Everything You Need to Know About Prince Harry’s Royal Wedding Outfit

Preparing for a wedding is a marathon of challenges: you need to know exactly where grandma’s sitting, which high school friends you don’t have the headcount for, beef or fish, what’s the dress code, what will your groomsmen wear, and—oh yeah, what will you wear? Suffice it to say that things are kicked up a notch when you happen to be a member of a royal family. Toss into the mix an anticipated three billion global viewers and centuries of tradition forged by the British monarchy and we are set for one hell of a ceremony between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this weekend.

No detail has been overlooked in preparation for the nuptials. We know where the ink for the invitations came from (America), and that the ceremony will adhere to long-held traditions, like sticking lemon myrtle in the bride’s bouquet, then placing that bouquet on the tomb of the unknown soldier the day after the wedding, because Princess Victoria did it all the way back in 1858. Every other decision on Royal Wedding day feels similarly freighted with historical and emotional significance, too, and that extends to the dress code. Markle will reportedly wear a gown made by a British-based label, Ralph & Russo, but we’re left in the dark on what exactly Harry will tie the knot in. So we decided to do some digging. Here’s everything you’d ever want to know, and more, about Harry’s wedding outfit.

Wait, so we don’t know what Harry’s going to wear?

No, the Palace is keeping it a secret.

Why?

Turns out the royals are really freaking good at PR. “A royal wedding is fascinating because of the way details are leaked to build up interest,” says royal commentator Richard Fitzsimmons, whose literal job is talking about goings-on in the monarchy for CNN and BBC News, among many, many others. “You don't want to spoil it by telling too much too soon!”

Many people have ascribed Americans’ fascination with the royal family to the fact they’re the closest thing we have to a real-life fairy tale. And like the tellers of any good fairy tale, they don’t want to give away the ending.

OK, so do we at least know what he might wear?

Yes! There are a couple of options.

• Harry served in the military with the Blues and Royals, a senior regiment of the British Army, so he could wear the corresponding uniform. But since he’s no longer actively serving, that’s not super likely.

• The invitation stipulates a dress code of “morning coat or lounge suit” for men, and it’s possible Harry will opt to follow those guidelines. The traditional morning dress code means we’d most likely see Harry in a black morning coat—"with its curved front-edges that slope back at the sides into long tails, was originally worn in the nineteenth century for riding,” says a representative with London-based etiquette coaching service Debrett’s—a white button-up, a tie and double-breasted waistcoat in a color of Harry’s choosing, grey trousers, and black formal shoes, according to London-based etiquette expert William Hanson.

• The most likely option, though, seems to be the uniform he can wear since his recent appointment to Captain General of the Royal Marines. It’s a black uniform with a gold band across the waist. “It's assumed he'll wear that uniform because it's very prestigious,” says Fitzsimmons.

I’m not convinced. What are some other good reasons he might wear the uniform?

It was only shortly after getting engaged to Markle that Harry was even made Captain General Royal Marines, which is the ceremonial head of one of Britain's most elite regiments. The appointment happened mid-December—and, notably, the situation echoes what happened before Prince William and Kate’s wedding in 2011. Several months before that wedding, William was made Colonel, Irish Guards and wore the corresponding uniform—that straight-out-of-a-Disney-movie red uniform and pale blue sash—on his special day.

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Counterpoint: isn’t Prince Harry just the sort of unpredictable out-of-control royal who would throw tradition out the window?

It’s possible. Harry has never been the most tradition-bound of the royals, and since he’s sixth-removed from the throne (after his dad, brother, and his brother’s three toddlers), this wedding could easily be more lowkey. “He isn't really entitled to a grand elaborate ceremony as his brother got,” says Hanson. Hanson also points out that it’s Markle’s second wedding so she might not feel compelled to go all out, either.

What about his beard? Is Harry going to shave?

That reminds me: another sign that Harry might not we ar uniform is that he still has the beard he’s been sporting for a while. He could wear a uniform when he’s not freshly shaven, but that would be frowned upon. “That might discourage him from wearing a uniform,” says Fitzsimmons. “Certainly in the army they don’t approve.”

What the hell is “morning dress,” anyway?

It’s the most formal (or as Hanson says, delightfully, the “smartest”) daytime dress code. It’s more colorful and technically even more formal than black tie. “Morning suits are the traditional dress for weddings and formal daytime events in the presence of The Queen,” says the Debrett’s rep.

And what’s this noise about lounge suits?

Lounge suits are the more relaxed option, if attendees don’t already own morning dress—or don’t want to hunt it down. “I believe this is probably due the choice of guests with a lot of people coming that are involved in the charities that [Harry and Markle] deal with and I am sure they would not want them having to hire a morning suit for the event,” says Caroline Castigliano, a London-based wedding dress designer and Royal wedding expert.

But if Harry doesn’t wear his uniform, his morning dress will nod to his royal status somehow, right?

No.

Really??

“There's nothing he could wear that would signify anything royal about him,” Hanson said after I asked him for about the fifth time. Now, if the invitation had specified morning dress with decoration, Harry could wear some of his medals—but it would be uncouth if he did it now when the invites only say “morning dress.” “You can Google pictures of [Harry in morning dress] and he will just look like that really,” says Hanson.

Let’s do that.

Okay.

Well, this all sounds complicated and easy to screw up.

Oh, it is! None other than men’s style icon David Beckham effed up gloriously when he attended the 2011 royal wedding between William and Kate. I’ll let Hanson give the former soccer superstar a full dressing down:

“David Beckham made a faux pas because he wore his morning dress, which was fine, although the morning dress was a complete disaster in itself because everything matched,” says Hanson. “But he wore his OBE—officer of the Order of the British Empire—which is a civilian medal given by the government, and he shouldn't have been wearing it. He was also wearing it on the wrong side, but regardless of that he shouldn't have been wearing it.”

Nothing’s supposed to match?

No. Mismatched coats and trousers is ket for morning dress, according to Hanson.

And what side are the decorations supposed to be on?

The wearer’s left-hand side.

Sounds like Beckham really mucked it up. Can we see some pictures?

We can.

LOL. Okay, but if Harry wears his military uniform he can wear decorations?

That’s right. There are several embellishments Harry could wear thanks to his royal status and time with the military. According to Fitzsimmons, he could potentially wear:

• Army Air Corps Wings: a pair of of baby blue wings with a golden crown and lion in the center that Harry received after training to fly military helicopters

• Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal: a gold medal coin imprinted with the queen’s profile that’s given to members of the army who serve five years

• Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal: a nickel silver coin created to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s sixtieth year as queen. It was awarded to those in the Royal Household, as well as select members of the Armed Forces.

• Afghanistan Operational Service Medal: a silver medal given to Harry for his service in the post-2001 war in Afghanistan

Ok, let’s cut to the chase. What is Harry expected to wear?

Most believe that he’ll go with his military uniform. His father and brother both wed in uniform, it’s the more prestigious of the options, and the timing makes sense.

Also, crucially, it’s good press for the monarchy. “Looking at William and Catherine's wedding, it was so fairy tale—straight out of Cinderella really,” says Hanson. “I would imagine with a PR hat on that [the uniform] helps continue the sort of mystique and fairytale of monarchy, which is just one of the many tactics it uses to survive.”

Also, the Queen gets the final say on the outfit so she will decide whether he wears the uniform or not.

Whatever he wears, do we know who’s making it?

They haven’t formally announced who designed Markle’s dress and the same tight-lipped attitude is applied to whatever Harry’s wearing. It’s almost certainly a Saville Row tailor, and the smart money is on Gieves & Hawkes. The tailor, founded in 1771, already holds the royal warrants for the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales, and the shop get a lot of the royals’ business.

Prince William’s uniform, though, was made by military tailors Kashket and Partners.

Will Prince Harry wear a wedding ring?

Yes, but it’s not the given it would be in the U.S. “In the UK it used to be the form that men didn’t wear jewellery as it was too effeminate, but times have changed,” Hanson sent in an email after our conversation. Prince William doesn’t wear a ring, but many think that Harry will.

So… now that I’m an expert, can I make some money off this?

You can bet on just about anything involving Saturday’s Royal Wedding, and that includes what Harry will wear. Like the experts we spoke to, bookies also believe Harry will wear his uniform. The UK-based betting site Ladbrokes has the odds he’ll wear his uniform pegged at 1-to-12 and odds he’ll wear anything else 6-to-1.

Amazing. How do they come up with this stuff?

“We set them like any other betting event, i.e looking at all the form, stats and history we have on hand,” says Jessica Bridge, head of PR at Ladbrokes. “So, although Harry hasn’t married previously, you can look at Royal weddings in the past and equate the odds that way.”

Smashing!