The Archbishop of Canterbury has stated that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not secretly married before their official ceremony, despite claims made by the Duchess of Sussex during the controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey. At the same time, the archbishop confirmed there was "a number of private and pastoral meetings with the duke and duchess" before the official event.
"The legal wedding was on the Saturday. I signed the wedding certificate, which is a legal document, and I would have committed a serious criminal offence if I signed it knowing it was false. So you can make what you like about [that]. But the legal wedding was on the Saturday. But I won't say what happened at any other meetings", Archbishop Justin Welby said.
Before that, reverend Mark Edwards stated that a member of the archbishop's office had told him there was no official wedding.
"Justin does not do private weddings. Meghan is an American, she does not understand. Justin had a private conversation with the couple in the garden about the wedding, but I can assure you, no wedding took place until the televised national event", a Lambeth Palace staffer reportedly said.
According to the Daily Beast, the Sussexes' spokesman said the couple "exchanged personal vows a few days before their official/legal wedding on May 19".
Meghan Markle told Oprah she and Prince Harry "secretly got married" three days before the official ceremony in Nottingham Cottage. Prince Harry said that they called the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, adding there were "only three of us".
However, according to British law, at least two witnesses are required for a wedding to be considered official. A copy of the couple's official wedding certificate, obtained by British tabloids, also says they got married at St. George's Chapel of Windsor Castle.