It’s been six years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in St George’s Chapel – but there was one part of the ceremony that concerned the late Queen
There was great fanfare when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in a fairytale ceremony in May 2018. But there was one aspect of the day that left the late Queen feeling ‘uncomfortable’, according to a royal expert.
The royal family were out in force to support Harry and Meghan as they exchanged their vows inside St George’s Chapel. It was a day of joy and celebration – but there had been some upset in the lead-up to the wedding.
With less than a week to go, Meghan’s father Thomas Markle confirmed that he would not be able to attend following a major health scare. It meant that the bride had no one to walk her down the aisle.
Fortunately, Meghan’s future father-in-law Charles, who was still Prince of Wales at the time, offered to step in, saying he would be honoured to escort her to the altar of the chapel.
The late Queen was said to be concerned about some aspects of the Sussexes’ wedding (
Image:
Getty Images)
But the gesture did not sit well with the late Queen, who attended the wedding with Prince Philip, according to royal author Ingrid Seward.
→ Swipe to see more articles
Writing in her book, My Mother and I, biographer Seward stated: “The Queen was not comfortable with the Prince of Wales standing in for Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, and was similarly concerned about a 96-year-old Prince Philip walking down the aisle without a stick, having had a hip replacement only five weeks before.”
It was later revealed that it was Prince Harry who had asked his father to step in. He recalled in the documentary Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70: “I asked him to and I think he knew it was coming and he immediately said, ‘Yes, of course, I’ll do whatever Meghan needs and I’m here to support you.”
Charles’s role wasn’t the only aspect of the wedding that the Queen felt uncomfortable with, however. According to Seward, who spoke with one of the late Queen’s confidants Lady Elizabeth Anson, the monarch was unsure about the bride’s white, flowing Givenchy wedding gown.
“Lady Elizabeth told me that the Queen had made only one remark to her about Meghan and Harry’s wedding, which was that the bride’s Givenchy wedding gown was ‘too white’. In the monarch’s view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal.”
It comes after another book claimed Meghan surprised Charles with her four-word reply when he did offer to walk her down the aisle. Writing in Queen of Our Times, author Robert Hardman said: “The reply, according to one friend, was not quite what he was expecting: ‘Can we meet halfway?’ Here was an indicator that this was no blushing bride, but a confident, independent woman determined to make a grand entrance on her own.”
