When Kate Middleton agreed to marry future king Prince William, everything from her engagement
to her wedding ceremony followed all the expected royal traditions. As Meghan Markle prepares
to wed Prince Harry in the spring of 2018, it’s hard not to notice the vast differences
between these two magnificent events. Here’s how their experiences compare.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry dated for just
over a year before he proposed in November 2017. Kate Middleton and Prince William, in
contrast, dated for about eight years and were good friends before their engagement
in late 2010.
Prince William proposed to now-duchess Kate
Middleton in Kenya while the two stayed there in 2010. Sources speculate Prince Harry proposed
to Meghan Markle at or near Nottingham Cottage, where the two will live together.
Prince William told sources he wanted his
proposal to Kate to feel comfortable. The two had been dating for eight years before
he finally felt it was the right time. Harry and Meghan were at home alone enjoying
a quiet evening together when the prince proposed. She said in an interview she could barely
let him finish asking before eagerly saying yes.
Kate wore a royal blue wrap dress with heels,
which matched her engagement ring. Meghan wore a green dress beneath a white wrap coat
to keep her warm in the chilly late November weather. This showed off her more modern style
preferences, compared to Kate’s more traditional and conservative choices.
Kate Middleton wears a ring featuring a sapphire
stone surrounded by diamonds, while Meghan Markle now wears a ring with one center stone
with a smaller stone on either side. Kate’s engagement ring once belonged to
Princes William and Harry’s mother, Princess Diana. The two small stones set in Meghan’s
ring also belonged to Diana, but were part of her personal jewelry collection.
Meghan Markle has faced much more criticism
than Kate Middleton since her engagement announcement in November 2017. Markle is divorced, an American
actress, and biracial, which makes her an atypical addition to the royal family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen
St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle as their wedding venue. This is a much smaller
location than Prince William and Kate Middleton’s ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
As the future monarch, Prince William was
expected to invite a large number of royals and other officials to his and Kate’s ceremony.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will invite their friends and other prestigious guests,
but the number of invites likely won’t reach the same number.
St. George’s chapel is estimated to hold
about 800 people, while Westminster Abbey seats about 2,000. This will limit the number
of attendees Harry and Meghan can expect at their ceremony, making it much smaller than
William and Kate’s.
William and Kate shared a special kiss on
the Buckingham Palace balcony following their wedding, as did Charles and Diana decades
prior. With their wedding so far from the palace, it’s unlikely Harry and Meghan will
join in the tradition following their ceremony.
A traditional royal wedding usually isn’t
complete without a tiered fruitcake. Instead, Harry and Meghan plan on displaying and serving
a cake made from bananas. William and Kate had two cakes — one traditional
British cake, and another made from chocolate biscuits, per the prince’s request.
Prince William and Kate Middleton tend to
abide by more traditional British royal standards when out in public, leaving plenty of space
between them and remaining more “business-like.” Unlike William and Kate, Harry and Meghan
publicly hold hands and don’t bother making an effort to downplay their love for one another.
One of many traditions William and Kate upheld
following their wedding was the horse-drawn carriage ride through the streets of London.
Because Harry and Meghan’s ceremony won’t take place close to the city, it’s unlikely
they’ll follow suit.
Prince William and Kate’s wedding granted
everyone a national bank holiday and day off of work, but that isn’t likely to happen
in the 2018 wedding. Officials don’t want to give workers another day away from their
jobs, though they wish Harry and Meghan all the best.
Kate Middleton first met Queen Elizabeth among
a crowd of other guests while attending Peter Phillips’s wedding to Autumn Kelly in 2008.
Markle met the Queen in a much more private setting — accompanying Harry on an hour-long
meeting for tea in Buckingham Palace.