40 Fun Facts About Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

What did Prince Harry need Queen Elizabeth II's permission to keep when marrying Meghan Markle in Army uniform?

His beard needed the Queen's sign-off because facial hair was then allowed in the British Army only in exceptional circumstances.

Which soul classic did the gospel group the Kingdom Choir sing at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding?

Stand by Me was arranged for the choir by Mark Delisser and sung as the bride and groom sat down during the service.

What flavour was the wedding cake that a London baker made for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?

Lemon and elderflower layers were decorated with peonies in shades of white and cream.

Who escorted Meghan Markle through the quire to the altar at Windsor after her father withdrew from her wedding?

Prince Charles, the groom's father, met the bride partway, after she had walked the first stretch of the aisle with only her attendants behind her.

Which dukedom did Queen Elizabeth II give Prince Harry on the morning he married Meghan Markle?

Sussex came with two lesser titles, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel, following the custom of giving royal princes a peerage when they marry.

At which venue, where his uncle Prince Edward had also wed, did Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle?

St George's Chapel sits inside Windsor Castle, and it had also hosted the blessing of the marriage of Harry's father and stepmother.

Which civil rights leader was quoted in the sermon on love at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding?

Martin Luther King Jr. was quoted in a 14-minute address on the redemptive power of love, given by the head of the American branch of Anglicanism.

Before Meghan Markle wed Prince Harry, which American divorcee had married the abdicated Edward VIII in 1937?

Wallis Simpson became Duchess of Windsor but was never styled Her Royal Highness, a style Meghan received on marrying.

Which singer performed at the reception Queen Elizabeth II hosted after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding?

Elton John sang for the roughly 600 guests who had attended the service, at a reception held in the castle after the carriage procession.

Before marrying Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was best known for acting in which legal drama television series?

Suits was filmed in Toronto, and several of her co-stars from the show were among the guests at Windsor.

Clare Waight Keller designed Meghan Markle's wedding dress as artistic director of which French fashion house?

Givenchy kept the secret until the last moment: the maker's name was revealed only as the bride stepped out of her car for the service.

The flowers embroidered on Meghan Markle's wedding veil stood for the countries of which international body?

The Commonwealth had 53 members at the time, and each got its own flower on a veil that took embroiderers 500 hours to finish.

Which US state's official flower, a poppy, was embroidered on Meghan Markle's wedding veil to honour her birthplace?

California is where Meghan was born, and its state poppy sat on the veil beside wintersweet, a flower that grew outside the couple's cottage.

Which British actor, also a guest at the ceremony, was the DJ at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's evening reception?

Idris Elba was invited by Harry, and the bride handed him a setlist that included Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance with Somebody.

In a 2021 interview with which host did Meghan say she and Prince Harry exchanged vows before their wedding day?

Oprah Winfrey, herself a guest at Windsor, heard that the pair made private vows three days early; the Archbishop of Canterbury later said the legal wedding was the public one.

Prince William skipped which annual football match because it fell on the day Prince Harry married Meghan Markle?

The FA Cup Final was a fixture William normally attended as President of the Football Association, but he was his brother's best man instead.

On which day of the week did Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle, with no bank holiday declared?

Saturday was the choice, and unlike William and Kate's Friday wedding in 2011 the day was not declared a bank holiday.

Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle in the garden of which London royal home, site of Nottingham Cottage?

Kensington Palace was also where the couple faced the cameras, at an engagement photocall in its Sunken Garden.

Which niece of Prince Harry joined her brother among the bridesmaids and page boys at his wedding to Meghan Markle?

Princess Charlotte was one of five attendants chosen by the groom, alongside three of his godchildren.

Which American bishop, then head of the Episcopal Church, preached at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?

Michael Curry spoke for 14 minutes, and prayers later in the service were offered by a chaplain to the Queen and a Coptic Orthodox archbishop.

Which cleric performed the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle while the Dean of Windsor led the service?

Justin Welby, then Archbishop of Canterbury, used the standard marriage service published in Common Worship, the modern Anglican liturgy.

The diamond bandeau tiara lent to Meghan Markle for her wedding to Prince Harry was made in 1932 for whom?

Queen Mary had the band built around a brooch she had been given as a wedding present by the County of Lincoln in 1893.

Which cellist played Schubert's Ave Maria while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed the register at their wedding?

Sheku Kanneh-Mason was 19 at the time, and with the orchestra he also played Fauré's Après un rêve.

Meghan Markle's wedding ring was made of gold from which part of Britain, while Prince Harry's was platinum?

Wales supplied the gold for the bride's ring, and both bands were made by Cleave and Company, the court jewellers behind her engagement ring.

The central diamond in Meghan Markle's engagement ring from Prince Harry came from which African country?

Botswana supplied the main stone, which Harry had set between two smaller diamonds from his mother's jewellery collection.

Which British designer made the halter-neck dress Meghan Markle wore to her evening wedding reception?

Stella McCartney's open-backed gown was worn with an emerald-cut aquamarine ring that had once belonged to Harry's mother, Diana.

In which silver-blue classic sports car did Prince Harry drive Meghan Markle to their evening wedding reception?

The Jaguar E-Type was a loaned Concept Zero model, and the groom took the wheel himself with his new wife beside him.

Where did 200 close friends join Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the second reception on their wedding day?

Frogmore House hosted a party given by the groom's father, and the night ended with a small fireworks display overhead.

Which flowers did Prince Harry hand-pick for Meghan Markle's wedding bouquet in honour of his late mother, Diana?

Forget-me-nots joined sweet peas, jasmine and lily of the valley in a bouquet designed by the florist Philippa Craddock.

Prince Harry wore the frock coat uniform of which Army regiment, his old unit, to marry Meghan Markle?

The Blues and Royals uniform was also worn by his best man, and mounted soldiers of the regiment escorted the newlyweds' carriage.

Where in Westminster Abbey was Meghan Markle's bouquet laid after her wedding to Prince Harry, following royal custom?

The Unknown Warrior's grave has received the bouquets of royal brides ever since the Queen Mother began the custom.

Sprigs of which plant in Meghan Markle's wedding bouquet came from a bush grown from Queen Elizabeth II's own bouquet?

Myrtle sprigs sat beside astilbe and astrantia in an arrangement the groom helped to choose.

Meghan Markle's 'something blue' when she married Prince Harry was fabric from the dress she wore on which occasion?

Their first date dress supplied a piece of blue fabric that was stitched out of sight into her wedding outfit, a secret she shared in a documentary months later.

Which comedian played Cord Hosenbeck, co-host of HBO's parody broadcast of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding?

Will Ferrell was joined by Molly Shannon as Tish Cattigan, and the two spoof commentators went live at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Which London-based baker was chosen in March 2018 to make Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding cake?

Claire Ptak was picked two months before the big day, and the cost of her creation alone was estimated at £50,000.

Which photographer took both the engagement portraits and the wedding photos of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?

Alexi Lubomirski, a former assistant to Mario Testino, took the three official portraits at Windsor Castle after the ceremony.

At which country house hotel did Meghan Markle spend the night before her wedding to Prince Harry with her mother?

Cliveden hosted the bride and her mother, while the groom spent the same night with his brother at another hotel, Coworth Park.

Which relative of Prince Harry read from the Song of Solomon at his wedding to Meghan Markle?

Lady Jane Fellowes is his maternal aunt, so the reading gave the family of his late mother, Diana, a part in the service.

Which hymn from Princess Diana's funeral was sung at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding?

Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer was a favourite of Diana's, and Harry was seen wiping away a tear as the congregation sang it.

What reason was given for Thomas Markle missing his daughter Meghan Markle's wedding to Prince Harry?

Heart surgery kept him away, and the bride travelled to the service with her mother instead.