Queen Elizabeth's Blessing for Meghan Markle's Marriage to Prince Harry Is Noticeably Different
Yeah, father Thomas may be walking Meghan down the aisle. Do we know yet whether that will happen? Yes he is. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] He'll be there one way or the other, yes, he is. Fantastic. So, any rumor to the contrary is My favorite new word is becoming rubbish. [LAUGH] Yeah, so he will be there. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] I think he was referring to the family all being in one place. Children running around a large gathering, and it's lovely she can have that. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]
Not a minute too soon, Meghan Markle and Prince have secured an important approval in royal wedding protocol: the queen’s blessing.
Is this the “something blue” of regal matrimony? It's actually much more formal. If you’re within six places in line for the throne, spousal approval must be granted by the reigning monarch.
Momentous as the occasion is, fans have pointed out an interesting discrepancy between this message of consent and the one Queen Elizabeth dictated for Prince William and Kate Middleton.
During a Privy Council meeting at Buckingham Palace, her majesty conveyed her approval and gave her official blessing: “My Lords, I declare my consent to a contract of matrimony between my most dearly beloved grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales and Rachel Meghan Markle, which consent I am causing to be signified under the Great Seal and to be entered in the books of the Privy Council."
The Queen has formally given her consent to “my most dearly beloved grandson” Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle! Great spot @_harklesparkle_#harryandmeghan#RoyalWeddingpic.twitter.com/J3QRVu8B1U
— Emily Nash (@emynash) March 15, 2018
Nice, right? Well, listen to how she introduced the soon-to-be Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011:
“Our most dearly beloved grandson Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, K.G. and our trusty and well-beloved Catherine Elizabeth Middleton."
While William and Harry are both “dearly beloved,” their prospective spouses are not treated with equal finesse. Kate is “trusty and well-beloved,” while Meghan is simply “Rachel Meghan Markle.”
RELATED: Prince Harry Takes Meghan Markle for Tea at the Palace to Meet Queen Elizabeth: Report
Although royal watchers are quick to call the queen’s omission “shade,” maybe it’s simply because she knew Kate a lot better at this point in their relationship? Kate and William dated on-and-off beginning somewhere around 2003. Middleton met the queen five years later, in 2008, three years prior to their 2011 nuptials. Markle, however, only met Queen Elizabeth in October of last year.
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