Britain’s Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle were pronounced husband and wife on Saturday by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a glittering union that brought a measure of modern Hollywood glamour into the 1,000-year-old monarchy.
Markle entered the chapel unescorted, dressed in a flowing white gown created by British designer Clare Waight Keller and wearing a veil and diamond tiara.
In a ceremony that combined modernity and the ancient rituals of a royal house that dates back to 1066, Prince Charles, heir to the throne and Harry’s father, accompanied Markle to the altar from the middle of the chapel.
Harry, looking nervous, appeared to say: “Thanks, Pa” to Charles and “You look amazing!” to his bride.
Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, 61, shed tears. A gospel choir sang American soul singer Ben E. King’s 1960s hit “Stand by me”.
“There’s power in love,” black U.S. bishop Michael Bruce Curry told a congregation that included Queen Elizabeth, senior royals and celebrities such as U.S. mogul Oprah Winfrey, singer Elton John and former soccer star David Beckham.
“Do not underestimate it. Anyone who has ever fallen in love knows what I mean,” Curry told the congregation in a powerful, energetic address that quoted U.S. civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King.
The newlyweds will be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, putting them in the senior ranks of British royalty.
But alongside tradition, there was innovation, by British royal standards. Markle, 36, did not vow to obey her husband; Harry, three years her junior, will wear a wedding ring – unlike other senior male royals.
To some Britons, the wedding of a senior member of the royal family to a divorcee whose mother is African-American and father is white embodied a modern Britain where race or background are no bar to even the most elite and traditional of institutions.
But in Windsor, tens of thousands of fans lined the Long Walk promenade leading to the castle, waving British flags and cheering as Markle’s Rolls-Royce limousine drove past.
Air traffic controllers for the nearby Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest, closed the airspace over Windsor for the 15 minutes before the ceremony.
Hours before, Elizabeth had bestowed the title of Duke of Sussex on her grandson, a step that meant the actress, star of the TV drama “Suits”, became a duchess when she married Harry.
Under clear skies and glorious sunshine, a military band in scarlet uniforms and bearskin hats entertained excited fans gathered behind barriers.
There were police armed with semi-automatic rifles patrolling the streets and watching from rooftops.
Among celebrity guests, American actor George Clooney and his wife Amal were joined by Beckham, his fashion designer wife Victoria and James Corden, British host of the American TV chat show “The Late Late Show”.
Other guests included tennis ace Serena Williams, the siblings of Harry’s late mother Princess Diana, Elton John, who sang at Diana’s 1997 funeral, British actor Idris Elba, and two of Harry’s ex-girlfriends.
The chapel was adorned with white roses, Diana’s favorite flowers.
“This is a moment when we can all celebrate the rebirth of the royal family,” said Kenny McKinlay, 60, who had come down from Scotland for the wedding.
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