Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2018 royal wedding looked different for them than it did for the millions of people watching. Sure, audiences saw King Charles III walk the bride down the aisle. And, of course, the couple sharing their first kiss as husband and wife. What they might not have seen, however, was the “unusual, but necessary” security Harry and Meghan glimpsed.
Crowds ‘slightly frightened’ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by the time of their 2018 royal wedding
People lined the streets of Windsor, England, to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day. Millions more tuned in to watch a live broadcast of the festivities. As Harry, a self-proclaimed “agoraphobe,” shared in Spare, he and Meghan wanted to keep things “private.”
“We were grateful for every person in and around St. George’s, and watching on TV. But our love began in private,” he said in his January 2023 memoir. “And being public had been mostly pain, so we wanted the first consecration of our love, the first vows, to be private as well.”
Which is why, he explained, they had a “small” garden “ceremony” at their then-home, Nottingham Cottage. The Archbishop of Canterbury oversaw the “unofficial, non-binding, except in our souls” exchanging of vows with the couple’s dogs, Guy and Pula, as the “only witnesses.”
“Magical as the formal ceremony was,” Harry continued, “We’d both come to feel slightly frightened of … crowds.”
Harry said he and Meghan saw ‘snipers’ as they exited St. George’s Chapel
The Duke of Sussex continued, saying he and Meghan were all too aware of the security measures on their wedding day.
“Underscoring this feeling: The first thing we saw upon walking back up the aisle and out of the church, other than a stream of smiling faces, were snipers,” Harry recalled. They saw them “on the rooftops, amid the bunting, behind the waterfalls of streamers.”
“Police told me it was unusual, but necessary,” the now-38-year-old explained. “Due to the unprecedented number of threats they were picking up.”
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Similar to Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding — and most other major royal family events — security typically accounts for the majority of the cost.
Take, for instance, the coronation of Harry’s father on May 6. The royal family has yet to release the official cost. However, security’s said to be the biggest expense, per experts.
Security is an ongoing issue for Harry and Meghan
Security has become an even bigger issue for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the years since their royal wedding. When they stepped back as working royals and moved to California in 2020, the British government no longer provided security. Currently, Harry and Meghan pay for a U.S. security team.
There have also been documented incidents in the U.S. and abroad, some of which Harry and Meghan discussed in their 2022 Netflix docuseries. They visited the Los Angeles, California, home Tyler Perry loaned them.
Along the way, the couple recalled various incidents involving paparazzi, helicopters, drones, and broken fences. The most recent incident saw Harry and Meghan, as well as Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, in a “near catastrophic car chase” on May 16.
Meanwhile, Harry’s trying to get Metropolitan Police protection reinstated after claiming he feels unsafe traveling to the U.K. with his children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 1.
A May 2023 decision from London’s High Court denied Harry the right to pay for police protection while in the U.K., which he’s reportedly seeking to challenge (via AP).
May 19 marks Harry and Meghan’s 5-year wedding anniversary.
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