Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex walk down the west steps of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018 after their wedding ceremony. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Jane Barlow Harry, Markle now Duke & Duchess of Sussex
London: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day on Saturday. Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the dukedom on her grandson in the morning, with his wife-to-be automatically becoming a duchess. Prince Harry’s titles will be Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.
“The Queen has today been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince Henry of Wales. His titles will be Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel,” according to the royal statement.
“Prince Harry thus becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle on marriage will become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex,” it said.
Welsh gold for Markle, platinum ring for Harry
Windsor: Royal bride Meghan Markle wore a wedding ring made from Welsh gold gifted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth when she tied the knot with Prince Harry at Windsor castle on Saturday. Prince Harry’s ring was a platinum band with a “textured finish”, Kensington Palace said. The couple has chosen London jewellers Cleave and Company to make their Wedding rings. The company had also made the couple’s engagement rings. “Ms. Markle’s ring has been fashioned from a piece of Welsh Gold, gifted by Her Majesty The Queen. Prince Harry’s ring will be a Platinum Band with a textured finish. Both rings were crafted in Cleave workshop,” Kensington Palace said.
“The rings will be carried to St George’s Chapel on the day of the Wedding by The Duke of Cambridge, in his capacity as Best Man,” it said in a statement.
After announcing their engagement in November, Harry, 33, during the couple’s first interview had said he chose yellow-gold for 36-year-old Markle’s engagement ring initially “because that’s her favourite,” and included two diamonds from his mother Princess Diana’s personal collection “to make sure she’s with us on this crazy journey together”.
Harry himself designed the engagement ring, which in addition to Diana’s diamonds has a center diamond from Botswana.
The couple had a whirlwind romance after being set up on a blind date by a mutual friend last year.
They announced their engagement on November 27, 2017, during which Harry said the “stars were aligned” when the “beautiful” actress, best-known for her role in the TV series ‘Suits’, “tripped and fell” into his life.
The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace as a married couple, where their neighbours will be Prince William and Kate – Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Meghan did not promise to ‘obey’ Harry
Windsor: Meghan Markle took a break from traditional wedding vows on Saturday as she did not promise to ‘obey’ Prince Harry in her nuptials at St George’s Chapel, British media reported. In her vows, Meghan did not promise to “obey” her husband, while the prince broke with royal tradition by choosing to wear a wedding ring, the BBC reported. Instead of using traditional vows, the royal couple have selected words from The Marriage Service from Common Worship (2000). They pledged themselves to one another: “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part”. The marriage service featured contemporary language – using the word “you” instead of “thee” and “thou” and offers the most flexibility in the choice of readings and prayers, the report said.
Harry also wore a ring and Meghan did not promise to ‘obey’ her husband and the wording of the service is more contemporary than traditional, it said.
Recent royal tradition has been for royal brides not to pledge to obey their husbands. The Duchess of Cambridge did not in 2011, and neither did Harry’s mother the Princess of Wales in 1981 when she married the Prince of Wales.
Diana was the first to break royal precedent when she did not promise to “obey” Prince Charles at their wedding.
This comes after it was yesterday revealed that there will be another break from royal tradition, Prince Charles will walk Meghan down the aisle instead of her own father, Thomas Markle.
The former ‘Suits’ actress asked her father-in-law-to-be and the Prince of Wales to walk by her side at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after it was confirmed that her father Thomas Markle Sr would not be attending the wedding ceremony due to ill-health, having reportedly undergone a heart procedure earlier this week.
The 69-year-old heir to the British throne has some practice of this role, having previously escorted Alexandra Knatchbull, the daughter of his close friend, down the aisle at her high society wedding to Thomas Hooper in 2016. PTI