Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts

anyone else excited about the upcoming nuptuals of Harry and Meghan?

Taken from the Wikipedia regarding the Marriage of Harry and Meghan:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Harry_and_Meghan_Markle


Harry and Meghan attending church on Christmas Day, 2017

Prince Henry of Wales, known as Prince Harry,[2][notes 2] is the second son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales. He and Meghan Markle, an American actress best known for her role in the American legal-drama television series Suits, have been in a relationship since June 2016. The relationship was first acknowledged on 8 November 2016, when an official statement was released from the royal family's communications secretary addressing the "wave of abuse and harassment" directed toward Markle.[3]

On 27 November 2017, Clarence House announced that Prince Harry would marry Meghan Markle in the spring of 2018.[4] They were engaged earlier the same month in London, with the Prince giving Markle a bespoke engagement ring made by Cleave and Company, consisting of a large central diamond from Botswana, with two smaller diamonds from his mother's jewellery collection.[5] At the same time, it was announced that they would live at Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace following their marriage.[6]


The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh expressed their delight at the news, while congratulations came in from various political leaders, including the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, and the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn. After the announcement, the couple gave an exclusive interview to Mishal Husain of BBC News.[6]


Markle will be the second American[notes 3] and the first person of mixed race heritage to marry into the British royal family.[7] The engagement announcement prompted much comment about the possible social significance of Meghan Markle becoming a proudly mixed-race royal.[8][9][10][11][12]

Since Harry was fifth in the line of succession to the British throne at the time of his engagement,[13] he obtained the Queen's permission to marry under the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which allows the monarch to approve or disapprove marriages of the first six persons in the line of succession.[14] The Queen's consent was declared to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 14 March 2018.[15]

Although Markle attended a private Catholic school in her early years, she did not identify as Roman Catholic.[16] On 6 March 2018, she was baptised and confirmed into the Church of England by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at St. James's Palace.[17] The Church no longer denies marriage to divorced persons with a living spouse.[18][19] After the engagement, Markle began the years-long process of becoming a British citizen.[20] She will retain her U.S. citizenship during the process,[21] but Kensington Palace have indicated that the decision on whether she will retain dual nationality has not yet been made.[20] The couple was invited to celebrate Christmas 2017 with the royal family at the Queen's Sandringham estate.[22] The official engagement photographs were taken by Alexi Lubomirski, a former assistant to Mario Testino, at Frogmore House, and were issued by Kensington Palace on 21 December 2017.[23]

Wedding


St George's Chapel, Windsor

Mounted soldiers of the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons); the Blues and Royals, Prince Harry's old regiment, and part of the Household Cavalry, will ride as an escort in the procession.

The wedding is to take place on 19 May 2018 at St George's Chapel, Windsor.[24] The venue was previously the site for the weddings of Prince Harry's uncle, the Earl of Wessex, and his cousin, Peter Phillips, as well as the blessing for the marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Harry's stepmother.[25]

Experts expect the wedding to cost around ₤500,000;[26] the royal family have announced that they will pay for the wedding.[27] In December 2017 Israeli designer Inbal Dror was asked to submit designs for a wedding dress.[28][29] As of January 2018, British designer Stewart Parvin is the bookmakers' favourite to design her wedding dress.[30]


The British government has stated the wedding day is not planned to be a bank holiday, as was done for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.[31] Kensington Palace subsequently announced that the wedding is to be held on Saturday 19 May 2018, the same date as the FA Cup Final, which Prince Harry's brother William normally attends in his role as President of the Football Association.[32] Holding the royal wedding on a weekend is a break with the royal tradition of having weddings on a weekday.[33] On 12 February 2018, Kensington Palace announced that the ceremony will occur at 12:00 PM BST. Following the ceremony, there will be a carriage procession through Windsor after the ceremony as well as two receptions. The first reception, for those attending the ceremony, will be hosted by the Queen and will take place in St. George's Hall after the carriage procession. A second reception at Frogmore House, for family and close friends and hosted by the Prince of Wales, will occur later in the day.[34]


Approximately 250 members of the British Armed Forces were announced to be contributing to the wedding, the majority coming from units that have a connection with Prince Harry:[35]



Wedding party

On 26 April 2018, Kensington Palace announced that Prince Harry had selected his older brother, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, as best man.[36][37] There was initially no confirmation as to whether Prince William would miss the FA Cup Final, which he would normally attend in his role as President of The Football Association, or if he would be able to attend both the wedding and the football. A statement from Kensington Palace that the timing of the wedding would not clash with the match was released in December 2017.[38] However, it was confirmed in March that the Duke would not be attending the final that day.[39]

There were suggestions that, in a break with tradition, the bride would have a maid of honour,[notes 9] with her friend Jessica Mulroney rumoured to be chosen.[40][41] In early May 2018, there was confirmation that there would be no maid of honour, and that the bridesmaids and page boys would all be children.[42]

Wedding service

Meghan Markle will be escorted down the aisle by her father, while Prince Harry's aunt, Baroness Fellowes, will deliver a reading.[42] The Dean of Windsor, David Conner, will conduct the service with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, performing the marriage ceremony. The sermon will be delivered by The Most Reverend Michael Curry, presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church (the American member church of the Anglican Communion).[34][43]

Music

Two choirs, an orchestra and fanfare trumpeters provided music for the service. The orchestra was made up of musicians from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. In addition to the Choir of St George's Chapel, the Kingdom Choir, a gospel group, will also perform, while the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry will provide the fanfare. The State Trumpeters will include Kate Sandford, thus making her the first female state trumpeter at a British royal wedding.[44] The music was under the overall direction of James Vivian, the chapel's Organist and Director of Music; the Kingdom Choir was conducted by Karen Gibson, while the orchestra was conducted by Christopher Warren-Green.[45][46]

Guests

In April 2018, it was announced that an "official list" of domestic and international political leaders was not required for the wedding and that Prime Minister Theresa May, Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn, and other leaders would not be attending the ceremony. President of the United States Donald Trump is believed not to have been sent an invitation. This is in contrast to the wedding of Prince Harry's elder brother, which had a large number of such guests due to his position as a future monarch.[47] The decision not to invite political leaders to the wedding was taken in part due to the size of the venue, and also taking into account Prince Harry's position as sixth in line to the throne.[47]

With a smaller ceremony and reception at St George's Hall, the guest list includes approximately 600 people, most of whom have a "direct relationship" with the couple.[48] Also, 200 close friends of the couple have been invited to attend the evening reception at Frogmore House.[1] In addition, approximately 1,200 members of the public are invited to greet the couple outside the chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle.[48]


Sarah, Duchess of York, the former wife of Prince Andrew, has been invited to the wedding even though she had not been invited to the weddings of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly in 2008 and Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall in 2011. However, she has not been invited to the evening reception at Frogmore House hosted by Prince Charles and is reportedly "deeply upset" by her exclusion.[49]

Charitable donations

In April 2018, the couple announced that, rather than sending wedding gifts, people should make a charitable donation. They announced a list of seven individual organisations, none of which they had a formal association with, that they had nominated to benefit from such donations:[50]
  • CHIVA (Children's HIV Association): The small charity supports more than 1,000 young people living with HIV in the UK and Ireland.
  • Crisis: The national homeless body works with thousands of people a year to help rebuild their lives.
  • The Myna Mahila Foundation: The organisation, based in Mumbai, helps empower women through offering stable employment and breaking cultural taboos around menstrual hygiene. Myna Mahila also teaches women life skills such as maths, English and self defence.
  • Scotty's Little Soldiers: The charity supports children who have lost a parent while serving in the British Armed Forces.
  • StreetGames: The organisation uses sport to help young people and communities become healthier and safer.
  • Surfers Against Sewage: The national marine conservation body works to protect oceans, beaches, waves and wildlife.
  • The Wilderness Foundation UK: Vulnerable teenagers from urban communities are taught about the great outdoors and rural employment opportunities.

Coverage

Coverage of the royal wedding will air on BBC One, ITV, and Sky News in the UK.

BBC

Huw Edwards will host coverage for BBC TV with Desert Island Discs host Kirsty Young and BBC Radio 2 DJ Dermot O'Leary. On BBC Radio, Chris Evans and Scarlett Moffatt will co-host.

ITV

Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham will host coverage for ITV.

Sky

Kay Burley, Anna Botting and Alastair Bruce, among others, will host coverage for Sky.

Title

Traditionally, royal princes have been awarded substantive titles prior to their marriages; this occurred with both of Prince Harry's uncles, the Duke of York and Earl of Wessex, as well as his elder brother, the Duke of Cambridge. In the event that Prince Harry is awarded a title, his wife would automatically receive the equivalent spousal title (e.g. if he is made a duke, then she would automatically become a duchess). Should no title be awarded, Markle will assume the title HRH Princess Henry of Wales.[notes 10][54][55]



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I think I may organize a watching party, particularly for the sissies, anglophiles or anyone that wants to play along -- however, proper dress is going to be encouraged. As are proper manners!!