Rev Mark Edwards had called for clarity after claims made by the Duchess of Sussex in her interview with Oprah have caused confusion
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘garden wedding’ was no more than a ‘private conversation’ with the Archbishop of Canterbury, a vicar who investigated the matter has claimed.
Rev Mark Edwards decided to look into Meghan’s claims because during the Covid outbreak he has been inundated with requests for private weddings which he has been forced to decline.
Rev Edwards, the vicar at St Matthew’s Church, in Dinnington, and St Cuthbert’s Church, in Brunswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, said he was told by a Lambeth Palace staff member that, ‘Justin does not do private weddings. Meghan is an American, she does not understand’.
He says the claim has caused confusion among clergy and couples anxious to tie the knot and is asking Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to clarify the situation.
Red Edwards said: ‘It puts us priests in a difficult position on what constitutes a Church of England wedding.
‘Should there be witnesses and licensing and legality or is it now just an ad hoc arrangement with members of clergy? Can we now do private weddings without witnesses in our back gardens?
‘Justin saying he refuses to comment is not helpful to the rest of us clergy and our own policies and practices.
‘I have had people ask me during lockdown if they could have a private wedding, and I have had to explain that would not be a legal wedding and not according to canon law.
During the interview with Oprah Winfrey (pictured) Meghan claimed she married Prince Harry three days before the actual ceremony in a private ‘garden wedding’ with the Archbishop
‘I think we need a clarifying statement – we need to know what our policies and procedures are. It can’t appear to be one rule for one and another rule for another.’
In the bombshell interview a week ago, the Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey: ‘You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that.’
Later on in the show Harry said it had been just them and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby present.
Rev Mark Edwards, who was inundated with requests for private weddings during the Covid-19 lockdown, contacted the Archbishop’s office in the wake of the claims to ‘get some clarity’ on their policy.
Rev Edwards said the person he spoke to then told him: ‘Justin had a private conversation with the couple in the garden about the wedding, but I can assure you, no wedding took place until the televised national event.’
Vicars have cast doubt on Meghan’s claims since the interview, as rules on Church of England weddings require at least two witnesses, and the public must have ‘unrestricted access’ to the ceremony so objections can be lodged.
Experts have said any ceremony that took place is unlikely to have been legally binding.
Rev Tiffer Robinson, a Church of England vicar in Suffolk, wrote on Twitter: ‘She’s entitled to consider it her marriage if she wants to.
Americans are much less concerned with the specifics of marriage law than English clergy.’
The Archbishop of Canterbury has so far said he will not comment on Meghan’s comments as it is a private matter.
But Rev Edwards said it was ‘in the public interest for the leader of the church to put the record straight’.
The reverend’s comments echo those made by Reverend David Green last week.
The Vicar of St Mary’s, West Malling and the Rector of St Michael’s, Offham, said it was impossible to have had two weddings, adding: ‘I think the Archbishop needs to clarify what did or did not happen three days before.’
Reverend Tiffer Robinson, who is responsible for four rural parishes in Suffolk, said: ‘You seriously think there is even a chance that they had a legal wedding in a garden with no witnesses three days before their royal wedding with the Archbishop of Canterbury?’
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (centre) has so far refused to comment on claims made by Meghan as he says it is a ‘private matter’ but Rev Edwards has called for clarity
Reverend Green added on Twitter: ‘You can’t get married twice. So what was the thing three days before? And if it was a marriage, what on earth are we doing ‘playing’ at prayer/holy matrimony for cameras.
‘She clearly thinks something happened with ABC (Archbishop of Canterbury) 3 days prior. So it would be helpful to clarify what it was. Plus this is something she claimed that can be verified by separate testimony (i.e. Lambeth). If it’s BS, that helps assess the rest of the interview too.
‘I’d say we are rehearsing night before. No, it’s not legal to have your own vows. What else is there?’
In their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday night, Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, revealed they held a private ‘union’ in their backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury and no other guests.
Meghan said ‘no one knew’ about the secret ceremony, in which the pair shared personal vows for ‘just the two of us’.
The couple say the private union took place three days before their much publicised royal wedding on May 19, which Meghan described as a ‘spectacle for the world’.
However rules on Church of England weddings are strict. They require at least two witnesses.
And, according to the church’s own rulebook, the public must have ‘unrestricted access’ to the building during any marriage ceremony to allow for ‘valid objections against the marriage’.
Meanwhile, a couple who are already lawfully married cannot choose to re-marry each other, unless there is some doubt as to the validity of the earlier marriage.
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.
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.
Harry and Meghan were living in Kensington Palace three days before their Windsor wedding
Asking about the wedding, Oprah said: ‘I remember sitting in the chapel, thanks for inviting me by the way. I recall this sense of magic I’d never experienced anything like it. It seemed like you were floating down the aisle.’
Meghan responded: ‘I thought about this a lot because it was like having an out of body experience I was very present for.
‘And that’s the only way I can describe it because the night before I slept through the night entirely, which in and of itself is a bit of a miracle.
‘And then I woke up and started listening to that song Going To The Chapel, and just tried to make it fun and light and remind ourselves that this was our day – but I think we were both really aware, even in advance, that this wasn’t our day.
‘This was the day that was planned for the world.’