The royal wedding of the British royal Prince Harry (whose official name is Prince Henry) and US actress Meghan Markle was the cynosure of all forces in Britain and beyond. The world at large was in frenzied excitement as it awaited the exchange of wedding vows between the lovers and witness the grandiosity of British Royal wedding. This wasn’t going to be an ordinary royal wedding; ordinary and royalty don’t meddle anyway, but the union of Harry and Markle is to be historic.

Prince Harry, said to be the Queen’s favourite grandchild and the younger son of Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana, is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne. Meghan Markle is an American actress, who is divorced and has mixed ancestry, is a few years older than her beau. In some other archaic period, the union would have been frowned upon and dejected by the royal family; but marking a historic turn of events, the royal family has embraced the couple’s choice.

The royal invitations

The invitations follow many years of royal tradition and were made by Barnard Westwood. Using American ink on English card, each invite was printed in gold and black, then burnished to bring out the shine, and gilded around the edge. The three-feathered badge of the Prince of Wales was given pride of place in the centre.

A tale of two rings

Markle’s ring was fashioned from a piece of Welsh Gold, gifted by the Queen, while Prince Harry's was a platinum band with a textured finish. Both rings were crafted in the Cleave workshop, and were carried to the chapel by the Duke of Cambridge, in his capacity as best man.

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On May 19, 2018, the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle took place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. The couple’s decision to say their wedding vows on a Saturday yet again, trumped the royal traditions, as royal weddings usually take place on a weekday.

On the morning of his marriage the Queen conferred Harry with dukedom, giving him the title of His Royal Highness, Duke of Sussex. Upon her marriage to The Duke, Meghan Markle was bestowed with the title of Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Sussex.

Under the canopy and décor of hundreds of sweet-smelling cream and white flowers and green foliage, Harry and his bride exchanged their wedding vows and shared the kiss of love, and promised to uphold each other, “till death do us apart”.  

The wedding dresses

Looking like a vision out of a Hans Christen Andersen fairytale, Markel donned a stunning elegant white gown – with a white veil and boat neck, by British designer Clare Waight Keller, Artistic Director at Givenchy. The delicate silk tulle veil was 16 feet long, trimmed intricately with hand-embroidered flowers in silk threads. The new bride wore the glittering Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau tiara, loaned to her by the Queen.

Prince Harry and his best man, the Duke of Cambridge both, wore the frockcoat uniform of the Blues and Royals, tailored at Dege & Skinner on Savile Row. 

The high profile guests

The wedding of 600 guests included the Queen, more than 30 royals and famous personalities like Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams, George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney, Sir Elton John, David and Victoria Beckham and Idris Elba. The close friends of the couple were also invited, including Meghan’s long-time friend Priyanka Chopra and the entire cast of Suits,including Meghan’s on-screen love interest Patrick J Adams.

Sir Elton John, who lend his vocal chords to sing at the funeral service for Harry's mother, Diana, performed at the lunchtime reception. 2,640 people were invited to watch the wedding from inside the Castle Grounds. A humongous crowd of 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 official photographs were taken at Windsor Castle.

Evening reception

The evening reception boasted the signature affluent royal style. Markle’s evening dress was designed by Stella McCartney and was a bespoke lily white halter neck made of silk crepe. 

The evening refreshments were said to have included themed cocktails, including one named ‘When Harry met Meghan’ – referencing the romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal.

Guests dined on posh burgers and candy floss, according to reports, and danced to music provided by a celebrity DJ.

The couple rode in a silver blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero, with its number plate bearing the date of the wedding – E190518. 

Prince Harry proved he was the perfect gentleman, he opened the door of the vintage car to let his bride step in as the couple drove to their private evening reception at Frogmore House. 

As a wedding gift, Prince Harry gave his bride an emerald-cut aquamarine ring which had belonged to his late mother, which she wore to the evening reception.