered car
Including the People of the Nation & Charities
The wedding flowers from the displays inside and outside the chapel were re-made into bouquets and given to residents of a London Hospice
Over 1000 representatives from charities and schools were invited into the Castle grounds to get a close up view of the couple as they arrived and left the chapel; these guests were given goody bags to commemorate the event
The couple went on a carriage procession around the streets of Windsor after the ceremony to greet the crowds
The Couple asked for donations to charity instead of wedding presents
Modern Touches
Prince Harry wore a wedding ring
The couple chose a lemon and elderflower wedding cake over the traditional fruit cake
The afternoon reception featured a stand up affair of canapes and bowl food, instead of the traditional sit down affair
The Bride’s identification with Feminism
The Bride walked part way down the aisle unaccompanied, and was not given away
The Bride gave a speech at the evening reception
The Bride’s wedding dress was designed by the first female artistic director of Givenchy
The Bride’s African-American Heritage
The African-American head of the Episcopal church gave the address
A gospel choir sang during the service
The Commonwealth
The Bride’s veil was embroidered with flowers that represent each of the 53 countries in the commonwealth
My Reflections:
Tradition and Modernism
The build up to the wedding was filled with excitement and expectation about how this young, modern couple would choose to conduct their wedding, whilst respecting the tradition that inevitably surrounds these events. I believe they had a good balance of tradition and modern touches. Tradition is important because it emphasises the history and heritage of Royalty and the UK. It reminds us of the stability that the royal family provides. Traditions develop because they are tried and tested, and encour respect. Tradition is an anchor, a hope, a reassurance. This can be seen in the traditional white dress that Meghan chose, and the uniforms of the Groom and his Best Man, Prince William, and the uniforms of the military and clergy involved on the day. Tradition can also be seen in the setting of St George’s chapel, where the Knights of the Garter ceremony is held every April. The hymn choices, choral music, and order of service were all based on traditional royal weddings of the past. However, the couple chose to embrace more modern times with the inclusion of a gospel choir, a charismatic preacher, and Prince Harry wearing a wedding ring. These modern aspects were not simply contemporary, but also included the Bride’s African-American heritage.
The couple invited many friends, family, and representatives of their charities to share in their day. Outside the chapel, over 1000 people from various schools and charities were invited by the couple to share in their day and be the first to see the newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex emerge from the church. Since the wedding was held in Windsor, not London, there was no balcony appearance, so the lucky crowds got to witness the Sussex’s first kiss too. The inclusion of these hard working charities, school children and individuals is conformation of the Sussex’s desire to share, encourage, and be servant-hearted leaders, even on their wedding day. The chapel service had about 600 guests in total, who went on to a reception at Windsor Castle, hosted by the Queen. Again, it was a traditional setting, but the stand up reception that served canapes and bowl foods was a break from the traditional sit down affair. A sit down meal was served at the smaller evening reception at Frogmore House, for 200 guests, hosted by the Prince of Wales.
Many have hailed the wedding as different from the past, which is true; but would the public want a completely non-traditional wedding? Yes, it is important for the royal family to move with the times, and to engage with each new generation. The Queen has been constantly modernising and adapting her whole life. But the traditional events and circumstances we find ourselves in through our royal family are surely part of what makes the royal family work? The 2 billion viewers, many from other countries, surely like to see our heritage, it is part of what makes an affair like this attractive. If we didn’t have the Household Cavalry, the tiara, the pomp and ceremony, and deference for the Queen, it would be the same as any other wedding, from anywhere around the world. I’m sure many of the royals themselves are aware of the value of tradition, and although attending Trooping the Colour every year may get tedious, it is the eccentricity of our country that makes me proud to be British. We do tradition like nobody else. When I was showing an American friend around London, she couldn’t believe the amount of heritage, history, culture and tradition we have. The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast, Remembrance Sunday, these events mark our nation’s joint calendar, and keep us rooted and united. Our royal family is our way of personifying our past, present and future, and our celebrations and traditions as a country. Personifying anything makes it easier to understand and identify with, and that is part of the value of our royals, not just that they bring in tourism. I hope that the new Duchess realises the value of tradition, and won’t be too radical or liberal in her role. Having not been brought up in Britain, she has not experienced what it is like to go through each year with these events, and these traditions, and the anchorage they give. I’m sure she will come to realise it is a delicate balancing act between past, present and future. The monarchy survives because it isn’t political, and is neutral, yet can support causes and charities, and help people in a unique way; the Duchess will have to keep to the no politics rule.
That being said, the UK is becoming more multicultural, so an American Princess of mixed race will help unite the country even more as we come together for different national occasions. As a feminist, the Duchess will encourage women to come to the forefront of society, and find their roles to play. As an actress, the Duchess will encourage those in the arts to use their talents and mediums to have a voice. I have been particularly impressed with both the Duke and Duchess’ commitment to the commonwealth, an area often associated with the Queen herself, but that is moving down the generations thanks to their involvement. This gives me hope that the Duchess is engaging with the fundamentals and foundations of the monarchy.
Their Relationship
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not known each other for years, but have spent a significant amount of intense and intimate time together. This means they have got to know each other on a deeper level in a relatively short period of time. They are both mature in their ages, so are completely aware of who they are and what they are doing. The Duchess is divorced, which whilst making it easier for people to relate to her, does mean she struggled to maintain her first marriage. I don’t know the details, so I can’t really comment, but it does make one wonder why it went wrong, and hope that she will be able to learn from that and make her marriage to Prince Harry all the stronger because of it. Her apparent level of intelligence reassures me that she fully knows what she is doing, and will learn from any past misfortunes. She is clearly not in this for the money or fame in any way, as she already had that through her acting career. So the only reason is a genuine love for Prince Harry, and desire to do more charitable work on a bigger scale; she was already using her platform as an actor for positive causes, so I know it is genuine. The Duchess has accompanied the Duke on some royal engagements before her marriage, so she has some idea of what is involved, and has made an effort to get to know the country she will now call home, by visiting different parts of it, and attending national events such as the Anzac Day Service.
The Duchess of Sussex’s background
The Duchess comes across as someone very sure of herself, which is absolutely essential when entering the royal family. It would be far too easy to try and gain self-assurance and self-worth by getting attention from the public, and worse, the press, which we know from the past is a huge mistake that further breaks down the individual. A clear identity and knowing she is valued and loved by her husband, friends, and family, and gaining stability from that, is what the Duchess needs. The Queen has remarked that both the late Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of York, came from broken homes and families, and so the strong stability and assurance in their value, worth and knowing they are loved was missing, and so they entered marriage wanting this from their husband’s and from a romantic relationship, and when this didn’t work out, they tried to gain it from the public and press. The Queen went on to mention that the Duchess of Cambridge has that strong stable background and family, so is grounded in herself. I hope that the Duchess of Sussex’s strong relationship with her mother will fulfil this, despite the dysfunctional elements of other parts of her family. Many have heralded the fact that she has a dysfunctional family as another way the public can relate to her. But I think what society needs, although not maybe what it knows is needs, is an example of flourishing as family, and solidarity and stability in yourself because of your family. The best would be an example of a whole, solid, stable family, like the Duchess of Cambridge’s, but the way that the Duchess of Sussex and her mum have been family for each other, and been strong despite their struggles, will actually be more relatable and inspiring for many people. Finally, her experiences as an actress and humanitarian mean she has practice in many areas such as public speaking, charity work, engaging and empathising with people, travel, and small talk. This should stand her in good stead.