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The Daily Beast
Marriage Certificate Proves Harry and Meghan Did Not Marry in Their Backyard as They Told Oprah
PoolPrince Harry and Meghan Markle were not married three days before their official ceremony, as they claimed in their interview with Oprah Winfrey, their own wedding certificate has revealed.In the interview, Meghan told Oprah she and Harry tied the knot “in our backyard” three days before the $50m public wedding on May 19, 2018. The claim has been much disputed, not least because in the U.K. a minimum of two witnesses are needed for a legal marriage to take place. However others have argued that the focus on discrepancies and inaccuracies in the interview is a deliberate strategy by Meghan’s detractors to undermine her wider credibility and the specific claim that “concerns” over her baby’s likely skin color were expressed to Harry.Meghan Markle ‘Didn’t Understand’ Wedding Rules Because ‘She Is American,’ Archbishop’s Office Told VicarThe marriage certificate document was obtained by British newspaper the Sun which paid £42 (about $58) to obtain a copy from Britain’s General Register Office.The certificate, which gives the witnesses as Prince Charles and Meghan’s mom Doria Ragland, appears to confirm the couple were indeed married on May 19, 2018, at Windsor Castle—and a former official who helped draw up the licence for the wedding told the paper Meghan is “obviously confused” over the marriage.Stephen Borton, former chief clerk at the Faculty Office, told the Sun: “I’m sorry, but Meghan is obviously confused and clearly misinformed. They did not marry three days earlier in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury.“The Special Licence I helped draw up enabled them to marry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor and what happened there on 19 May 2018 and was seen by millions around the world was the official wedding as recognised by the Church of England and the law.“What I suspect they did was exchange some simple vows they had perhaps written themselves, and which is fashionable, and said that in front of the Archbishop.”Meghan, 39, said in her interview: “You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that. The vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury.”The certificate lists Harry as “single” and his occupation as a “Prince of the United Kingdom” and Meghan as “divorced” and an “actor.” Her dad Thomas Markle is described as a “lighting director” and Charles is described as a “Prince of the United Kingdom”.The archbishop’s office has refused to comment.However, as The Daily Beast reported last week, Mark Edwards, a priest from Newcastle, said he checked with the archbishop’s office and was told that the claim that they got married in the back garden of their home may have been the result of a misunderstanding stemming from the fact that “Meghan is an American.”Rev. Mark Edwards has told his local paper in Newcastle, The Chronicle, that he contacted Archbishop Justin Welby’s office to “get some clarity” on the claim after the couple mentioned it in their Oprah Winfrey interview.He said he was motivated in part to do so because he has been flooded with requests for private or outdoor weddings during lockdown that he has not been able to fulfil, because the law states that Church of England weddings must take place in “a certified place of worship” and cannot be conducted outside.Edwards said the person he spoke to 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.”Edwards said it was “in the public interest for the leader of the church to put the record straight.”The Daily Beast has sought comment from the Sussexes’ communications team.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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