The biggest satellite television single-day live event of the year took place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor castle, when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle on Saturday 19 May. Some two billion viewers were estimated to have watched around the world, and there was no doubt a scramble by news and media organisations to secure satellite capacity when the Royal Wedding was announced.
Before the event, there was also much media comment about how Harry’s choice of bride – a campaigning, sassy, US divorcee actress of mixed race (at one time, divorcees were banned from court) who will apparently bring the Royal family into the Twenty First century.
And a lovely bride Meghan Markle made too in her beautiful but demure white wedding dress – designed by a Brit, Clare Waight Keller, of the French fashion house, Givenchy – topped off with a bejewelled tiara borrowed from the Queen.
Prince Harry shares a kiss with his new wife Meghan as he leaves the St. Georges chapel. Courtesy: BBC
The bride’s choice of inbound transport from the Queen’s Limousine collection struck a similarly classy tone: it was a 1950 Rolls Royce Phantom IV – the last of the Rolls Royce motor cars with the trademark large headlamps and tall front grill. That very rare post-war vehicle (less than 20 were built) and its similar looking shorter wheelbase sibling, the Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, are perhaps the best wedding cars ever. Not only do they look “old world” handsome, they have plenty of room in the London black-taxi-like passenger cabin for the bride’s wedding dress. (Classic car buffs would have approved including your correspondent who hired a Silver Wraith for his wedding.)
The Queen’s Black and Brown Rolls Royce Phantom IV with the Bride and her mother inside. Courtesy: via Motor1.com
The bridegroom wore his Army Blues and Royals Household Cavalry officer blue frockcoat uniform (along with his best man brother Prince William), now with the rank insignia of a Major (he left as a Captain) and with the addition of a “wings” pilots’ emblem from his time as an attack helicopter pilot in the Army Air Corps. In both regiments he saw action in Afghanistan. Noted as a good and popular officer, Harry apparently also gained the dispensation of being allowed to wear his officer uniform with his ginger beard (beards are for the Royal Navy and not the British Army).
The bride was walked up the aisle by the Prince of Wales (Harry’s dad), who was standing in for Meghan’s American father who was recovering from an operation. Prince Charles rather gallantly held Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland’s hand as they later made their way to the registration procedure off camera. Meghan, now Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex, was attended by 10 children including Prince George and Princes Charlotte in their roles of bridesmaids and pages.
The wedding ceremony blended elements of the past and more modern eras, including ancient hymns and sixties classics sung by traditional and gospel choirs, and also a touching series of pieces beautifully played on the cello by 19-year-old Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Harry’s late mother’s sister, Lady Jane Fellowes, read from Song of Solomon in the Bible, but it was US Episcopalian Bishop, Michael Curry, who stole the show. He gave an amusing and wise sermon about the redemptive quality of love – even if he did lose sight of the time. Somebody should have told the Bishop that Her Majesty famously likes the clergy to keep their sermons to less than 12 minutes!
Mind you, Bishop Michael Curry did manage to sum up the wedding nicely in one of his lines: “Two people fell in love…and we all turned up.”
The service was wrapped up by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent the couple on their way with a holy blessing. The couple left, initially in a horse-drawn open landau carriage, to attend two receptions – first a formal lunch held by the Queen, and later a much less formal booze-up disco at Frogmore House. The couple had to be in full “royal wave” mode as they passed their families and friends, celebrities and fans, and even Harry’s ex-girlfriends – including a very wistful-looking Chelsy Davy.
Meghan later changed into a glamorously sexy Stella McCartney-designed halter-necked white evening gown. With Harry now in black tie, the couple sped between reception venues in that other British motoring classic, an open-topped 1960s silver-blue E-type Jaguar roadster, once owned by the late Jamiroquai musician Toby Grafftey-Smith. It had been lent by Prince Charles and was surprisingly quiet, having been converted to electric power.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their E-Type Jag mount. Courtesy: Yahoo
James Bond-like though this short trip was, the coolest cat of the day was probably Hollywood actor George Clooney who, in between escorting his elegant lawyer wife Amal, reportedly took turns at both serving drinks and dancing with different duchesses and princesses. Hollywood royalty met the real thing you could say.
Prince William, in his best man’s speech, reportedly first paid tribute to their late mother Diana and then, with one of Harry’s childhood friends, made fun of his sibling’s growing bald patch and his red hair. Meghan also wore Diana’s favourite aquamarine ring, a gift from Harry, which was visible as she made her own address at the determinedly non-sexist event.
Thus, the wedding had elements of the old and traditional but also had a modern feel. Mind you, Thames Valley Police became killjoys when they banned the cheering crowds from throwing confetti for security and clean-up reasons.
While diehard atheists and republicans may still not be convinced, the look of love between Harry and Meghan at this very romantic, sunny wedding was enough, at least, to make even this hard-hearted cynic of a writer start to believe in Disney again.
So praise the Lord for that! And may God bless them both.
