MEGHAN and Harry COULDN’T have married three days before their wedding which was watched by millions around the world in May 2018.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed to Oprah they had married ‘in our back yard’ on the Wednesday before the ceremony at St George’s Chapel.
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In the candid chat, Meghan told Oprah: “Three days before our wedding, we got married.
“No one knows that but we called the Archbishop [of Canterbury] and we just said ‘this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us’.
“The vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our back yard with the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Harry added: “Just the three of us.”
However, the couple private vows ceremony was not a lawful wedding – as five people are needed for a legal ceremony.
The private service was not legally binding — and they were not officially married until May 19, 2018, at St George’s Chapel, watched by 1.9billion people on TV worldwide.
The private service took place in the small garden of Nottingham Cottage, the property in the grounds of Kensington Palace where Harry and Meghan were living at the time.
A source said: “It was a small thing, but something they were keen to do between themselves.
“They exchanged their vows before the Archbishop in a personal, private ceremony, but their official marriage was very much on the day of the royal wedding.”
The law states that Church of England weddings must take place in “a certified place of worship” and cannot be conducted outside.
They must also take place in the presence of witnesses, which Harry and Meghan did not have in their garden for the ceremony.
A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury said he would not be commenting on personal or pastoral matters.
The royal couple did not have to follow the usual protocol of having banns read in church prior to their wedding.
They were married under a special licence signed by Howard Dellar, the Registrar of the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The licence included a lot of wording not usually seen on marriage licences, including the Queen’s consent.
Their marriage certificate was also not made publicly available due to a clause in the Marriage Act which exempts members of the Royal Family from this normal requirement.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex married in front of 600 guests at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018 – with their big day including a carriage procession and blooming flower arch.
It’s estimated that the big day cost £32m – covering everything from the cost of security and catering to Meghan’s stunning dress.
