Royal | News - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Harry and Meghan had only been engaged since November 2017 before their wedding, having first met in the summer of 2016.
The pair’s big day was filled with pomp and pageantry, featuring grand florals, loving crowds and a lavish reception.
The overall bill for the wedding is thought to have cost up to £32 million, with about £30 million going on security costs alone.
According to reports, the huge sum of the bill fell on the taxpayer to pay, while the Royal Family is said to have paid for the more personal aspects of the couple’s wedding, such as flowers and reception costs.
Kensington Palace said at the time: “As was the case with the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Royal Family will pay for the core aspects of the wedding, such as the church service, the associated music, flowers, decorations, and the reception afterwards.”
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Meghan Markle looked exquisite in what is now considered one of the most iconic royal wedding dresses of all time.
She opted for a traditional wedding gown that was very reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn’s.
It was made of silk with three-quarter-length sleeves, an open bateau neckline and a train with a built-in triple silk organza underskirt.
The beautiful gown – named the most-searched royal wedding dress of all time – was designed by British fashion designer Clare Waight Keller, artistic director of the fashion house Givenchy.
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Meghan’s five-metre-long veil was made from silk tulle.
The fashion house reportedly spent 3,900 hours embroidering it with flowers of the 53 countries of the Commonwealth, as well as the California poppy, in honour of Meghan’s home state and wintersweet, a flower that grows at Kensington Palace.
At the very front of it, the unique piece featured embroidered crops of wheat which were blended into the flowers, to symbolise love and charity.
The veil was held in place by Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara, lent to Meghan by the late Queen.
The diamond bandeau is English and was made in 1932, with the centre brooch dating from 1893.
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It was later claimed that the late Queen Elizabeth thought that Meghan’s dress was “too white” as she had been married before she met Harry.
Author Ingrid Seward wrote in her book My Mother and I: “In the [late] monarch’s view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal.”
Ms Seward said the late Queen only revealed her opinion to her closest confidantes, including her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Anson, who was the one who claimed Elizabeth thought the dress was improper for a divorcee.
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The now infamous bridesmaid dress row between Meghan and the Princess of Wales took place just before the wedding.
The young bridesmaids wore high-waisted silk dresses also designed by Clare Waight Keller which had puff sleeves.
A total of ten bridesmaids and page boys were chosen including Prince George and Princess Charlotte, two of the duchess’s godchildren, Rylan Litt and her sister Remi, her friend Jessica Mulroney’s three children, Brian, John and Ivy Mulroney, and Harry’s godchildren Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren and Jasper Dyer.
Whilst it was initially reported that Meghan made Kate cry over Charlotte’s dress needing alterations because it didn’t fit properly, Meghan alleged during her 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview that it was the other way around and it was she who had been left upset.
Later, Harry touched down on the incident in his memoir Spare, saying that his wife was left “on the floor sobbing” after the argument between the two sisters-in-law.
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