WINDSOR: Prince Harry and his actress bride Meghan Markle married on Saturday in a dazzling ceremony that blended ancient English ritual with African American culture, infusing the 1,000-year-old British monarchy with a blast of modernity.

In a mediaeval chapel at Windsor Castle that 39 English kings and queens have called home since 1066, Harry and Meghan excha­nged vows watched up close by royals and celebrities, and from afar by a global TV audience of many millions.

Wearing a veil, diamond tiara and a sleek dress with a long train, the American actress was accompanied up the aisle of St George’s Chapel by Harry’s father, Prince Charles, before she and Harry exchanged vows and were proclaimed husband and wife.

The couple kissed on the steps of the 15th-century chapel, before delighting the sea of well-wishers, some of whom had camped for days to witness the spectacular show of British pomp and pageantry, by touring Windsor in a horse-drawn carriage.

The ceremony was like no other the British royal family has seen before

The union of Harry, 33, a former royal wild child and sixth-in-line to the British throne, and 36-year-old Meghan, a divorcee whose mother is African-American and father is white, was like no other the royal family has seen before.

“We can break the barriers down, it can be done,” said 40-year-old black Briton Yvonne Emanuel, one of the 100,000-strong crowd that thronged Windsor’s streets.

The ceremony was typical of royal weddings in many ways. The service was conducted by the Dean of Windsor while Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, declared the couple man and wife, beneath the banners of the knights of the Order of the Garter, the world’s oldest chivalric group dating back to 1348.

The newlyweds will also be officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after Queen Elizabeth bestowed those titles on them.

Breaks with tradition

But throughout the wedding, there were significant breaks with tradition, in particular when US Episcopalian bishop Michael Bruce Curry delivered a passionate sermon that was a far cry from the sober tones of the Church of England.

“There’s power in love,” he boomed at a congregation that included Queen Elizabeth, senior royals and celebrities ranging from Oprah Winfrey to George Clooney and David Beckham.

“Do not underestimate it. Anyone who has ever fallen in love knows what I mean,” said Curry in an energetic address that quoted Martin Luther King.

As well as traditional Church of England anthems and delicate English choral music, the ceremony also featured a gospel choir singing “Stand by Me”, the 1960s hit by American soul singer Ben E. King.

Meghan’s mother, Doria Rag­land, 61, accompanied her daughter to the chapel in a vintage Rolls Royce and shed tears of emotion at several points during the ceremony.

Meghan entered the chapel unescorted, offering TV viewers and the congregation a first good look at her hotly anticipated wedding dress, which was created by British designer Clare Waight Keller of the French fashion house Givenchy.

Harry, looking nervous, appeared to say: “Thanks Pa” to his father, and “You look amazing!” to his beaming bride.

In further breaks with tradition, Markle, 36, did not vow to obey her husband; while Harry, who is three years her junior, wore a wedding ring — unlike other senior male royals such as his older brother Prince William.

Harry’s office announced that at a private wedding reception later there would be speeches not only by Charles and Harry but also by Meghan herself — another unusual feature as in English weddings bri­des do not typically make a speech.

Among the raft of celebrity guests were James Corden, British host of the American TV chat show The Late Late Show, tennis ace Serena Williams, British actor Idris Elba along with two of Harry’s ex-girlfriends and the siblings of Harry’s late mother Princess Diana.

Her sister, Lady Jane Fellowes, delivered the reading and the chapel itself was garlanded with white roses, the favourite flowers of Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

‘I wish I were there’: Thomas Markle

Markle’s own father Thomas Markle, 73, a former lighting director for TV soaps and sitcoms, pulled out of the ceremony this week, telling the US celebrity website TMZ he had had heart surgery on Wednesday.

After watching the ceremony from California, he told TMZ it had been “emotional and joyful”: “My baby looks beautiful and she looks very happy. I wish I were there and I wish them all my love and all happiness.”

Harry and Meghan will not immediately leave for a honeymoon and will carry out their first official engagement as husband and wife next week.

Despite being unlikely to ever ascend to the throne as he is behind his father, brother, two nephews and niece in the line of succession, Harry has been at the forefront of efforts to modernise the monarchy in recent years, rejecting the uptight royal image to talk openly about his innermost feelings.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2018