Archbishop refutes Meghan and Harry's claim of secret backyard wedding: 'The legal wedding was on May 19'
Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that they tied the knot in secret before the royal wedding, the claim became a hot topic of debate among critics and fans alike with the couple facing the heat from all sides. After keeping his silence for weeks, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who officiated the couple's royal wedding as well as presided over the claimed unofficial union, has finally spoken out.
In an interview with Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, Welby has confirmed that Harry and Meghan did not legally marry before the royal ceremony that he conducted at Windsor's St George's Chapel on Saturday, May 19, 2018. “If any of you ever talk to a priest, you expect them to keep that talk confidential. It doesn't matter who I'm talking to,” he told the publication. The archbishop explained that he had “a number of private and pastoral meetings” with Harry and Meghan prior to the actual wedding, which was the only legal wedding that occurred between the formerly royal couple.
READ MORE
Meghan Markle wanted to be Queen of England, Duchess title was just not enough, claims Tom Bower
Meghan Markle LIED about secret wedding to Harry: Wedding certificate revealed after shocking claim
“I signed the wedding certificate, which is a legal document, and I would have committed a serious criminal offense if I signed it knowing it was false. So you can make what you like about it. But the legal wedding was on Saturday. But I won't say what happened at any other meetings," he added.
The Duchess of Sussex had claimed during the two-hour-long chat with Winfrey that three days before the royal wedding was broadcast around the world, she and Harry "got married." "No one knows that but we called the Archbishop and we just said 'This thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us.' The vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury," she said.
In the interview, Meghan also recounted that she had an “out-of-body” experience ahead of the royal wedding day. “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,” the Duchess recounted. "And then [I] woke up and started listening to that song Going to the Chapel. And I 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.”
Critics slammed Meghan for her secret wedding claims after the interview on March 7. Stephen Borton, the 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 recognized by the Church of England and the law."
The Special Licence is a document drawn up with wording from the Queen as well as the venue of the wedding mentioned, that authorizes the ceremony.