Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge. Shutterstock
Different points of view. Prince Harry is opening up about Prince William‘s unexpected input into his wedding with Meghan Markle.
“We wanted to get married quickly. But the Palace couldn’t seem to pick a date. Or a venue,” the Duke of Sussex, 38, details in his upcoming Spare memoir, which Us Weekly can exclusively reveal. “While waiting for a decree from on high, from the nebulous upper regions of the royal decision-making apparatus, we went off on a traditional ‘engagement tour.’”
According to Harry, a conversation about the nuptials with William, 40, did not go as planned.
“On our return from the trip I rang Willy, sounded him out, asked his thoughts about where we might get married,” he continued. “I told him we were thinking of Westminster Abbey. ‘No good. We did it there.’ ‘Right, right. St. Paul’s?’ ‘Too grand. Plus Pa and Mummy did it there.’ ‘Hm. Yes Good point.’”
The BetterUp CIO claimed William reminded him that he wanted a “small, quiet wedding” with Meghan, 41. “In fact we wanted to explore. Barefoot in Botswana, with maybe a friend officiating, that was our dream,” he wrote. “But we were expected to share this moment with other people. It wasn’t up to us.”
Harry and Meghan ultimately tied the knot at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, in May 2018, and they were granted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex title by Queen Elizabeth II at the time.
After surprising the public with their romance in 2016, the duo announced that they were engaged one year later. “It was just an amazing surprise,” the former actress told BBC News about the proposal, which took place at Kensington Palace’s Nottingham Cottage in November 2017. “It was just so sweet and natural and very romantic. He got on one knee. As a matter of fact, I could barely let [him] finish proposing. I was like, ‘Can I say ‘yes’ now?’”
The pair announced in 2020 that they were stepping back from their duties as working members of the royal family. Harry and Meghan chose to move from the U.K. to California and in February 2021, it was confirmed that they would not be returning to their senior roles at the palace.
While filming their Netflix docuseries, Meghan recalled her first introduction to William and Princess Kate before their rift.
“Even when William and Kate came over and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, and I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot,” she shared in the December 2022 episode, adding that the twosome weren’t prepared for her informal response. “I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t realize that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”
For Meghan, her interactions with the royal family taught her what was expected of her in the royal family. “I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and you go, ‘Oh, alright, OK, I can relax now,’” she continued. “But that formality carries over on both sides, and that was surprising to me.”
Spare will be released on Tuesday, January 10.