Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were secretly married three days before they tied the knot in front of the world, with the couple revealing that they held a private ‘union’ in their backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury and no guests.
The couple shared the surprise news during their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday night, when Meghan, 39, described the royal wedding on May 19 as a ‘spectacle for the world’, revealing that she and Harry, 36, exchanged personal vows that they now have framed in their home.
‘You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that,’ she admitted.
Secret: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have revealed that they were married in secret three days before their royal wedding on May 19, 2018
Under cover: During their explosive interview with Oprah on Sunday night, the couple said they called the Archbishop of Canterbury and asked him to wed them in secret in their yard
Meghan went on to reveal that she and Harry phoned the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby – who performed the ceremony at their official wedding – and asked him to marry them in private days before the event that was watched by millions around the world.
‘We called the Archbishop and we just said, “Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us,’ she said.
The couple revealed that they exchanged personal vows during their private backyard ceremony, which they now have framed in the bedroom of their $14.5 million Montecito mansion.
‘So, like, the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury,’ she continued.
Harry then jokingly interjected by singing: ‘Just the three of us, just the three of us.’
The couple had no guests or spectators at their private wedding – and it is unclear whether anyone in the royal family knew that the secret ceremony had taken place.
At the time, Harry and Meghan were living in a private home in the grounds of Kensington Palace, Nottingham Cottage, which is where they got engaged.
Home: Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, shared the details about their private wedding while showing Oprah, 67, around the backyard of their $14.5 million Montecito home
Privacy: Meghan described her official wedding as a ‘spectacle’ and said that it ‘wasn’t our day’
Speaking about the royal wedding, Meghan said that she felt as though the star-studded event – which was attended by dozens of high-profile figures, including Oprah, 67, herself – ‘wasn’t our day’.
However, the Duchess insisted that she was not particularly nervous before the big event, revealing that she slept through the night before her wedding day, and then marked the occasion by listening to Chapel of Love by The Dixie Cups before heading to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
During the wedding, the couple exchanged traditional vows, which were viewed by millions of people around the world – as well as 600 guests, including several of Meghan’s former Suits co-stars, and celebrities like James Corden and George and Amal Clooney.
Meghan also opened up about one other very widely-publicized detail around her wedding planning: reports that she made her soon-to-be sister-in-law Kate Middleton cry over a disagreement about flower girl dresses.
However the Duchess insists that, while the reason for the argument was accurately reported, it was actually Kate who made her cry.
Oprah asked Meghan: ‘Was there a situation where she [Kate] might have cried? Or she could have cried?’
Hitting back: Meghan shut down reports that she made her sister-in-law Kate Middleton cry in the days before her wedding – insisting that the Duchess of Cambridge actually made her cry
But the Duchess of Sussex replied: ‘No, no. The reverse happened. And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding. And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized.
‘And she brought me flowers and a note, apologizing. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.’
Meghan added that it was ‘shocking’ that the ‘reverse of that would be out in the world’.
She continued: ‘A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining – yes, the issue was correct – about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.
‘And I thought, in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding, that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing whatever everyone else was doing, which was trying to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.’
Meghan also said: ‘It wasn’t a confrontation, and I actually think it’s… I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that, because she apologized.
‘What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do but that happened to me.
‘And the people who were part of our wedding were going to our comms team and saying: “I know this didn’t happen. I don’t have to tell them what actually happened.”‘