With the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from the royal family, many people are looking back to see if there were clear signs that a split was imminent. While millions were excited about the royal wedding between Harry and Meghan back in 2018, some are now viewing the choices that were made in a new light. Among the most telling signs were the unenthusiastic expressions of various members of the royal family during the service and the decision by the groom to wear a wedding band, unlike many of his relatives. Here are some signs from the royal wedding that suggested a royal family split was coming.
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00:00For many, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's departure from the royal family seems as if
00:05it came out of nowhere. But if you paid close attention to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's
00:11royal wedding, there were clues all along that a major split was coming.
00:16In the days leading up to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, there was obviously
00:20a lot to do and a lot to prepare for. Well, apparently the royal family didn't do everything
00:26that they were supposed to. According to etiquette expert William Hansen, he told
00:31Page Six,
00:32"[The royal household should have sent someone out to talk to Mr. Markle immediately and
00:37others and Meghan's family. But that didn't happen and it has blown up in their faces."
00:43Hansen also placed some of the blame on Meghan's shoulders as she's a commoner, rendering her
00:48ignorant of aspects of royal conduct. To that end, he implored that she reach out to the
00:53royal family for advice and instruction.
00:56"[Meghan is very independent, very headstrong, and I would hope she would not be too headstrong
01:01or stubborn to accept or listen to this advice."
01:05Given this foreshadowing faux pas, it seems clear that Meghan Markle and the royal family
01:10weren't on the same page.
01:13A wedding is supposed to be a joyous occasion, one that celebrates romantic love, family,
01:18and the enduring power of traditions. However, looking at members of the royal family at
01:23Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, you'd be hard-pressed to believe that they
01:27weren't at a funeral instead. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth reportedly didn't look
01:32thrilled to be there at all. They look stone-faced, which doesn't exactly scream happiness. Looking
01:39back after everything that's happened, those expressions seem to be signs that something
01:43was going on with Meghan, Harry, and the rest of the royal family.
01:49Meghan Markle is the daughter of a Black woman and a white man, which she discussed in an
01:53essay she penned for Elle. And she's proud of who she is, though it took her some time
01:58to fully understand and embrace her background. That was on display the day she married Prince
02:03Harry, as the couple selected Bishop Michael Curry to deliver the sermon and arranged for
02:08a gospel choir to sing Stand By Me.
02:11The newlyweds also exited the chapel while This Little Light of Mine played, a song with
02:16ties to the American civil rights movement. While many heralded the wedding as a perfect
02:21fusion of American and British culture, some found the ceremony to be a culture clash.
02:27Journalist Darlene Glanton wrote,
02:29"...anybody who got up early to watch Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot should
02:34have known that the fairy tale wasn't going to last."
02:37Markle tried her best to seamlessly weave her African-American heritage into the traditional
02:42royal fabric that has defined Great Britain for centuries, but the pieces just didn't
02:47fit.
02:49One wedding tradition that both royals and average folks share is that the bride's father
02:54is usually the person to escort her down the aisle, and if he's not available, another
02:59male family member or friend will often step in. However, when it came to Prince Harry
03:04and Meghan Markle's wedding, Meghan walked by herself down the aisle of the chapel nave.
03:09It's important to note that Prince Charles met Meghan at the choir and escorted her to
03:13the altar, as Meghan's father was not able to attend the ceremony. But still, she was
03:19the first royal bride to ever escort herself in such a manner, an indication that she's
03:24not afraid to challenge royal norms.
03:27Meghan's strong statement could have been a sign that she and the royal family might
03:30not get along. She was unlike any other bride the royal family had ever seen, preferring
03:36to march to the beat of her own drum rather than toe the line.
03:41In addition to all of the other parts, planning a wedding includes picking your bridal party,
03:46including the best man and the maid of honor, although Meghan Markle didn't have the latter
03:51when she married Prince Harry. While it's not customary for royal brides to have a maid
03:55of honor in the traditional sense, Kate Middleton bucked that trend when she married Prince William,
04:01so it's a bit surprising that Meghan didn't follow suit or pick Kate to fill those shoes.
04:07Given the drama that flared between Meghan and Kate during a dress fitting for Princess
04:11Charlotte, you could interpret Meghan's decision as a sign that these members of the royal
04:15family were not close.
04:17"'This was a really big story at the time, that you made Kate cry. Now you're saying,
04:23you didn't make Kate cry, Kate made you cry.'"
04:27Another wedding tradition is selecting and serving a wedding cake to your guests at
04:31the reception. Naturally, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle went all out on theirs, hiring
04:36Violet Bakery to create a confection for their 600 wedding guests. Reportedly, Meghan and
04:42Harry requested a lemon elderflower cake that would incorporate the flavors of spring. However,
04:48Harry and Meghan threw royal tradition out the window with their choice. According to
04:53royal expert Omid Scobie, the couple jettisoned decades of royal tradition when they requested
04:58those spring flavors. He revealed in an interview with Us Weekly,
05:02"[This is the first royal wedding without a multi-tiered fruitcake.] While a cake is
05:07just a cake at the end of the day, Meghan and Harry definitely put their desires over
05:12family tradition."
05:15Prince Harry broke with tradition when Meghan slid a wedding band onto his left hand. According
05:20to Glamour, Prince William, Prince Philip, Prince Andrew, and Jack Brookshank all made
05:25the decision not to wear a wedding band. Prince Charles does wear one, but instead of his
05:30ring finger, it's on his pinky. One could argue that Harry was signaling that he's proud
05:35to be a married man, and that it's more important for him to honor that than a royal tradition.
05:40But it still could've been a sign that Harry wasn't willing to go along with certain royal
05:44family decisions.
05:47While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle weren't afraid to buck royal traditions on their wedding
05:51day, they didn't jettison all of them. For example, they held their ceremony at St. George's
05:56Chapel in Windsor Castle, the venue royal couples have used for hundreds of years, as
06:01noted by the royal family's website. In fact, they were the 16th couple to do so since 1863.
06:08However, it turns out that Meghan might not have been thrilled about one aspect of the
06:12historic chapel.
06:14According to the Daily Mail, Meghan didn't like the way that the 15th century building
06:18smelled, finding the odor to be musty. To that end, the bride-to-be reportedly asked
06:23for air fresheners to be used before everyone arrived. In the end, no fresh-smelling sprays
06:29were used, as the palace reportedly thought the chapel was fine as is. But did that request
06:34offend the queen, who prays at St. George's Chapel? It's possible.
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