Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s excitement at attending Pippa Middleton’s wedding together was short-lived after they discovered the bride’s unusual request
Not yet engaged and less than a year into their relationship, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry would enjoy Pippa Middleton’s wedding reception in each other’s company.
But the younger sister of the Princess of Wales had other ideas: with a strict seating arrangement, with all couples present separated.
It meant that instead of spending the evening together as a new couple, Harry sat with Ten presenter Tom Bradby at ITV News, while Meghan dined with Roger Federer’s wife Mirka.
Guests enjoyed a meal of trout and lamb at Pippa and hedge fund manager James Matthews’ 2017 wedding, washed down with “2002 Dom Ruinart Champagne,” according to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s biography of the Sussexes, Finding Freedom.
James Matthews and Pippa Middleton leave St. Mark’s Church on their wedding day in 2017
“Sitting together in the custom-made glass marquee placed on the 40-acre estate should have been a fun evening for the couple, but at Pippa’s request, no couples sat together,” they wrote.
Harry and Meghan, who were still new to royal circles at the time, reunited on the dance floor after the meal. And while “old Harry would certainly have cut it off with the rest of his friends,” Mr. Scobie and Mrs. Durand note that the then 32-year-old prince instead spent the rest of the evening catching up with his girlfriend.
The seating chart wasn’t the only challenge the couple faced that day, as Meghan was absent from the ceremony at St. Mark’s Church in Englefield, West Berkshire.
Pippa and her mother, Carole Middleton, apparently shared their concernsThe presence of the royal couple could overshadow the big day.
Meghan Markle wears a black dress at Luminato’s Big Bang Bash in 2016
Prince William and Prince Harry at Pippa’s wedding in Berkshire
St Mark’s Church in Englefield, where Pippa and James married in 2017
The future Duke and Duchess of Sussex ultimately agreed that it would be best for Meghan to avoid the church and the media.
The authors of Finding Freedom say Harry and Meghan then devised a plan that would see them drive to Berkshire on the day of the wedding.
Meghan stayed in an Airbnb that a close friend rented on her behalf while Harry attended the service in Englefield.
Meghan did her own makeup and donned a black dress before Harry returned to the Airbnb for lunch with his partner. He then drove them both to the reception of Middleton’s Bucklebury home.
Kate tries on her sister’s dress as she enters the church on her wedding day
The glass marquee in Bucklebury, Berkshire, where Pippa’s wedding reception was held
Beautiful bride Pippa wore a flowing lace dress with a heart-shaped open back, designed by Giles Deacon. She carried a bouquet of peony, sweet pea, astilbe, freesia, wax flower, green bell and mollis.
Prince George, who was just three at the time, and Princess Charlotte, then two, stole the show as page boy and mini bridesmaid. (It is said that Pippa hates the term “flower girl.”)
George wore a cute button-up shirt and beige pants, while his sister wore an ivory dress with a soft pink bow and flower crown, along with a small basket.