Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding will take place on 19 May 2018, Kensington Palace has announced.
The couple announced their engagement just last month and said the ceremony will take place at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The wedding will be paid for entirely by the royal family including the service, the flowers, the wedding and the reception.
19 May is a Saturday, and, crucially, the day of the FA Cup Final which Prince William usually attends in his role of FA President.
Some people are not happy about the announcement, and have even suggested that Will has a good reason not to attend the wedding should he want one:
The wedding is still months away, of course, so the couple are currently making plans to stay with the Queen at Sandringham Palace this Christmas.
This will break a long-standing royal tradition as Markle will become the first royal fiancée to spend Christmas Day with the royal family.
Even Princess Diana didn’t get that honour, while in 2010 Prince William and Kate Middleton spent Christmas Day apart.
Catherine of Sussex – Kate’s official title now – instead had a nice traditional Christmas with her family in Berkshire instead.
Apparently, Prince Harry asked the Queen to make an exception for his new American bride-to-be, hence the current arrangement.
According to Vanity Fair, Harry was typically upbeat when it came to discussing the special treatment that Markle has received, both from his famous grandma the Queen and from her beloved corgis.
“I’ve spent the last 33 years being barked at – this one walks in, absolutely nothing!” he said in the pair’s first joint interview together.
Looks like they’ll have a lot to plan in the New Year now.