Meghan Markle has revealed that she and Prince Harry had a secret wedding before their official ceremony at St. George’s Chapel on Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018.
“You know, three days before our wedding, we got married – no-one knows that,” Meghan told Oprah in a bombshell interview that has created waves across the world and raised some serious concerns on the way the Firm works.
“[It was] just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury,” she added.
Talking about the official wedding ceremony Meghan said: “I’ve thought about this a lot because it was like having an out of body experience I was very present for.”
“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 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 of that just, this wasn’t our day. This was the day that was planned for the world,” said Meghan.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan talked extensively about their relationship with the Palace, including conversations around Archie’s skin colour and revealed how damaging it was for them. Harry claimed that he had discussed his family’s decision to step away from royal duties with the Queen and did not “blindside” her as various reports had suggested.
“I’ve never blindsided my grandmother, I have too much respect for her,” said Harry. When asked where that story came from, Harry said: “I’d hazard a guess that it probably could have come from within the institution.”
“I had three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father before he stopped taking my calls. And then he said, can you put this all in writing?”
“By that point I took matters into my own hands, it was like, I needed to do this for my family,” said Harry. “This is not a surprise to anybody. It’s really sad that it’s got to this point, but I’ve got to do something for my own mental health, my wife’s and for Archie’s as well.”
Prince Harry said that he felt let down by his father Prince Charles and that his late mother Diana would have been angry and upset at the way the British royal family had treated his wife Meghan.
“My family literally cut me off financially,” Harry said. “But I’ve got what my mum left me and without that we would not have been able to do this.”
While talking about his relationship with elder brother Prince William, Harry said: “Much will continue to be said about that … as I said before, you know, I love William to bits, he’s my brother, we’ve been through hell together and we have a shared experience. But we’re on different paths.”
“The relationship is space at the moment, and you know time heals all things, hopefully.”
Later, responding to another question on whether he would have stepped away from the royal family if it had not been for Meghan, Harry said: “The answer to your question is no … I wouldn’t have been able to, because I myself was trapped.”
“I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped. Like the rest of my family are, my father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave and I have huge compassion for that,” said Harry further. “It’s a very trapping environment that a lot of them are stuck in. I didn’t have anyone to turn to.”
He continued: “For the family they very much have this mentality of ‘This is just how it is, this is how it’s meant to be, you can’t change it, we’ve all been through it.”
“What was different for me was the race element, because now it wasn’t just about her. It was about what she represented.”
