Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah contained various bombshells about the royal couple and the royal family. But a royal official has disputed Meghan’s claim that she and Harry secretly married three days before their wedding.
• Meghan revealed in an interview with Oprah that she and Harry were married three days before their wedding
• An official who helped draw up the special license has disputed this claim
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In an interview with Oprah, Meghan revealed that she and Prince Harry were privately married in their back garden at Nottingham Cottage by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Meghan revealed that this took place three days before their large royal wedding at Windsor Castle on 19th May 2018.
The former chief clerk at the Faculty office, Stephen Borton, told the Sun “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.”
He went on to say that the couple’s wedding that took place at Windsor Castle and was televised to millions, was their official wedding. He said, “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."
The former chief clerk also gave a possible explanation as to why Meghan might be mistaken. “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,” he said.
In the interview with Oprah, Meghan said, “You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that.” She continued to say, “we called the Archbishop and we just said, look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world. But we want our union between us, so the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
However, since this claim was made, the couple’s official wedding license has been released which shows that their wedding date is 19th May 2018. The certificate also states that their nuptials were witnessed by Harry’s father Prince Charles and Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.
Stephen Borton continued to say, “They couldn’t have got married in the grounds of Nottingham Cottage as it is not an authorised venue and there were not enough witnesses present. You cannot be married with just three people. It’s not a valid ceremony. I think the Duchess is confused. Any certificate she may have of her vows on the wall is not an official wedding certificate.”
Official or not, judging by Meghan's comments the couple simply wanted a moment for themselves, away from the public, to exchange their vows in a ceremony that was just for them.
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