Royal Wedding Not a Bank Holiday

Mark your calendars for 19 May 2018. The British Royal Family will be celebrating the union of Prince Harry and his fiancée, Meghan Markle. She will be the first women of color and the first American to be married to a living heir to the British throne.

After meeting on a blind date two years ago, Prince Harry allegedly proposed to Meghan in a cottage inside Kensington Palace. The palace confirmed on Twitter that the wedding will be held on 19 May 2018.

The marriage of Prince Harry and Markle will take place in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle at 12:00 p.m. The Queen has also granted permission for the ceremony to be held in the place of worship, which seats approximately 800, and core aspects of wedding, including the service, music, flowers, decorations, and reception, will be paid for by the royal family.

Although the public were given a day off to celebrate the weddings of Prince Charles to Diana Spencer in 1981, Prince William to Catherine Middleton in 2011, and Princess Anne to Mark Phillips in 1973, Prince Harry and his fiancée’s choice to wed on 19 May avoids the issue of whether or not the royal wedding should be a bank holiday.

“This wedding, like all weddings, will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters of the bride and groom. The couple of course want the day to be a special, celebratory moment for their friends and family. They also want the day to be shaped so as to allow members of the public to feel part of the celebrations too,” Jason Knauf, Prince Harry’s communications secretary, said.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte are likely to be page boy and flower girl, but Markle is also expected to choose bridesmaids from her close set of friends. Actress Priyanka Chopra, tennis champion Serena Williams, designer Misha Nonoo, and stylist Jessica Mulroney are all names that have been suggested; however, now that Markle has deleted her Instagram account, it is more difficult to track her friendships.

Rumors also flew high suggesting Ed Sheeran will perform. Melanie Brown (Scary Spice from the famous Spice Girls) has suggested that the Spice Girls could be performing as well, but she failed to confirm or deny a performance.