Prince Harry & Meghan Markle's Marriage Certificate Proves Their Secret Backyard Ceremony Didn't Legally Wed Them
Meghan Markle revealed that three days prior to her and Prince Harry's 2018 wedding, the couple secretly exchanged vows in their backyard. But a new report confirms that the private ceremony they held didn't legally marry them.
According to their marriage certificate, which was obtained by The Sun from the General Registrar’s Office, they were officially married on May 19, which corresponds with the date that they publicly tied the knot at the Windsor Castle.
While sitting down with Oprah Winfrey, the former actress stated that "three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that."
"The vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury," she shared. "We called the archbishop and we just said 'Look this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us.'"
After The Sun publicized their certificate, Stephen Borton, the former chief clerk at the Faculty Office who crafted the marriage license, spoke out on the matter.
"I’m sorry, but Meghan is obviously confused and clearly misinformed," he declared. "They did not marry three days earlier in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury."
"The Special License I helped draw up enabled them to marry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor and what happened there on 19 May 2018 and was seen by millions around the world was the official wedding as recognized by the Church of England and the law," continued Borton.
"What I suspect they did was exchange some simple vows they had perhaps written themselves, and which is fashionable, and said that in front of the Archbishop — or, and more likely, it was a simple rehearsal," he explained.
"They couldn’t have got married in the grounds of Nottingham Cottage as it is not an authorized venue and there were not enough witnesses present. You cannot be married with just three people. It’s not a valid ceremony."
“Any certificate she may have of her vows on the wall is not an official wedding certificate," he continued. "The wedding itself took place at St. George’s Chapel under the conditions stipulated by the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which have been recently amended."
Concluded Borton: "In order for them to be married a special license was drawn up and the wording from Her Majesty the Queen authorizing the wedding and the official venue was recorded."
