Church of England head: Harry, Meghan did not have secret royal wedding

LONDON • Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has contradicted Meghan Markle's claim that she married Britain's Prince Harry several days before the lavish official ceremony at Windsor Castle in 2018.

Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, told talk-show host Oprah Winfrey in an interview last month she wed Queen Elizabeth's grandson in a secret ceremony officiated over by the Archbishop a few days before the Windsor event, which was held in the glare of royal pomp and pageantry.

"You know, three days before our wedding, we got married - no one knows that," she said. "Just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury."

But Archbishop Welby has said otherwise. "The legal marriage took place on that Saturday," he was quoted as saying by German newspaper Die Welt, adding that he personally signed the marriage certificate. "I would have committed a crime if I had signed something that was not true."

He said he had earlier had a "series of private and pastoral meetings" with Harry and Markle, but declined to give details of the conversations. "If you talk to a priest, you can expect that conversation to remain private," he said.

British media has previously published a copy of the wedding certificate showing the official marriage occurred at Windsor Castle, with the official who drew up the licence saying Markle was either confused or misinformed, and the couple had perhaps exchanged some simple vows before the Archbishop.

REUTERS