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When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged vows at St George’s Chapel in 2018, it was a fairytale moment, with their eyes set on a ‘happily ever after’.
However, the lead-up to their grand day was reportedly wrapped in ‘secrecy’ and necessitated a ‘cloak-and-dagger operation’.
The event’s details were so closely guarded that even the late Queen was said to have been denied any view of Meghan’s £100,000 dress designs.
Lady Elizabeth Anson, a relative of the Queen Mother and King George VI’s goddaughter, later noted that the Queen was ‘not at all content’ while seated at the wedding ceremony.
One particularly resounding absence from the nuptials was Meghan’s Maid of Honour – traditionally a bride’s most trusted confidante.
But despite her entourage of star-studded friends, Meghan failed to fill this position.
Clare Waight Keller, the designer of Meghan’s Audrey Hepburn-inspired gown, was the one to assist her with the cathedral-length, five-metre-long veil.
In the book Finding Freedom, royal experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand highlighted how Keller, as the then-artistic director for Givenchy, arrived ahead of the bride to be ready on the castle’s West Steps upon Meghan’s arrival.
One particularly resounding absence was Meghan’s Maid of Honour – traditionally a bride’s most trusted confidante. Instead, it was the designer of Meghan’s Audrey Hepburn-inspired floor-length gown, Clare Waight Keller, that ‘stepped in’ to assist her (pictured right)
It was later claimed by Lady Elizabeth Anson, great-niece of the late Queen’s Mother and goddaughter of King George VI , that the late Queen was ‘not at all content’ by the time she was sat in the pews during the ceremony
Behind the scenes, the build up to the Sussexes big day had been deliberately ‘shrouded in secrecy’ in a ‘cloak-and-dagger operation’, it has been claimed. Even the late Queen was allegedly refused any access to drawings of Meghan’s £100,000 dress
Indeed the top-secret planning of the wedding had became so strictly enforced that even Ms Waight Keller’s own family were forbidden from having any knowledge of her involvement.
It wasn’t until she appeared on chapel’s steps that her husband and three children realised that she ‘had been given the all important role of the designer’, Scobie and Durand said.
Recalling the decision to keep her role in the wedding a secret from her nearest and dearest, the designer said: ‘Like a doctor’s law in that you don’t talk about your parents, so I just stuck to that principle.’
Yet Ms Waight Keller’s confidential role, was, it appears, indicative of an intentional wealth of secrecy that overwhelmed the entire wedding process.
Meghan had met the A-list designer at Kensington Palace shortly into her engagement to Harry, with the pair quickly developing an ‘easy relationship’.
Describing the moment she was tasked with creating the Royal dress as ‘extraordinary’, she later said it had been an ‘incredible thing to be part of such an historic moment’.
But it was not to be an easy feet. Outlining the lengths taken to ensure the dress’ utmost secrecy, Scobie and Durand said that the designer had to undertake a number of fittings herself in a secure room at Cliveden House.
The fittings, which were carried out ‘in the early hours in a cloak-and-dagger operation’, devised by Meghan’s personal assistant, Melissa Toubati, and aide Jason Knauf, even ‘involved several protection officers and a man-made tunnel.’
Writing in the book Finding Freedom, royal experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand explained that the ‘then-artistic director for Givenchy rode ahead of the bride so that she would be waiting on the castle’s West Steps when Meghan arrived’
They added: ‘The pair laughed at the insanity of their scurrying around with the world’s most wanted dress.
‘Everything about the dress had been shrouded in secrecy.’
In February 2018, Meghan ‘arrived in a discreet town car’ at a property in south west London to discuss the dress’ final design with the high-brow designer.
Then, despite refusing to disclose any sketch details to the late Queen, she travelled to LA in March with sketches of the dress to show her mother, Doria, the authors claimed.
Writing on her Substack channel ‘Royals Extra’, based on conversations with Her Majesty’s cousin Lady Elizabeth Anson, royal biography Sally Bedell Smith described the late Queen’s turmoil at Meghan’s insistence on shielding her from any details.
The late Queen was reportedly left saddened after ‘Meghan wouldn’t tell her’ anything about the wedding dress, Ms Bedell Smith wrote.
She added that while having tea with the Sussexes, ‘she was trying to find out about the wedding dress, and Meghan wouldn’t tell her’, leaving her ‘very upset’.
Her Majesty was also said to have been ‘very worried’ about her ‘besotted and weak’ grandson and also became aggrieved about some of their decisions taken ahead of their ceremony.
Scobie and Durand said that the designer (pictured) undertook a number of fittings herself in a secure room at Cliveden House. Devised by Meghan’s personal assistant, Melissa Toubati, and aide Jason Knauf, they even ‘involved several protection officers and a man-made tunnel’
Meghan boarded a flight to LA in March 2018 accompanied with sketches of the dress to show her mother, Doria. The late Queen was reportedly left saddened after ‘Meghan wouldn’t tell her’ anything about the wedding dress, royal biography Sally Bedell Smith wrote
Meghan’s gown featured long sleeves and a bateau neckline, which was a nod to the iconic Givenchy dress in the 1957 movie Funny Face, and cost £100,000.
The dress referenced the codes of the iconic House of Givenchy, showcasing the expert craftsmanship of its world-renowned Parisian couture atelier which was founded in 1952.
True to the heritage of the house, the pure lines of the dress were achieved using six meticulously placed seams, focusing on the graphic open bateau neckline that gracefully framed her shoulders and emphasised her slender sculpted waist.
Meghan also added a personal touch, stitching a piece of blue gingham fabric from the dress she wore on her and Harry’s first date in the hem.
Appearing in the Sussexes Netflix series, Ms Waight Keller said that Meghan’s dress had to be ‘flawless’, with the Duchess hoping to ‘carve out’ a new style of royal dressing.
However, the late Queen, entirely excluded from the design process, was said to have been left somewhat disappointed by the gown, which involved the work of 50 people and had taken over 3,900 hours to craft.
Ingrid Seward, one of the most prominent and respected writers on the British Royal Family, discussed the nuptials in her book, My Mother and I.
The royal biographer wrote: ‘The Queen never voiced her true opinions except to her close confidants, such as Lady Elizabeth Anson, or Liza as she was known to her friends.
According to royal author Sally Bedell Smith (pictured), Her Majesty was also said to have been ‘very worried’ about her ‘besotted and weak’ grandson and also became aggrieved about some of their decisions taken ahead of their ceremony
Author Ingrid Steward, in her book, My Mother and I, said that the Queen ‘had made only one remark about Meghan and Harry’s wedding and that was that Meghan’s Givenchy wedding gown was “too white” for a divorcee, with Meghan previously married between 2011 and 2013
‘She told me that the Queen had made only one remark about Meghan and Harry’s wedding and that was that Meghan’s Givenchy wedding gown was “too white”.’
‘Those two words embraced everything she felt about the dramas in the run-up to the marriage and the Disneyesque spectacle of the day itself’, according to the royal expert.
‘In the monarch’s view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal.’
Meghan had previously been married to Hollywood film producer Trevor Engelson between 2011 and 2013.
Queen Camilla, who had previously been married to Andrew Parker Bowles between 1973 and 1995, stuck with tradition and opted not to wear white for the blessing when she married Charles in 2005.
Instead she wore a pale blue chiffon dress and coat with gold embroidery.
But the late Queen’s reservations were not just reserved for the secretive bridal gown she donned on the day.
While Meghan had been ‘full of charm’ and appeared ‘natural, intelligent and thoughtful’ following the engagement, it was claimed that as the wedding approached she had become increasingly ‘bossy’, leaving the late Queen privately ‘very worried’.
Meghan had reportedly quickly dismissed any ideas Lady Elizabeth (pictured), a high-society party planner known as Liza to friends, had for their nuptials by saying that she couldn’t ‘make any decisions’ until Harry returned to the UK from Botswana
She had quickly dismissed any ideas Lady Elizabeth, a high-society party planner known as Liza to friends, had for their nuptials by saying that she couldn’t ‘make any decisions’ until Harry returned to the UK from Botswana.
‘He will write from Africa,’ Meghan reportedly told Lady Elizabeth.
One of the late Queen’s most trusted confidantes, Lady Elizabeth later told Sally that Harry had been in touch to say they had decided to go ‘another way’ with their plans, and claimed his grandmother was ‘content with this’ decision.
‘When I spoke with the Queen, she said she is not at all content,’ Lady Elizabeth allegedly told Ms Bedell Smith. ‘Meghan could turn into nothing but trouble. She sees things in a different way.’
The royal author added: ‘According to Liza, the Queen was dismayed that Harry had asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to perform the wedding service in St. George’s Chapel without first requesting permission from the Dean of Windsor.’
She also said that Harry had been ‘rude to her for ten minutes’ during a meeting ahead of the wedding, with Lady Elizabeth believing that, as a result, Harry had ‘blown his relationship with his grandmother’.
Lady Elizabeth tried to console her by telling her she could ‘look forward’ to Royal Ascot and Princess Eugenie’s wedding. However, the late Queen replied about the Sussex wedding: ‘But it’s my house. And I’m paying for it’.
Ms Bedell Smith wrote: ‘When we spoke two weeks before the May 19 wedding, Liza had just heard from the Queen. “The Number One Lady—I call her Jemima—says the jury is out on whether she likes Meghan,” said Liza.
“My Jemima is very worried.” In Liza’s view, “Harry is besotted and weak about women. We hope but don’t quite think she is in love. We think she engineered it all.”
Ms Bedell Smith also claimed that Harry had been ‘rude’ to the late Queen ‘for ten minutes’ during a meeting ahead of the wedding, with Lady Elizabeth believing that, as a result, Harry had ‘blown his relationship with his grandmother’. The pair were said to have reconciled in April 2018
Lady Elizabeth allegedly tried to console the late Queen by telling her she could ‘look forward’ to Royal Ascot and Princess Eugenie’s wedding. However, the late Queen replied about the Sussex wedding: ‘But it’s my house. And I’m paying for it’
Lady Elizabeth also apparently added: ‘It’s worrying that so many people are questioning whether Meghan is right for Harry. The problem, bless his heart, is that Harry is neither bright nor strong, and she is both’.
Following these February rows, towards the end of April, Lady Elizabeth claimed that the late Queen and her grandson had ‘patched things up’.
Harry apparently visited her alone to smooth things over and later wrote to her with more wedding details.
When Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011, the late Queen asked Lady Elizabeth to organise a party for all the visiting royal guests.
By then she was a veteran of royal party planning. No palace event, it seemed, was complete without input from Lady Elizabeth. She arranged the late Queen’s 80th birthday party and that to mark the 50th anniversary of her coronation.
In her later years, she became ill with lung cancer but continued to work despite breathing problems and spent time with the late Queen, who made her a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. She died in November 2020.
Following her high-profile wedding Meghan wore a number of Ms Waight Keller’s Givenchy designs – turning to the label to dress her for many prominent engagements, including her June 2018 outing in Cheshire alongside the late Queen.
In December 2018, Meghan made clear how close the two women had become when she made a surprise appearance at the 2018 British Fashion Awards to present Ms Waight Keller with an award. Accepting her award, Ms Waight Keller said: ‘This woman is so amazing’
Ms Waight Keller was the first-ever female artistic director to hold the position in the brand’s 68-year history.
She was responsible for returning Givenchy back to the couture schedule, presenting a total of five couture collections during her occupancy.
The designer left Givenchy in 2020 and, last year, created a new affordable line with Japanese high street retailer, Uniqlo.
In December 2018, Meghan made clear how close the two women had become when she made a surprise appearance at the 2018 British Fashion Awards to present Ms Waight Keller with an award.
Ms Waight Keller won the prestigious British Womenswear Designer of the Year award and thanked Meghan personally in her speech at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London.
Accepting her award, Ms Waight Keller said: ‘This woman is so amazing. I got to know Meghan on such a personal level.
‘To have someone like that trust you on such a personal moment in their life… I can’t thank you enough because it was the most beautiful moment.’
