Every little detail of the Sussexes’ wedding in May 2018 has been picked apart by royal fans – but there are still some little known aspects about their big day
It is eight years to the day since Prince Harry married Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. Their wedding was watched by millions around the world, with excited royal fans keen to soak up every little detail – from the bride’s dress and the celebrity guests to the private reception afterwards.
But a few behind the scenes elements managed to stay entirely under wraps at the time. While some friction eventually became public knowledge – including Meghan’s now-infamous falling-out with Princess Kate over the flower girl dresses – other secrets were kept well hidden.
One such revelation came courtesy of historian Hugo Vickers, who has served as Captain of the Lay Stewards at St George’s Chapel since 2014. Tasked with welcoming visitors to the Chapel, directing them to their seat, assisting attendees, Vickers issued a direct -but highly unusual – order to his chapel staff ahead of the big day.
READ MORE: Meghan and Harry can’t ‘put genie back in bottle’ after deeply-ironic moveREAD MORE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘plan masterpiece war film’ in new Netflix announcement
To ensure the star-studded American guest list felt entirely welcome, he told the stewards to “get Netflix and watch Suits, so they know who everyone is at the wedding,” as he later confirmed to columnist Sebastian Shakespeare.
It was a wise decision. The Suits cast did indeed attend the royal wedding to support their former castmate, with guests including Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman, Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams (and wife Troian Bellisario), Gina Torres, Abigail Spencer and Jacinda Barrett.
In celebration of their wedding anniversary this week, Meghan took to Instagram on Tuesday to share some never-before-seen photos from their big day. She uploaded two posts – one documenting the daytime ceremony and reception, and one from the evening party – captioned simply: “Eight years ago today. . . “
The images included a candid shot of the couple while their official wedding portraits were being taken, alongside some pictures of Harry making his speech at the couple’s reception in St. George’s Hall, Windsor Castle.
The second Instagram post gave a glimpse into the evening reception at Frogmore House, showing the couple dancing.
Attendees at the final celebration are said to have enjoyed ‘dirty burgers’ and candyfloss while sipping themed cocktails, including one called ‘When Harry Met Meghan’ – a nod to the beloved romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally.
Breaking with royal tradition, the bride gave a speech of her own. She said she had “found her prince”, paid tribute to the late Queen, and expressed gratitude to Charles for stepping in at short notice to escort her down the aisle.
With Meghan’s father Thomas Markle absent after he was caught posing for photographs, her mother Doria was her only family member present.
However, according to autobiographer Robert Hardman, Meghan’s response caught the Monarch off guard. Writing in Queen of Our Times, he revealed: “The reply, according to one friend, was not quite what he was expecting: ‘Can we meet halfway?’ Here was an indicator that this was no blushing bride, but a confident, independent woman determined to make a grand entrance on her own.”
Of course, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex no longer maintain a close relationship with the Royal Family. After stepping down as working royals in January 2020, they went on to criticise members of the monarchy across their Oprah interview, Harry’s memoir Spare, and their Netflix series.
Meghan notably used the Oprah interview to “clear up” reports surrounding their wedding, including the bridesmaid dress drama. However she also made a surprising claim which was later shown to be false.
Speaking to Winfrey, Meghan claimed that Kate, who had given birth to third son Prince Louis just a few weeks prior to the Sussexes’ wedding, had made her cry, rather than the other way around.
She said: “A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining – yes, the issue was correct – about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings. Everyone in the institution knew it wasn’t true. I am not sharing that piece about Kate to be in any way disparaging about her. I would hope that she would want that to be corrected.”
Meghan noted that Kate later brought her flowers and a note of apology, taking accountability for the incident, which Meghan described as a major “turning point.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Meghan claimed that she and Harry had actually legally wed days before the televised spectacle. “You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that,” she told Winfrey, claiming they held a private backyard ceremony with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Harry then jokingly chimed in, singing: “Just the three of us, just the three of us.”
However, two weeks after the interview aired, the General Registrar Office released the couple’s marriage certificate. This official document explicitly confirmed May 19, 2018, as the day of marriage, listing King Charles and Doria Ragland as the official witnesses.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex later clarified that the wedding before the lavish ceremony only involved “privately exchanged personal vows”. Moreover, Archbishop Justin Welby also refuted Meghan’s claims in an interview with Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper.
Welby said that he had only met the couple “in a private and pastoral setting” beforehand. “The legal wedding was on the Saturday. I signed the wedding certificate which is a legal document and I would have committed a serious criminal offence if I signed it knowing it was false,” he said.
