Today is the day – it’s finally here. After months of waiting, it’s the day of the Royal Wedding where Prince Harry marries American actress, Meghan Markle.
I’ve decided to live blog the day and I’ll be writing updates every few minutes so keep popping back to keep up with my rambles.
9.01: Good Morning! The TV is on, I’m still in bed, coffee in hand and ready for the madness to begin!
9.03: Dermot O’Leary is presenting on BBC One. I didn’t see that one coming ..
9.06: 1.9billion people will apparently be tuning in today. Just a couple of people glued to their screens today then!
9.09: If you’re watching in the US, you’ll have to get up pretty early right? Or maybe you wouldn’t go to bed at all if you’re watching from LA in America.
9.12: There’s lots of chatter about the dress that Meghan will wear but I have to admit, I’m mostly excited to see what hat Princess Beatrice will wear!
9.18: It’s been announced that Harry and Meghan’s new titles will be the Duke and Duchess of Sussex! It’s not everyday you wakeup a Duchess …
9.24: They’ll open the doors to the chapel in a few moments which will give us a glimpse of the entrance and the flowers
9.27: OOH they’ve opened one of the doors, I see flowers! A beautiful arch, wait, lots of arches of flowers all over the inside of the chapel. They’re all locally sourced apparently. Will probably be a hay fever sufferers nightmare!
9.28: We’ve got views of the inside of the church now, currently empty but it’ll start to fill up quite soon with guests as they arrive.
9.30: I love the images from Harry and Meghan’s engagement announcement, they’re such a cute couple!
9.38: Guests have started to arrive! I think these are members of the public who have been specially invited to attend by Harry and Meghan.
9.40: It’s such a beautiful day for a Royal Wedding, the weather is amazing. Lovely and sunny, warm but not too hot.
9.41: Oprah Winfrey has arrived!!!
9:42: The hats look fabulous.
9.44: Is it too early to crack open the prosecco?
9.44: Idris Elba is here. This is basically going to be a bit of celeb spotting. The arriving guests are slowly started to arrive and taking their seats in the chapel.
9.46: Some woman has basically got a peacock on her head. Literally just peacock feathers. You’ve gotta love the brits and our hats!
9.48: James Blunt? How bizarre that he’s invited!
9.49: The boyfriend has gone to get bacon from the shop. He’s a keeper. Bacon butties are necessary. I’ve relocated to the sofa.
9.57: Apparently people have been camped out in Windsor for DAYS to get a good spot. Do these people not have jobs to go to?!
9.59: I’ve decorated my flat with some union jack bunting so I’m really getting into the spirit of things ..
10.00: Marks and Spencer have temporarily renamed themselves to Markle and Sparkle in celebration of the royal wedding. I love it!
10.03: Why is Oprah Winfrey wearing sunglasses inside the chapel?! The chapel is filling up quickly!
10.05: How many of Harry’s exes do you think will attend? I’m guessing Ellie Goulding (who also performed at William & Kates wedding).
10.07: I’ve got a bacon buttie. Happy Freya!
10.09: I’ve also cracked open the prosecco. It’s never too early for fizz, right?
10.14: Other hot favourites for celebrity guests include Sir Elton John, Millie Macintosh, Ed Sheeran and Cara Delavigne so I’m looking out for them all!
10.16: Chelsy Davy has been spotted in the chapel, the first of Harry’s exes that I’ve seen at the wedding!
10.18: The Middletons have arrived, including Pippa Matthews! Apparently Pippa was not invited to the evening celebrations at Frogmore House. Seems a bit backwards compared to Pippa’s rules of “no ring, no bring” at her own wedding in May last year where Meghan attended the evening reception but not the ceremony.
10.20: Apparently the spice girls are attending as guests .. seems a bit strange but I’m all for a Spice Girls Reunion performance!
10.25: THE CLOONEYS ARE HERE. How did they bag an invite?! Amal looks fabulous is a gorgeous yellow dress and hat ensemble.
10.27: The Beckham’s have also just arrived! I had a sneaky feeling that they would be attending. They both attended Prince William and Kate’s wedding when Victoria was pregnant with Harper and David caused a “hoohah” by wearing his badge on the wrong side of his jacket when he shouldn’t have been wearing it at all! Victoria is wearing a navy dress again with a navy hat and veil (she wore navy to Prince William and Kate’s wedding) and David Beckham is without his badge.
10.34: Carey Mulligan has also arrived, some really interesting guests here today. Not a politician in sight!
10.38: Apparently the security alone for the royal wedding is costing the British taxpayer £30 million pounds whereas Security cost £6million for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton (Telegraph) but hopefully the event has contributed to the British economy and at least we’ve had something to celebrate so its not all bad.
10.39: Joss Stone has arrived, looking pretty smart compared to her usual free flowing, bare foot style!
10.40: Actor Tom Hardy and rugby player Jonny Wilkinson have also arrived at St George’s Chapel.
10.44: The royal wedding has been likened to glastonbury without the mud. I would say it’s considerably more glam than glastonbury!
10.46: Sir Elton John has arrived, he’s one on my list [10.14] that I’ve been looking out for!
10.47: The buzz so far is that Amal’s outfit is the dress of the day, bar the bride’s wedding dress of course! Amal’s sunshine yellow outfit is designed by Stella McCartney who is also tipped to design the bride’s dress.
10.50: Another of Harry’s exes, Cressida Bonas has also arrived at the chapel! Does anyone else think it’s slightly strange that he’s invited all his exes?
10.52: THE SUITS STARS HAVE STARTED ARRIVING. Sarah Rafferty looks FABULOUS in navy blue with gorgeous sleeves and a veil hat. Rick Hoffman has arrived! Gabriel Macht and his wife are here too (she looks incredible too) and Patrick J Adams who plays Meghan’s on screen husband on suits arrived with his wife Troian Bellisario. They’re arriving thick and fast!
10.58: The excitement is too much. That was the best episode of suits ever!
11.03: Twitter seems to be confused why Troian is there who was one of the main characters in Pretty Little Liars (PLL). She’s married to Suits star Patrick J Adams who played Meghan’s on screen husband in Suits!
11.04: How is it after 11am?! I’ve been blogging for two hours so far …
11.07: The wedding guests outfits and hats are seriously on point. Such a fabulous display of fashion this morning!
11.11: The royals will start to arrive shortly. I wonder what the Duchess of Cambridge will wear.
11.12: I’m super excited to see Prince George and Princess Charlotte, they’re totally going to steal the show!
11.13: How are you celebrating today? For Prince William and Kate’s wedding I celebrated with a little tea party >> A Royal Wedding Tea Party <<.
11.16: There’s a lovely orchestra playing music in the chapel. Lots of lovely violins!
11.17: ROYALS HAVE STARTED TO ARRIVE. Zara and Mike Tindall lead the royals arrival.
11.19: WE HAVE MOVEMENT AT CLIVEDEN HOUSE. MEGHAN HAS LEFT THE BUILDING.
11.20: We got a tiny glimpse as she leaves, we can see she’s wearing a white dress (duh) and a veil. She’s also wearing a tiara! She’s just waved to the cameras as she leaves. She looks absolutely stunning.
11.22: The dress has a boat neck, quite romantic with a chunky tiara but I couldn’t see if it was diamonds or pearls. Her hair looks like an up-do in a low bun.
11.23: Meghan now has a thirty minute journey to Windsor Castle and Prince Harry will of course, be the last person in the world to see Meghan, at the altar.
11.25: Beatrice and Eugenie are seated in the chapel, not sure how we missed the arrival of that, it must’ve been the excitement of Meghan leaving. I am quite frankly, disappointed with their hats!
11.33: Most of the guests are all seated. We’re just waiting on the “big” royals now. And of course, the bride and groom.
11.34: Ahh the orchestra are playing greensleaves!
11.35: A big people carrier has arrived! ITS THE GROOM AND BEST MAN. Aka. Prince Harry and Prince William. Both looking dapper in their uniforms.
11.36: It’s been confirmed that Prince Harry will wear a platinum wedding ring which is highly unusual and goes against tradition. Meghan’s wedding ring will be made of welsh gold, a gift from the Queen as per tradition.
11.38: The two brothers climb up the steps to the west door of St Georges Chapel which is decorated with a beautiful arch of flowers and roses.
11.40: Prince Harry has decided not to wear the uniform of his most senior rank, instead he is wearing his Blues and Royals frock coat Army uniform, reflective of the ten years he served with the British Army.
11.41: Meghan is now on the outskirts of Windsor, surely she’s going to end up being early?!
11.43: How cute is it that Prince Charles is walking Meghan down the aisle, given that Meghan’s father couldn’t attend.
11.45: Time to top up the prosecco for the arrival of the bride!
11.46: Meghan’s car has turned into the long walk, towards Windsor Castle which is FULL OF CROWDS.
11.47: She must be so nervous right now! That car is literally speeding through the long walk.
11.49: Harry looks a little nervous but quite excited actually! Reminds me so much of Prince William’s wedding when he was waiting for Kate.
11.52: Cars are arriving – could this be the Queen?
11.53: It’s Meghan’s mum, who’s making her way into the church.
11.54: Here comes the Duchess of Cornwall in a gorgeous pale pink ensemble with pink hat and the Prince of Wales.
11.55: We’ve not seen the Duchess of Cambridge yet but maybe she’ll arrive with the bridesmaids and pageboys.
11.56: Her majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are arriving! The last royals to arrive before the bride. It’s good to see him back on his feet after spending 11 days in hospital recovering from a hip replacement.
11.56: Harry looks NERVOUS as his mother in law to be takes her seat. She looks nervous too, the only member of Meghan’s family to attend the wedding.
11.57: Here comes the Bridesmaids and page boys arriving. The Queen takes her seat in the chapel.
11.58: THE BRIDE IS ARRIVING. Complete with trumpet fanfare! The Bridesmaids start to bundle out of the car, complete with mums. The Duchess of Cambridge helps Princess Charlotte up the steps. The page boys lead the way up the steps. Well behaved kiddies so far complete with waves – cuteness overload!
11.59: The Brides car arrives at the West steps of the chapel. Out come the Mulroney twin boys, who are waving away.
12.01: Meghan steps out of the car, the dress is gorgeous. Minimal, traditional and beautifully simplistic. She’s wearing her hair up with a huge veil. The Mulroney twins are helping with the train up the steps. It’s a Givenchy dress! Boy does Harry look nervous!
12.02: Here comes the fanfare, Meghan looks stunning as she prepares to enter the chapel. She’s walking and smiling, Harry’s waiting.
12.03: The bridesmaids and page boys all look so cute!!! Prince Charles greets Meghan half way down the alter and Harry gazes at her adoringly.
12.04: They look so happy!
12.07: Harry keeps looking at her as if to say how the hell did I get so lucky?!
12.09: They’re holding hands as they stand at the alter.
12.09: First hymn, Lord of All Hopefulness. This is one of my absolute favourite hymns!!!
12.10: Aww he lifted up her veil in the hymn!
12.13: Ooh, it’s the awkward bit, does anyone know of any lawful reasons why they should not marry. Tumbleweed …
12.14: Time for the first reading, following by a song from the choir.
12.15: Kensington Palace have confirmed on Twitter that the tiara is a damson tiara, borrowed from the Queen. Flowers from all of the commonwealth are represented in Meghan’s veil.
12.16: The dress is confirmed as designed by British designer, Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy.
12.18: The address is given by Bishop Michael Curry. I love this guy, so passionate! Aww I think Meghan’s mum is crying.
12.19: Drinking game idea: Take a sip every time he says love! I might be on the floor by the end of this speech.
12.24: Twitter is exploding for this guy. Who knew church could be so fun?
12.25: Rick Hoffman looks bored, lol.
12.27: LOVE IS THE WAY.
12.28: We’ve just had a quick peek at the Duchess of Cambridge, we’ve barely seen her so far. She looks fabulous, let’s not forget that she gave birth just three weeks ago!
12.30: The Americans will be loving this speech. I’m not sure why he’s talking about fire now though.
12.31: The royals are like “wrap it up, wrap it up now”.
12.32: Time for a sing song, “Stand By Me” by a gospel choir at the other end of the chapel.
12.35: It’s time for the vows. Harry goes first, followed by Meghan.
12.36: I’m not sure about the tiara, it’s quite chunky. Maybe it’ll grow on me …
12.37: William hands over the rings! A symbol of unending love and faithfulness. Let’s hope Harry doesn’t get the ring stuck like William did with Kate!
12.38: Do they have microphones on? How can the rest of the chapel hear them?
12.39: The magic words, I KNOW PRONOUNCE YOU MAN AND WIFE. You can hear the crowds cheering outside!!
12.40: Time for another sing song, this time from the choir and some speeches.
12.47: Another sing song, this time Guide me, O thou great Redeemer.
12.50: Off they go to sign the wedding register, super cute how Prince Charles wanders over to Meghans mum to collect her and they go to sign the register. It makes me a bit sad to see her on her own so glad that they’re making her feel welcome.
12.52: Ooh a cello player is performing now. This guy won Musician of the Year in 2016 apparently, you can see why. No pressure though, he’s performing to over a billion people across the world and he’s not got any music. What if he accidentally fluffs up?
13.02: The Bridge and Groom have come out of the register room and there more trumpet fanfare and another sing song, this time the National Anthem. I’ve just noticed that the Queen doesn’t sing the National Anthem! Cheers can be heard from the crowd outside.
13.04: And they’re off down the aisle as man and wife followed by the bridesmaids and page boys. Bit surprised that Meghan didn’t courtesy to the Queen – Kate did at her own wedding!
13.05: And they’re heading out to the West Door of the Chapel with members of the household cavalry lining the steps. The flower arch outside the door is gorgeous and THEY KISSED. We don’t have a balcony moment but they’ve kissed outside the arch.
13.06: Time to stop on the steps for photos and here comes the horses and the carriage for their procession.
13.07: Look how cute Princess Charlotte looks! She’s obviously on her best behaviour as she’s with her mother the Duchess of Cambridge. Prince George is hiding at the back with his dad, Prince William. Aww he’s in a little matching uniform to his dad and uncle.
13.08: They’re in the carriage, it’s a lovely open carriage and the weather is perfect for this. They’ll head through the streets of windsor to see the public. They both look super happy and relaxed.
13.09: AND THEYRE OFF. They’ve waved at some of the royals who are standing outside the chapel, waving at the happy couple rather than being in the procession as they were for William and Kates wedding.
13.10: More than 100,000 members of the public are waiting in Windsor to see the happy couple which is greater than expected!
13.12: Kate gets the kiddies and William into a car, presumably to head off into the reception and Megans mother leaves in a car too. The national anthem is played as the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh leave the ceremony too. Harry and Meghan have disappeared from sight as they take a little bit of space before their procession around Windsor.
13.13: Here we go, the carriage procession. They’re waving to crowds as they pass through. Days like this make you feel really proud to be British.
13.15: Apparently they have ear plugs in their ears because of the noise of the crowds? Really?
13.17: 120,000 people are out there apparently, that’s amazing. The crowds are cheering and waving away.
13.20: Apparently Meghan’s lipstick is Very Victoria by Charlotte Tilbury so naturally I’m going to order it straight away before it sells out!
13.23: I need food, it’s time for lunch. My bacon buttie was hours ago!
13.37: Just had a cheesy toastie for lunch and ordered the Charlotte Tilbury lipstick.
13.38: I guess it’s all over now, the rest of the wedding reception will continue inside the walls of the castle.
13.43: That’s the last of the ‘big’ royal weddings until George, Charlotte and Louis get married in at least twenty years’ time. Does anyone care about Princess Eugenie’s wedding or will we be back here in October doing this all over again?
13.48: Time to sign off I think, that’s almost five hours of Royal Wedding coverage! Hope you enjoyed it.
How have you celebrated the Royal Wedding today? Let me know in the comments!
