Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were forced to give back their wedding gifts from members of the public due to an obscure but unusual rule.

The couple married at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on May 19 2018, and were given many presents from royal fans who had flocked to witness the happy occasion.

But prior to the wedding, an official royal statement was released saying that those who wished to give Harry and Meghan a gift needed to address it to Kensington Palace, rather than bring it to Windsor.

This is because the Firm did not want any company or business to use the Sussex wedding for publicity, with the couple later having to return £7million worth of gifts.

The rule extends to all members of the Royal Family, who are not allowed to accept gifts that could be interpreted as advertising or promoting a particular brand.

The guidelines state: “The fundamental principle governing the acceptance of gifts by Members of The Royal Family is that no gifts, including hospitality or services, should be accepted which would, or might appear to, place the Member of The Royal Family under any obligation to the donor.”

The only gift requested by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was a donation to one of seven charities of their choice – CHIVA, Crisis, Myna Mahalia Foundation, Scotty’s Little Soldiers, StreetGames, Surfers Against Sewage, and The Wilderness Foundation UK.

Meghan walked down the aisle in an exquisite Givenchy dress designed for her by Clare Waight Keller, which took her team 3,900 hours to make.

The Duchess said of the process: “I had a very clear vision of what I wanted for the day, and what I wanted the dress to look like, and so what was amazing in working with Clare is that sometimes you’ll find designers try to push you in a different direction.

“But she just completely respected what I wanted to see for the day, and she wanted to bring that to life for me. So I knew at the onset I wanted a bateau neckline, I wanted a cropped sleeve.

“I wanted a very timeless, classic feeling and, obviously with respect to the environment we were in and St George’s Chapel, being really modest in what it would look like, I knew that the tailoring was so key, because the dress itself would be so covered up.”