The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed to Oprah Winfrey that they “married” three days before millions watched the Windsor Castle wedding reception – although it has provoked confusion over what the official union was.
Winfrey was among guests, along with the Beckhams, Idris Elba and Elton John, at a star-studded party on May 19, 2018, but Meghan said the couple already had their own private wedding.
“You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. Nobody knows that, ”she told Winfrey in their amazing interview with CBS.
“But we named the archbishop and we just said, ‘Look, this thing, this vision is for the world but we want the union between us. ‘So the oaths we took in our room were just the two of us in our back garden with the archbishop of Canterbury.’
Harry then began singing: “Just the Three of Us, Just the Three of Us,” a reference to Bill Withers’ classic “Just the Two of Us”, which was covered by Will Smith.
Despite Meghan’s description of it as a “marriage”, it is very likely that it was officially bound and perhaps more like a blessing. Conventional laws do not allow couples to marry within a place of worship or within a permitted secret venue, although the Law Commission has recommended changing the rules to allow weddings outside. In addition, two witnesses are required at any marriage, church or otherwise.
With some questioning Meghan’s application, Rev Tiffer Robinson, Church of England vicar in Suffolk, wrote on Twitter: “She has the right to consider her marriage if she wants to. Far fewer Americans are concerned with the details of marriage law than the English clergy.
“Most of their marriage ceremonies are not legal weddings … saying ‘we were married three days earlier in secret’ is not the same as saying that the marriage legally three days before everyone thought they were. ”
At the time of the wedding, Harry and Meghan were living at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace.
On 14 May 2018, the Faculty Office tweeted: “The Registrar of @Faculty_Office has signed the special marriage consent for the marriage of HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. ”
Nearly 18 million Britons watched a TV broadcast on May 19, and 29 million people watched in the United States.