When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement on November 27th, 2017, a royal wedding was imminent. But where did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ultimately get married?
The 6th in line to the British throne and the American actress were married on May 19th 2018 in St. George’s chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Following the ceremony, the newlyweds celebrated with two receptions: one held at St. George’s Hall, and the other at Frogmore House.
Read more about where exactly Harry and Meghan decided to say ‘I do’ and where they partied with their royal guests after the official ceremony.
A Windsor Wedding
When Kensington Palace announced that Harry and Meghan were engaged on November 27th, 2017, this immediately sparked questions about where the royal wedding would take place.
Harry’s brother, Prince William, had famously celebrated his wedding to Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey in London in 2011. This is also where their father, Prince Charles, had married their mother, Princess Diana, in 1981.
Unlike William and Charles, Harry was however only the 6th in line to the throne, which means that he had little chance of ever inheriting the crown.
This dramatically relaxed his royal duties from those of his father and brother and meant that he did not have to have a state wedding like them.
As such, Harry and Meghan decided to hold their wedding in the more intimate and lower-profile St. George’s chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle on May 19th, 2018.
The royal’s have long had close ties to Windsor castle, which suggests that this is why Harry and Meghan deemed it to be the ideal place to hold their smaller wedding.
Windsor Castle, which is located about 40 km outside of London in the English county of Berkshire, is known as being the Queen’s preferred weekend home and is familiar to Harry, as this is where he got baptized in 1984.
Charles also married his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, in Windsor Castle’s ‘guild hall’ in 2005.
Harry and Meghan used Windsor Castle’s smaller size to hold a more intimate and individual wedding service, which they tailored to their own liking. The service for example uniquely included African American culture, as Meghan herself is an African American.
During their wedding service at St. George’s chapel in Windsor Castle Harry and Meghan got bestowed a royal title and became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Following the service, they kissed on the steps of St. George’s cathedral.
The newlyweds then embarked on a carriage procession through Windsor, where they were applauded by the awaiting public.
They then made their way to celebrate their wedding away from the public and with their guests only.
Two Wedding Receptions
Harry and Meghan had not one, but in fact two wedding receptions for their guests after their wedding service.
Following the carriage procession, the Queen hosted a more formal reception in St. George’s hall in Windsor Castle.
Here, Prince Harry and his father, Prince Charles, gave a speech to the wedding guests and the singer Elton John performed.
Afterwards, Prince Charles hosted a less formal second reception at nearby Frogmore House, a 17th century English country house.
Prince William gave his best man’s speech while Meghan broke with royal tradition and also gave a speech.
The second reception featured Harry and Meghan cutting their wedding cake, a performance by DJ Idris Elba and a firework show.
And looking at how delighted Harry and Meghan looked in their wedding pictures, one can only conclude that their decision to celebrate their wedding in the smaller Windsor Castle with two receptions nearby was the best one for them.