Queen Elizabeth II gives royal consent for Prince Harry to marry Meghan Markle

Buckingham Palace released an image Saturday of the handwritten document on which Queen Elizabeth II of England gives her formal consent for Prince Harry to marry Meghan Markle.

The document, coined the “Instrument of Consent” was released one week before Harry is set to marry the American actress at Windsor’s St. George’s Chapel.

Harry, the sixth in line to the throne, and Markle, best known for her role in U.S. TV drama Suits, are due to marry next Saturday at Windsor Castle, home to kings and queens for nearly 1,000 years.

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“NOW KNOW YE that We have consented and do by these Presents signify Our Consent to the contracting of Matrimony between Our Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales, K.C.V.O., and Rachel Meghan Markle,” it reads.

The document, illuminated on vellum, features a design to the left of the text that incorporates a red dragon, the symbol of Wales. The design to the right features a rose, the national flower of the United States.

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According to British law, the first six people in the line of succession must obtain the queen’s formal consent to get married.  When Prince Harry got engaged to Meghan Markle, he was fifth in line for the throne. However, the birth of Prince Louis, his brother William Duke of Cambridge’s son, saw Harry bumped to sixth.

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The queen, who’s now 92 years old, gave her blessing for the upcoming nuptials in accordance with the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act, and included references to the couple in the elaborate document.

The design to the right of the document represents Markle – it incorporates a rose, the national flower of the United States, and two golden poppies, the state flower in Markle’s home state of California.

The design to the left of the document represents Harry. It incorporates the red dragon of Wales along with UK’s floral emblems. It also includes a reference to Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, in its incorporation of three tiny red escallops from the Spencer family Arms.

The document, which was drafted by the Crown Office, will be given to the couple after the wedding.

-With files from Reuters and the Associated Press.