Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding, 2018
A Givenchy gown with only six seams, a veil embroidered with the flowers of 53 nations, a sermon from Bishop Michael Curry and a gospel choir singing “Stand By Me” at Windsor.
Royal weddings are rarely surprising, but the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor on May 19, 2018, was full of moments no one had seen at one before: an American bishop preaching with unrestrained fervor, a gospel choir singing Ben E. King, a young cellist playing during the signing of the register. At the center of it was a bride in a dress of almost austere simplicity, with a veil that carried the whole Commonwealth in its embroidery.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, May 19, 2018 |
| Place (ceremony) | St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle |
| Reception | Lunchtime reception given by the Queen in St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle; evening reception given by the Prince of Wales at Frogmore House |
| The dress (designer) | Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy; evening dress by Stella McCartney |
| Guests | About 600 in the chapel; 200 at the evening reception |
| Officiant | Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury |
The couple
Meghan Markle, an American actress, and Prince Harry, the younger son of the Prince of Wales, were engaged in 2017. On the wedding day the Queen created them Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In 2020 the couple stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family and later settled in California, where they live with their two children.
The ceremony
The service began at noon. The Dean of Windsor, David Conner, conducted it, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, married the couple. Her father was unable to attend after heart surgery, and the Prince of Wales accompanied her down the aisle. Some 1,200 members of the public were invited into the castle grounds to watch the arrivals, and the couple later made a carriage procession through Windsor.
The sermon was given by the Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and the first African American to hold that office. He spoke for fourteen minutes on the redemptive power of love, quoting Martin Luther King Jr., and his exuberant delivery became the most talked-about moment of the day. The gospel group the Kingdom Choir sang “Stand By Me,” and the cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason played during the signing of the register. In Britain the television audience peaked at 27.7 million.
The dress
Clare Waight Keller, then artistic director of Givenchy, designed a gown of double-bonded silk cady with a wide bateau neckline, slim three-quarter sleeves and a train, built over a triple silk organza underskirt. It had no lace, beading or embroidery, and only six seams. It was made in Paris over five months, with eight fittings, and kept secret until the wedding day.
The decoration was saved for the veil: five meters of silk tulle, hand-embroidered with a flower for each of the 53 countries of the Commonwealth, plus wintersweet and the California poppy, for the bride’s home state. The embroiderers spent some 500 hours on it and washed their hands every thirty minutes to keep the tulle clean. It was held by Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara, made in 1932 and lent by the Queen.
Her bouquet, by the florist Philippa Craddock, included forget-me-nots, which Prince Harry picked himself in honor of his mother, Diana, along with sweet peas, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine, astrantia and sprigs of myrtle grown from the plant used in the Queen’s own bouquet in 1947.
For the evening she changed into a white halter-neck gown by Stella McCartney, cut with an open back. See both dresses in context in our guides to royal wedding dresses and celebrity wedding dresses.
The reception
The Queen gave a lunchtime reception for the chapel guests in St George’s Hall. The cake, by the baker Claire Ptak, was lemon and elderflower, a light departure from the royal fruitcake. In the evening Prince Harry drove his wife to Frogmore House in a silver-blue electric Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero for a reception of 200 given by his father, where Idris Elba played the records.
Why it mattered
It showed that a royal wedding could reflect the couple rather than only the institution: a gospel choir, an American preacher, a modern cake, an electric car. The dress made the case for absolute simplicity, and a change of dress for the evening party, as Catherine had also made in 2011, has since become a familiar choice for brides. Compare it with the wedding of William and Catherine seven years earlier, and see The Great Royal Weddings for the tradition it drew on.
Borrow the idea
Hide a meaning in the veil. Embroider a flower from each family’s home, a date, or a small motif inside the hem. It’s invisible in the pew and treasured afterward. Our guide to making your own veil is a good starting point.
Choose music that surprises. A gospel or community choir, or a young musician from your families, can give a traditional ceremony its most memorable moment. Browse our ceremony song library.
Rethink the cake. Lemon and elderflower is lighter than fruitcake and suits a spring or summer wedding. Our wedding cake guide covers flavors and quantities.
Change for the party. A second dress lets you move and dance. Keep it in the same spirit as the first: the McCartney gown was as spare as the Givenchy, just more relaxed.
Written and edited by the Today’s Weddings editors. How we research and check what we publish is set out in our editorial standards. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
