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23rd Mar 2021

Harry and Meghan address ‘secret’ wedding claims

Sarah McKenna Barry

A representative for the Sussexes has revealed what actually happened three days before the wedding.

Harry and Meghan have addressed the speculation surrounding their alleged “secret wedding”, three days before the televised ceremony.

Earlier this month, the couple told Oprah that they got married in private on 16 May 2018.

During their tell-all interview with the American chat show host, Meghan explained how she wanted a private ceremony before the media frenzy.

“Three days before our wedding, we got married,” she said. “No one knows that. We called the Archbishop and we just said, look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world.

She continued: “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.”

While the revelation caused a stir in the press, many royal fans questioned the validity of the claims.

In fact, an ex-official for the royal family has disputed the “secret wedding” rumour.

Stephen Borton, the former chief clerk at the Faculty Office, called Meghan Markle “misinformed”.

He said: “They did not marry three days earlier in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury. 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.”

He continued: “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.”

Since then, however, representatives from Harry and Meghan have clarified what happened.

The couple’s representative said: “The couple exchanged personal vows a few days before their official/legal wedding on May 19.”