See Inside the Church Where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Tied the Knot
Ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first anniversary, we're taking a look back at every aspect of the big day, including their iconic wedding venue.
Unlike Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, a day of pomp and circumstance at Westminster Abbey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's marriage ceremony was a much more intimate affair.
Don't get us wrong-it was still a royal wedding, but the couple chose St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle as their venue, a much more intimate space. St. George's has a capacity of 800 people, and is much smaller than the Abbey's 2,000, which was a fitting size for the future King and Queen of England.
"It’s a signal to people that they’re not going to be full-on attention seeking royals," royal biographer Andrew Morton said ahead of the ceremony year. "Because they could have had the option of Westminster Abbey, like his brother, but to do so would have been to say 'We are now fully minted public figures.'
"With St. George’s Chapel, it’s more like the wedding of Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones. They’re a more low-key couple," he said.
The chapel, which dates back to the 1300s, has hosted royal weddings for centuries including not only Prince Edward's marriage ceremony in 1999, but also the union of Prince Charles and Camilla in 2005 and Princess Ann's son Peter Phillip's wedding to Autumn Kelly in 2008.
The first wedding to take place in the space was in 1863, between the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
According to the Royal Collection Trust website, the space is "one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in England and is particularly noted for its magnificent stone fan vaulting."
"As with all members of the Royal Family, Windsor is a very special place for Prince Harry and he and Ms. Markle have regularly spent time there over the last year and a half," reads a statement released by Kensington Palace ahead of the wedding.
"They are grateful to the Queen for granting permission for the use of the Chapel. The Chapel itself has centuries of royal tradition and hosted the weddings of many members of the Royal Family. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are delighted that the beautiful grounds of Windsor Castle will be where they begin their lives together as a married couple."
Take a tour of the space below:
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