Kensington Palace released a veritable bounty of new information on Friday about the upcoming royal wedding between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Among many juicy details, it was announced that Meghan Markle will not have a maid of honour as previously thought (sorry, Jessica Mulroney!), and her father, Thomas Markle, 73, will walk her down the aisle to Harry.
Previous erroneous reports claimed that Markle’s father wasn’t even invited to the May 19 ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. Her mother, Doria Ragland, 61, will accompany her in the bridal car. The couple divorced when Markle was six years old.
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Markle refused to select one of her friends over the other to be the maid of honour. Canadian stylist Mulroney and author Lindsay Roth were initially thought to be among her choices for maid of honour; instead, these close friends will have no formal duties on the day-of but will be supporting Markle as she preps for her big day.
There will be bridesmaids, flower girls and pageboys, and Kensington Palace confirmed they will all be children. Their exact identities haven’t been revealed, but Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s daughter, three-year-old Princess Charlotte, is thought to be one of them.
Harry has invited the family of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, to the wedding. All three of Diana’s siblings – Earl Spencer, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes – will be present, with the latter also reciting a reading at the service.
“Prince Harry and Ms Markle both feel honoured that Lady Jane will be representing her family and helping to celebrate the memory of the late Princess on the wedding day,” read a statement from the palace. “This wedding will be guided by tradition, allowing everyone to celebrate what makes royal weddings so special, but also one which reflects the personalities of Prince Harry and Ms Markle.”
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On the day of the wedding, guests will arrive between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. GMT (4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. ET). Members of the Royal Family will begin to arrive at approximately 11:20 a.m. GMT (6:20 a.m. ET), and enter St George’s Chapel via the Galilee Porch. Some will be on foot, and others will arrive by car.
The wedding service starts at noon GMT (7 a.m. ET) at St George’s Chapel, and is expected to take one hour. The carriage procession afterwards will last 25 minutes, and then the couple will go back into Windsor Castle for the lunch reception for guests. The lunch is expected to run until around 3:30 pm GMT (10:30 a.m. ET) at St George’s Hall.
As previously announced, Prince William will be Harry’s best man, and the many moving parts to the wedding, like photography, wedding cake and flowers, have all been decided.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will officiate the wedding, and the Dean of Windsor will conduct the service.
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Pastry chef Claire Ptak of Violet Cakes in London will be baking the official wedding cake, and she said it’ll be a buttercream-topped, lemon elderflower flavoured cake, to “incorporate the bright flavours of spring.”
As for flowers, London florist Philippa Craddock is taking the lead. Markle’s favourite flower is the peony, so expect those to be plentiful.
The photographer for the big day will be Alexi Lubomirski, who snapped those now-infamous engagement photos.
The couple chose an open-top Ascot Landau royal carriage for their procession through Windsor after their nuptials, and two horses — specifically Windsor Grey horses — will be pulling the carriage.
The Royal Family announced it will be paying for the wedding in its entirety. (British taxpayers won’t be footing the bill.) Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding reportedly cost close to US$34 million. Kensington Palace did not reveal the price tag on Harry and Markle’s nuptials.
Harry and Markle will spend the night before the wedding apart, as is tradition. They also don’t plan on immediately departing for their honeymoon — and that destination has yet to be revealed. No official royal wedding guest list will be released.