Duke and Duchess of Sussex 'exchanged personal vows' before official wedding

File photo: The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leave Windsor Castle in a convertible car after their wedding in Windsor. Picture: AP

File photo: The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leave Windsor Castle in a convertible car after their wedding in Windsor. Picture: AP

Published Mar 23, 2021

Share

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has clarified the couple just "exchanged personal vows" in a ceremony before their official wedding.

The former “Suits” actress sparked confusion when she recently claimed she and her husband tied the knot in their garden with the Archbishop of Canterbury days before their formal wedding at Windsor Castle on 19 May, 2018, but after details of their marriage certificate were published earlier this week, the couple's spokesperson have now confirmed there was no other official ceremony.

Their representative told the Daily Beast that "the couple exchanged personal vows a few days before their official/legal wedding on May 19.”

The confirmation comes after The Sun newspaper obtained a copy of Meghan and Prince Harry's marriage certificate from the General Register Office, which confirmed they were married at Windsor Castle on 19 May with the witnesses listed as Harry's father, Prince Charles, and Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland.

And Stephen Borton, former chief clerk at the Faculty Office, who drew up the licence, said: "I'm sorry, but Meghan is obviously confused and clearly misinformed.

“They did not marry three days earlier in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

“The Special Licence I helped draw up enabled them to marry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor and what happened there on 19 May 2018 and was seen by millions around the world was the official wedding as recognised by the Church of England and the law.

“What I suspect they did was exchange some simple vows they had perhaps written themselves, and which is fashionable, and said that in front of the Archbishop - or, and more likely, it was a simple rehearsal."

In the interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan claimed they married in private just days before the formal ceremony, which millions tuned in to watch.

She explained: “Three days before our wedding, we got married. No-one knows that.

“We called the Archbishop and we said ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us’.

“So the vows that we have in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury."

And Meghan admitted she was having an "out of body experience" on the day.

She added: "I've thought about this a lot because it was like having an out of body experience I was very present for.

“That's the only way I can describe it because the night before I slept through the night entirely, which in and of itself is a bit of a miracle.

“And then woke up and started listening to that song 'Going to the Chapel.'

“And just tried to make it fun and light and remind ourselves that this was our day - but I think we were both really aware, even in advance of that just, this wasn't our day. This was the day that was planned for the world."