When Prince Harry and Meghan tied the knot back in 2018, on the outside it seemed to the public a fairytale day – but behind the scenes, it was reportedly ‘all drama’ as the couple prepared for the big day
On the surface, everything seemed picture-perfect when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in a lavish royal wedding in 2018. Millions of people tuned in to watch the nuptials across the globe, with the public’s attention totally captivated by the fairytale story unfolding before their eyes: one of the monarchy’s most popular members was finally settling down.
Whilst Meghan had a public profile before marrying into the Royal Family – thanks to her successful career as an actress – she was quickly catapulted to new heights of notoriety, and behind closed doors, the pressure of the spotlight started getting to the couple.
The pair eventually stepped back from royal life less than two years later, finding things as full-time working royals unworkable, and moved across the pond to start a new life in California – Meghan’s home state. Harry and Meghan recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary, with Meghan sharing a sweet photo collage board on her Instagram that was filled with sentimental nods to the big day.
Last year, a source who has worked with the couple since they moved to the US said the pair are clearly still “hot for each other” – but whilst their marriage may be as strong as ever, the tensions that first reared their heads in the preparations for the wedding with the other senior royals have only increased with time.
The Mirror looks back at some of the biggest bombshells surrounding Meghan and Harry’s wedding.
A ‘s*** show’
Insiders revealed that things were pretty stressful and strained in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, with author Tina Brown claiming that it was a “s*** show” in her book Palace Papers, quoting an insider as saying things were “all drama, all the time”.
The author claimed that palace aides and staff members rapidly became “fed up” with the demands being put on them by the couple as they prepared for the big day.
Urgent warning from guards
The photographer who took the official portraits of the newlywed couple and their loved ones on the big day recently opened up about a severe warning given to all guests upon their arrival at the chapel. Alexi Lubomirski revealed in a TikTok video that guards urgently warned guests as they came in: “Ladies and gentlemen, please be careful what you are saying to each other because the world can lip read.”
This was why, he explained, many of the guests were seen covering their mouths as they chatted away, “As you walk in, you see a lot of people sort of talking like this…You don’t know what you’re talking about, but everyone on these cameras is watching and lip-reading.”
Queen ‘scolded’ Meghan
Royal author Katie Nicholl has claimed that after Meghan spoke sharply to a member of the catering staff during the wedding prep, the late Queen wasn’t best pleased. The now-Duchess was taking part in a menu tasting to make sure all the dishes would be perfect for the big day – but when she tried one, she was reportedly left convinced that she could taste egg, meaning it wasn’t vegan as directed.
“She got quite upset, saying that the dish was meant to be vegan and macrobiotic,” a source told the author, reported in her book The New Royals, however the Queen intervened almost immediately after hearing what she said, the source claimed. “Suddenly the Queen walked in and said: ‘Meghan, in this family we don’t speak to people like that.'”
Unexpected reply to Charles’ offer
In the lead-up to Meghan’s wedding, her relationship with her father Thomas Markle Senior quickly began to break down. Thomas was caught staging a photo shoot with paparazzi ahead of the big day, and whilst he later expressed regret over his decision to take part in it, things between the once-close father and daughter began to unravel.
The Duchess has claimed that she only found out he was not attending her wedding due to health issues through media reports, and the pair are now totally estranged, with Thomas never having met Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, three.
It had initially been planned that Thomas would be the one to walk his daughter down the aisle on her Windsor wedding day, but with him unable to attend, Charles – then Prince of Wales – offered to step into his place.
However, Meghan’s reaction to the offer is claimed to have caught him off guard. Author Richard Hardman claimed in his book Queen of Our Times, “The reply, according to one friend, was not quite what he was expecting: ‘Can we meet halfway?’ Here was an indicator that this was no blushing bride, but a confident, independent woman determined to make a grand entrance on her own.”
Tiara tensions
Ahead of the wedding day, there were some tensions behind the scenes over what tiara Meghan would wear during the wedding. Author Tom Bower claimed in his book Revenge that after Meghan met with the Queen and Angela Kelly – the late monarch’s dresser and confidant – to go over tiara options, “Meghan alighted on a tiara sparkling with emeralds. Her choice was approved by Harry. Kelly suggested that its Russian origin made it unsuitable.”
However, the tiara drama didn’t end there. There were also issues over access to the tiara that was finally landed on, with Meghan wanting to schedule a rehearsal with the piece so her hairdresser could get to grips with fitting it and ensuring it worked with the veil when these requests to access the tiara were denied, it led to the now-infamous claim that Harry said: “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets”.
Bower further claimed that Harry then got cross with Angela, which led to something of a telling off from the late Queen, with reports from The Times published back in 2018 echoing these claims. “There was a very heated exchange that prompted the Queen to speak to Harry. She said, ‘Meghan cannot have whatever she wants. She gets what tiara she’s given by me.’ The Queen also questioned why Meghan needed a veil for the wedding, given it was to be her second marriage.”
However, Harry’s version of events is pretty different than others that have been put forward. In Spare, the way he tells it there was some tension over the issue, but he notes the late Queen was “tender” with Meghan during the tiara selection process, and also personally advised that they made sure to practice with it ahead of the big day – something that Princess Kate also warned the bride was definitely a necessity. “It’s tricky and you don’t want to be doing it for the first time on the wedding day,” he quoted his grandmother as saying.
He also noted that there was no disagreement over which tiara Meghan should wear, with everyone in agreement over which one suited her best.
He claims that Angela Kelly was deliberately “obstructive” when it came to helping organise Meghan practising with her hairdresser, and that she repeatedly ignored their messages or wouldn’t facilitate access to the historic piece.
Harry then alleged that when Angela eventually brought the tiara to Kensington Palace, he “thanked her, though I added that it would’ve made our lives so much easier to have had it sooner.”
This didn’t seem to please Angela in Harry’s version of events: “Her eyes were fire. She started having a go at me…She fixed me with a look that made me shiver. I could read in her face a clear warning. ‘This isn’t over.'”
Flower girl dresses
Around the time of the wedding, it was widely reported that Meghan made Kate cry over the dresses the flower girls were set to wear – however, Meghan later claimed that this had been reported incorrectly, and it was in fact her who had been left in tears by the future Queen.
She also revealed in her sit down with Oprah Winfrey that Kate the next day brought her flowers and apologised and that despite their argument, she thought Kate was a “good person”.
It had been reported that the two women had fallen out about the length of Princess Charlotte’s dress – with Kate believing it to be too short – and the future Queen wanting to stick with protocol and have the youngsters wear tights, something that Meghan didn’t think was necessary.
“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,” Meghan said to Oprah about the incident.
“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 going to our comms team and saying, “I know this didn’t happen”. I don’t have to tell them what actually happened,” she added.
