Royal Wedding Traditions Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Will Probably Follow

With the news that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will tie the knot in May of 2018, we thought it might be a good idea to refresh everyone on royal wedding traditions, and our thoughts on how the newly-engaged couple might follow (or not follow!) these customs. Meghan's engagement ring was the perfect mix of traditional and modern, and we have the strong feeling their wedding details will follow suit. These are the traditions the couple will probably keep in mind when planning their big day.

Royal Titles When the couple weds, it is believed that Prince Harry will take on the title of Duke of Sussex, and therefore Meghan will become the Duchess of Sussex (much like how Prince William and Kate Middleton are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge). The title of "princess" is only reserved for those who were born into the Royal family (such as Princess Charlotte).

Famous Guest List Attendees of previous royal weddings, such as that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana of Wales, have ranged from members of the British Royal family to international leaders, diplomats and government officials. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no doubt follow suit with an extensive A-list selection of guests. If their wedding guest list is anything like Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, which included celebs such as Elton John, David and Victoria Beckham and Guy Ritchie, we'll take a guess that Barack and Michelle Obama will receive an invitation, especially after Barack Obama and Prince Harry attended the Invictus Games together in Toronto back in September.

Wedding Party Prince William and Kate's wedding party included several adorable flower girls and page boys from the Royal family, so we think that Prince Harry and Meghan will also have a junior bridal party. We're placing our bets that Prince William and Kate's adorable children Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2, will both be in the wedding party, maybe as a pageboy and flower girl, respectively, just as they were for Pippa Middleton's wedding.

Bouquet Many royal brides, including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana of Wales, have carried stunning white bouquets in a beautiful cascading style. Starting with Queen Victoria's daughter Victoria carrying myrtle from the queen's garden, every royal bride since has included the beautiful flower in her bouquet to symbolize good luck and love in marriage. Queen Elizabeth II's cascading arrangement included orchids as well as flowers such as white lilies and chrysanthemums, and Princess Diana's followed suit in a similar cascading style of bouquet, which included, lily of the valley, and of course, myrtle. Moving away from a large arrangement, the Duchess of Cambridge's bouquet was much smaller in size and her sister Pippa's bouquet was even smaller. We envision Meghan carrying a small bouquet that also features myrtle, but that also incorporates her favourite flower (and a bridal favourite!), peonies.

Ceremony Location
Westminster Abbey has been the church of choice for other royal couples such as Prince Charles and Princess Diana, as well as Prince William and Kate. But the church wasn't always the site of royal weddings--Prince George V wed Princess Mary of Teck at the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace in 1893. Is has been confirmed that Prince Harry and Meghan have chosen St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle as their venue. This is totally on-point with tradition--previous Royal family members who exchanged vows at the castle include Prince Harry's uncle, the Earl of Wessex, and the Countess of Wessex, Sophie Rhys-Jones.