Before Prince Harry and Meghan
Markle married each other this afternoon in England, necks craned
eagerly to see just who would be getting out of the luxury vehicles—and
the shuttle bus—outside of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, while
millions tuned in from around the world to watch the red carpet-reminiscent
procession.
The usual suspects were all
accounted for—Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Kate Middleton and Prince
William. Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland. Prince Charles and Duchess
Camilla. The groom’s royal first cousins, including Zara Tindall and
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. All three of Princess
Diana’s siblings. Victoria and David Beckham (practically
royalty at this point).
Then there were the less usual
suspects. But while the Hollywood contingent was out in fuller force today for
Meghan and Harry—the newly minted Duke and Duchess of Sussex—than it was for
Will and Kate seven years ago, overall this was a much smaller affair.
Roughly 1,900 guests witnessed
the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge marry at Westminster Abbey—but St. George’s
Chapel only seats 800, and Harry and Meghan economically whittled their
ceremony list down to a reported 600. And only 200 were invited to the evening
reception at Frogmore House, which follows a daytime reception hosted by the
queen.
Meaning, simply, that hundreds
of royal wedding guests in 2011 just wouldn’t be repeating the experience in
2018. But how does that final list come together?
Much was made, for instance,
of whether or not former President Barack Obama would receive an
invitation, as he and Michelle Obama are chummy with the groom
and had a most memorable meeting with William and Kate and a
bathrobe-sporting Prince George at Kensington Palace a few years
back. And if the Obamas were invited, would the current U.S. president and the First Lady be as well?
At the end of the day, none of
the above were invited, nor was British Prime Minister Theresa May.
“It has been decided that
an official list of political leaders—both U.K. and international—is not
required for Prince Harry and Ms. Markle’s wedding,” the Palace
explained in a statement last month. “Her Majesty’s government was
consulted on this decision, which was taken by the royal household.”
Perhaps Harry and Meghan
decided it wasn’t worth the inevitable controversy. Then P.M. David
Cameron attended Will and Kate’s wedding, as did Labor leader Ed
Miliband, Sir John Major (who served as a formal guardians to William
and Harry after their mother’s death in 1997). Margaret Thatcher was
invited, but was in poor health and could not attend. But the royals were then
criticized for not inviting Cameron’s immediate predecessors Tony Blair and Gordon
Brown, with some going so far as to call it a calculated move.
