Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave each other their yes
Prince Harry has gotten his Meghan Markle. The cheers rang out in the streets of Windsor when the couple exchanged vows during the wedding ceremony in St. George’s Chapel.
Prince Harry arrived according to tradition at the chapel before his upcoming bride and sat down with his best man and big brother, Prince William. The groom seemed somewhat nervous and it was prince Williams’s task to ease the mood up and make Prince Harry relax.
Markle arrived at the chapel just before 1 pm, to a big hurrah from those waiting to get a glimpse. She walked alone up the first part of the church floor before Crown Prince Charles led her to the altar and to her waiting Prince.
Then they were joined in matrimony by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welb, in front of a gathering of around 600 guests. Then the cheers rung out out among the many who had found their way to Windsor to celebrate the event. A colourful crowd of made up from Britons, Americans and several Australians, Canadians, and others waved flags, hats, scarves and T-shirts.
Broke with traditions
Prince Harry and Markle alike broke with traditions at the wedding ceremony. Markle did not promise to obey her husband, as the wedding vows traditionally state, and Prince Harry likevwise broke with tradition by choosing to wear a wedding ring.
This is uncommon among male members of the royal family.
According to Kensington Palace, Markles ring is made from Welsh gold, and is a gift from Queen Elizabeth. Prince Harry’s ring is made from platinum and has a surface with a structure. The rings are made by the goldsmiths in Cleave and Company.
The American bishop Michael Curry contributed with an untraditional 13 minute long sermon during the ceremony. According to the news agency AP, Curry quoted Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech, whose main theme was the power of love.
– If humanity ever manages to capture the energy of love, it will be the second time that we have discovered fire, he said. Curry is a protagonist of civil rights in the United States, and also for gay rights.
A gospel choir sang during the ceremony, which also is not common in the Church of England.
The dress
Markle’s dress, which there where great expectations to beforehand, is made by British designer Clare Waight Keller. Keller is the artistic director of the French fashion brand Givenchy. The dress has a boat neckline, long sleeves and a trail.
According to BBC, Markle wore Queen Mary’s Tiara, borrowed to her by Queen Elizabeth, and a 5 metre long veil embroidered with flowers from each of the countries in the Commonwealth. The veil had to be held up by two of the bridesmaids in Markle’s entourage when she went up to the chapel. Markle had ten bridesmaids and boys all in all, all of them children under 7 years old.
The bridal bouquet, assembled by the florist Philippa Craddock, consisted of flowers hand picked by Prince Harry. The flower “forget-me-not” was part of the bouquet, probably as a tribute to the deceased princess Diana who held this flower as her favourite.
Cheered by the people
After the ceremony, Prince Harry and William rode around Windsor in horse and carriage to greet the many visitors. The atmosphere was elated during the half hour it took to drive from St. George’s Chapel to Windsor Castle.
Witty tongues claimed that there had not been that much calamity in the area since Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page sold his home some years ago.
Visiting Americans welcomed the new “special relationship”.
– We have always been fascinated by the royal family, and now it has officially become a little bit ours, says Virginian Allen to NTB.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today