When Prince Harry weds Meghan Markle: What to expect from the wedding of the year

ROYAL watchers are predicting a glamorous but very different affair when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle finally get hitched. Here are a few shocks we can expect from the big day.

SHE’S had tea with the Queen, resigned from her role on Suits and is preparing to ship her dogs to London; get your hats ready, a royal engagement is due any day.

But when Prince Harry, 33, finally pops the question to girlfriend Meghan Markle, 36, what can we expect from the latest — and possibly greatest — royal marriage?

Royal watchers are convinced Harry and Meghan, here at the Invictus Games 2017 in September, will announce their engagement sooner rather than later. Picture: Getty

When the Prince marries the American actress, it will be a very different affair to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s formal nuptials in 2011.

Harry has reportedly stated he wants to avoid “pomp and pageantry” and as it’s Meghan’s second marriage, here’s what it might entail:

THE VENUE

Thanks to updated rules, divorcee Meghan can marry Harry in Westminster Abbey, if the couple want, although insiders suggest they are more likely to pick the low-key St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, where Prince Edward married Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999 and Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ civil ceremony was dedicated in 2005. Other options include the smaller and once-traditional Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, or even Balmoral.

St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Prince Edward wed Sophie Rhys-Jones, is in the running to be the venue for Harry and Meghan.

THE DRESS

The actress, whose character Rachel Zane weds her boyfriend Mike Ross on Suits this season, told Hello magazine she prefers “dresses that are whimsical or subtly romantic.” For her first wedding to Trevor Engelson in 2011 on the beach in Jamaica, she wore a plain white strapless gown with sparkly belt. This time, with the world watching, she’s tipped to go for a classic with a twist gown, by a brand like Canadian/British Erdem, whose exquisite dresses Meghan regularly wears, as does Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and her sister Pippa Middleton.

Designer Erdem, a favourite with Meghan Markel, put a bold twist on the classic ball gown during London Fashion Week in September. Picture: Getty

BRIDAL PARTY

Don’t expect a Bridesmaids-the-movie style line-up for Meghan. Although she’s American, she will still follow royal protocol when it comes to her big day and choose flower girls. The Queen had eight young bridesmaids, Diana and Catherine, five, including her sister Pippa as maid of honour. If Meghan continues the tradition, she could include Princess Charlotte, Savannah and Isla Phillips and Mia Tindall as bridesmaids, and Serena Williams or actress Priyanka Chopra as her maid of honour. Harry would ask William to be his best man as he did the honours for his brother six years ago.

Cute-as-a-button Princess Charlotte is likely to be called upon to act as flower girl. Picture: AFP

THE RECEPTION

While William and Kate’s wedding reception consisted of lunch for 650 hosted by The Queen at Buckingham Palace, you can expect fun-loving Harry and Meghan to go for something less formal — perhaps a lunch for dignitaries, then an intimate evening reception for their close friends. William and Kate had a drinks reception int the Blue Drawing Room and transformed the Palace’s Throne Room into a nightclub for a do that continued into the small hours and if there’s one thing Harry knows how to do, it’s party.

Buckingham Palace’s Blue Drawing Room where Prince William and Kate Middleton hosted a drinks reception before turning the Throne Room into a nightclub. Picture: AFP

THE GUEST LIST

By far the best part of Harry and Meghan’s wedding would be the eclectic guest list; a delicious mix of dignitaries and politicians, society types and celebrities from both sides of the Atlantic.

HARRY: Harry’s buddies are a notorious gang who have led him into trouble in the past — such as stripping off in Vegas in 2012 — and include Tom Inskip, whose Jamaica wedding Harry attended with Meghan in March, Arthur Landon, one of the richest men in the UK, Jake Warren, Guy Pelly, Sam and Holly Branson and actress Jenna Coleman. Harry is also friends with David and Victoria Beckham — who attended William and Kate’s wedding — Ellie Goulding who sang at his brother’s wedding and Cara Delevingne. Others we can expect to see in the church include Barack and Michelle Obama, who have worked closely with him on the Invictus Games.

Expect to see David and Victoria Beckham at the wedding. Picture: Getty

Barack and Michelle Obama are close friends of Harry’s after working with him on the Invictur Games. Picture: Getty

MEGHAN: Her high-profile buddies include Serena Williams, Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, actor Priyanka Chopra, stylist Jessica Mulroney, Olivia Palermo, fashion designer Misha Nonoo and Soho House’s Markus Anderson, the man who introduced them.

Serena Williams is a close friend of Meghan. Picture: Getty

Actor Priyanka Chopra is another high-profile buddy. Picture: Getty

As for Meghan’s family, it’s unlikely the whole bunch would get a golden ticket. Meghan’s yoga instructor mother Doria Ragland would of course be there, as would her father Thomas Markle — but as for her half-brother Thomas, who was arrested this year for putting a gun to his girlfriend’s head, and her estranged half-sister Samantha Grant, who is writing a book called The Diary Of Princess Pushy’s Sister, they’d be advised not to keep watching the mail. Even Thomas describes the clan as “The Dukes Of Hazzard and The Simpsons vs. the Royal Family.”

THE HONEYMOON

William and Kate honeymooned in the private resort of North Island in the Seychelles, far away from prying eyes — the same location George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin chose for their honeymoon three years later. Only accessible by helicopter, it’s the ideal hideaway. Another option is Mustique — a firm favourite of the Royal Family. Or perhaps Harry will head back to Botswana; he took Meghan to the luxury camp Meno-a-Kwena in August and describes the country as his “second home”.

Luxurious Meno-a-Kwena camp would be an idyllic honeymoon destination.