Welby is ready to officiate at Harry and Meghan’s wedding

The Archbishop of Canterbury said the marriage would be ‘fun’ and expressed delight that the couple had opted to show their ‘faith’ by tying the knot in church

Justin Welby signalled today he is ready to officiate at Harry and Meghan’s wedding – but admitted he lost the rings at a previous ceremony.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said the marriage would be ‘fun’ and expressed delight that the couple had opted to show their ‘faith’ by tying the knot in church.

Asked whether he would preside at the service, Dr Welby made clear he was at their disposal, saying: ‘That is up to them.’

But he warned that at a recent wedding of one of his aides he managed to misplace a ring, sparking a hunt until it was discovered having rolled under a chair. He joked it would make ‘entertaining television’ if he repeated the blunder.

The Prince and Miss Markle will marry at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle because it is a place ‘close to the couple’s hearts’, it was revealed last month.

The couple have not given an exact date for their ‘fun and joyful’ wedding yet, but it is likely to be on TV.

The couple have shunned a larger wedding at Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s for a more intimate church service at St George’s, where Harry’s father Charles had a blessing after marrying Camilla in the nearby Guildhall in 2005.

Dr Welby has already given his blessing to Miss Markle, who divorced film producer Trevor Engelson in 2013, marrying Harry in a church.

Voicing his pleasure about the wedding today, Dr Welby praise the couple’s ‘commitment’.

‘There is a profound sense of commitment and seriousness both about faith and their life together which is quite inspirational,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Dr Welby was asked about what happened when he presided over the wedding of one of his senior staff, Ailsa Anderson, and journalist Simon Cole at Lambeth Palace.

Miss Anderson, Dr Welby’s head of media relations and former press secretary to the Queen, is believed to be the first divorcee to be married by an Archbishop of Canterbury in recent times. 

But the wedding did not go entirely smoothly, as Dr Welby momentarily lost the bride’s ring. ‘We looked around for a little while, and saw it had rolled under a chair,’ she told the Sunday Telegraph. 

The Prince and Miss Markle (pictured on a walkabout in Nottingham last month) will marry at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle as it is a place 'close to their hearts'

The Prince and Miss Markle (pictured on a walkabout in Nottingham last month) will marry at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle as it is a place ‘close to their hearts’

Dr Welby said today: ‘I might have lost one twice actually, but the other one wasn’t quite so public. 

‘That would certainly provide some entertaining television, wouldn’t it.

But he added: ‘Every wedding is profoundly beautiful even when you drop the rings.’ 

The Church of England agreed in 2002 that people could remarry in church, albeit under strict conditions. It insists divorcees are asked questions to ensure their previous marriage has been fully resolved and ‘past hurts’ have been healed. 

Dr Welby has a liberal view on remarriage, but his predecessor Rowan Williams refused to let Charles and Camilla wed in church because of their adulterous history, and because her ex-husband was still alive.

Instead, they had a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, followed by a blessing at St George’s Chapel.

The last time a senior royal wanted to marry an American divorcee, it sparked a constitutional crisis. Edward VIII – Prince Harry’s great-great-uncle – had to abdicate in 1936 to wed Wallis Simpson. But members of the Royal Family are no longer barred from marrying divorcees. 

The royal family will pay for the event, the music, the flowers and the reception. 

Charles and Camilla had a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall followed by a blessing at St George's Chapel (file picture)

Charles and Camilla had a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall followed by a blessing at St George’s Chapel (file picture)

  



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