According to a royal insider, the high-profile celebrities who attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018 were invited for one key reason

A royal author has claimed Meghan was trying to “recruit” the famous faces invited to her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry(Image: PA)

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married in 2018, the guest list included everyone from royal family members, close friends and a wide array of the Hollywood elite.

Harry and Meghan tied the knot in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19th 2018, with thousands of people descended onto the streets of Windsor to catch a glimpse of the royal newlyweds, while millions of people from around the world watched the nuptials from home. In comparison to other royal weddings, one unique feature of Harry and Meghan’s guest list stood out: the sheer amount of high-profile celebrities.

Meghan and Harry at their wedding in 2018(Image: Getty Images)

Among the famous faces in the congregation were Oprah, George and Amal Clooney, Victoria and David Beckham, Kris Jenner, Idris Elba, Priyanka Chopra, Elton John, and various members from the cast of Suits, who all received gold-embossed invitations for the big day.

Despite the crowd being filled with celebrities, one royal author has claimed that Meghan and Harry didn’t actually know many of the A-listers invited. Instead, it is claimed those lucky enough to receive an invitation only did so Meghan could “recruit” the celebs as new friends.

In her 2022 book called The Palace Papers, royal author Tina Brown wrote: “The celebrity guests were a portrait not of Meghan’s intimate circle but of the friends she most wanted to recruit.”

Ms Brown said that Meghan “scarcely” knew Oprah Winfrey before the royal wedding, having only met once or twice. Oprah eventually went on to be the face of the infamous 2021 interview with Meghan, in which she shared her scathing thoughts on the Firm and how she was treated during her time as a working royal.

George and Amal Clooney were among those invited to Harry and Meghan’s wedding (Image: PA)

The royal author also recalled an intimate conversation overheard from the church pews, with Boris Johnson ’s sister Rachel alleging that Princess Diana ’s former flatmate turned to George and Amal Clooney alongside her in the pew and asked how they knew Harry or Meghan, to which they responded brightly: “We don’t.”

During the wedding, Mr and Mrs Clooney were given seats for the special ceremony right next to Lady Carolyn Warren, the wife of the late Queen’s bloodstock adviser John Warren, and opposite Princess Margaret’s son, Viscount Linley.

Despite the calibre of her wedding guest list, Meghan has seemingly failed to foster lasting relationships with some the celebs after her big day, as none of her wedding guests appeared on her Netflix programme With Love, Meghan.

Viewers largely expected her to bring in the likes of Oprah, tennis superstar Serena Williams and filmmaker Tyler Perry – who is godfather to Princess Lilibet – as guests on her lifestyle show.

Instead, guests featured names such as Meghan’s former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, Delfina Figueras – socialite wife of Harry’s polo-playing chum Nacho – and chef Roy Choi

The biggest stars to appear in the show were Harry himself – who had a few minutes of airtime in the final episode in the eight-part series – and actress, writer and producer Mindy Kaling, who appears in the second episode.