Meghan Markle’s surprise revelation to Oprah Winfrey that she and Prince Harry were secretly married three days before their lavish royal wedding is contradicted by the couple’s legal marriage certificate, which was published by a British tabloid newspaper on Monday.
A representative of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex later confirmed to the Daily Beast and to NBC’s “Today” that there was in fact no legal early marriage, but that “the couple a few days before their official legal marriage on May 19 exchanged personal vows. “three years ago.
Markle told Winfrey in an interview on March 7 that she and her prince had tied the knot in the backyard of their home with the Archbishop of Canterbury who was apparently three days before their wedding in the St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle presides.
“You know, three days before our wedding we got married. “Nobody knows,” said Markle. “We called the archbishop and said, ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle, is for the world. But we want to have a connection between us. ‘So the vows we made in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury. ”
Harry said, “Just the three of us,” referring to Archbishop Rev. Justin Welby.
Their backyard at the time was in Nottingham Cottage – their home was then on the Kensington Palace site.
But a copy of the couple’s marriage certificate obtained by The Sun reveals that they were legally married on May 19, the day of their public wedding in Windsor.
The contradiction is important because British critics want to undermine the Sussex interview, especially the disturbing revelation that someone in the royal family has expressed ‘concern’ about how dark the baby’s skin would be.
The former TV host Piers Morgan, a regular critic of Markle, immediately jumped on the marriage issue on Monday and asked in a tweet: “Do we still have to believe her?”
Journalists quoted sources earlier as saying that Markle was talking about private vows and not about a legal marriage, but that was far from clear in the interview.
The British press was immediately skeptical after the interview about the revelation of the marriage because official marriages require two witnesses, beyond ‘just the two of us’.
Officials questioned by British reporters initially tipped off about the issue. One official said Markle was ‘confused’. Another source said the Archbishop of Canterbury ‘does not do private weddings’, adding:’ Meghan is an American; she does not understand. ”
But after The Sun obtained the marriage certificate, former chief clerk Stephen Borton told the newspaper: ‘I’m sorry, but Meghan is obviously confused and clearly misinformed. They had not married before the Archbishop of Canterbury three days earlier. ”
The “Special License I Helped Draw Up” enabled them to To marry George’s Chapel in Windsor and what happened there on May 19, 2018, and [what] seen by millions around the world, the official wedding was as recognized by the Church of England and the law, ”he added.
Borton said he suspects the couple exchanged a “simple vow” in front of the archbishop – or “more likely it was a simple rehearsal.” He said Nottingham Cottage was ‘not an authorized venue’ for a royal wedding, and besides, they did not have enough witnesses.
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