The Spice Girls singer revealed in October 2022 that she and fiancé Rory McPhee had gotten engaged after three years of dating
Mel B and her fiancé Rory McPhee; Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day in 1981. Photo: Rory McPhee/Instagram, David Levenson/Getty
Melanie “Mel B” Brown is planning a wedding fit for royalty!
The Spice Girls member, 48, has revealed that she and fiancé Rory McPhee are set to tie the knot at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London — the very same church where Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles married in July 1981.
During an appearance on Monday’s episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Brown explained that she and McPhee were able to land the coveted venue due to her royal connections. “Cause I have an MBE [Member of the Order of the British Empire],” she explained. “So I got an MBE for all my charity work that I’ve been doing and creating awareness for all that kind of stuff.”
Brown noted that receiving her MBE in 2022 was a pinch-me moment. “It was actually Prince William that gave me my little honorary badge. And it’s quite a big deal. I didn’t realize how much of a big deal it was until I started reading about it and then I started getting very nervous,” she recalled of the ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Mel B Jokes About Problem with ‘Big Slit’ on Her Dress When Prince William Awarded Her an MBE
Princess Diana and Prince Charles on their wedding day in 1981. Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty
She said William, 41, even took a moment to crack a joke about her pop star past. “So when he handed me my medal, he was like, ‘No Spice Girls?’ ” she recalled him asking of her bandmates, Emma Bunton, Melanie “Mel C” Chisholm and Geri Halliwell-Horner, and former member Victoria Beckham.
“It was really lovely. So because of that, I am going to get married in the same church as Princess Diana,” she added.
Mel B Says She’s Hoping to Get Married in the Same Cathedral Princess Diana Did: ‘Waiting on Them’
Back in September, Brown shared an update on her wedding planning during an appearance on Australian radio station 2DayFM, saying she was “still waiting to hear back from St. Paul’s” about her request to stage her nuptials at the iconic domed cathedral, one of London’s most famous sights.
“Because I’ve got an MBE, I can get married at the same place as Princess Diana got married, so we’ve put all our forms in and we’re waiting on them to give us a date,” she said at the time, explaining why she wanted a traditional setting for her ceremony.
“I’m going to do it properly, by the book, in church,” she continued.
Brown revealed in October 2022 that she and McPhee, a hair stylist, had gotten engaged after three years of dating. She shared the engagement news on the U.K. program Celebrity Gogglebox, recounting how McPhee popped the question during a “romantic” getaway in Berkshire.
“He said, ‘I love you, you’re my best friend and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,’ ” she recalled, adding, “There were rose petals everywhere, a log fire, a hotel — which was Cliveden. It was very romantic. I love flowers.”