Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Will Invite Members of the General Public to Their Wedding
As May 19 draws closer and closer, more details about the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle continue to surface. One topic that has caused widespread speculation is, of course, the guest list. With only 800 allowed in St. George’s Chapel for the actual ceremony—as compared with Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 2,000-guest wedding in Westminster Abbey—the guest list for the most intimate parts of the nuptials will likely be extremely limited. However, Kensington Palace just announced that the untraditional couple will break custom once more by inviting people from the general public to attend their wedding.
In fact, thousands of members of the British public will score a coveted invitation. According to a new update on the official Royal Family website, “Prince Harry and Ms. Markle have invited 2,640 people into the grounds of Windsor Castle to watch the arrivals of the Bride and Groom, and their wedding guests, at the chapel and to watch the carriage procession as it departs from the castle.”
Naturally, the lucky guests will be carefully selected individuals. Here’s the breakdown of how they’ll be chosen: 1,200 members of the public “from every corner of the United Kingdom will be nominated to attend by nine regional Lord Lieutenant offices.” The bride and groom request that the people chosen are “from a broad range of backgrounds and ages, including young people who have shown strong leadership, and those who have served their communities.” Two hundred more will be chosen from a “range of charities and organizations” that the couple associates with; 100 students from the Royal School, Great Park, Windsor, and St George’s School, Windsor Castle will attend; and the last 1,140 will consist of Windsor Castle community members and members of the Royal Households and Crown Estate.
It’s not surprising that Harry and Meghan will want to include citizens and activists on their special day. Recently, Markle broke royal protocol (as she’s been wont to do) by speaking up about the Time’s Up movement at a panel discussion at the Royal Foundation, and Markle has previously stated that Prince Harry is indeed a feminist. Not to mention, the actress quit her day job on the show Suits to support various charitable causes in her new royal role.
Aside from this latest announcement concerning the general public, the royal couple has kept their personal wedding guest list very much under wraps. It’s been reported, however, that Harry’s ex-girlfriends Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas have made the final cut for what could be the most low-key royal wedding ever. One person who reportedly will not be getting his ticket to the royal wedding? Donald Trump.
Related: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding Security Could Cost Upwards of $33 Million
