Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Royal Wedding: The Timeline and an Official Full Order of Events
Set those alarms. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are getting married tomorrow, May 19, and the nuptials will not be without plenty of pomp and circumstance. The much-anticipated royal wedding is set to take place over the course of a few hours, with Markle, 36, and Harry, 33, exchanging vows around noon local time (7:00 a.m. ET / 4:00 a.m. PT).
The Palace officially released its full order of events on Friday night. The ceremony itself is very traditional in its format with a few fresh takes on music and other personal elements. In the lead-up to the actual ceremony itself, royal fans can expect to be treated to a very involved series of ceremonial gestures.
Below, The Knot rounds up the schedule.
According to a press release from Kensington Palace, guests are expected to trickle into Windsor Castle around 9 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. ET/ 1 a.m. PST). The first people to arrive will be around 1,200 members of the public who have been nominated by Lord Lieutenants from across the country for their work supporting their communities. These individuals will be taking part in the actual ceremonies themselves in Windsor Castle, and are comprised of youth leaders and community activists.
From there, other notable guests will begin to arrive between 9:30 a.m. GMT (4:30 a.m. ET/1:30 a.m. PST) and 11 a.m. GMT (6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PST). They will be brought to the Round Tower via coach and will enter St. George’s Chapel through the South Door.
The real royal frenzy may just begin at 11:20 a.m. (6:20 a.m. ET/3:20 a.m. PT), however, when members of the royal family are expected to arrive, either on foot or by car. Their entrance is slightly different: the Galilee Porch.
Prince Harry and Prince William, who will act as his best man, will then arrive at St. George’s Chapel—most likely by foot—and enter the chapel via the West Steps. This way, the groom will be able to greet and acknowledge all the people gathered in the Castle precincts, which will include 200 charity representatives who will be gathered in the Horseshoe Cloister at the bottom of the steps.
Meanwhile, Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland, will begin to make their way from the bride’s overnight location via car, most likely traveling along part of the Long Walk so that Markle can wave to and greet members of the public. Once at Windsor Castle, Ragland will head into the chapel, while Markle will be joined by bridesmaids and page boys, where she walk halfway down the aisle until she’s greeted by Prince Charles.
She will also enter via the West Steps. Then, the ceremony will commence at noon GMT (7:00 a.m. ET/4:00 a.m. PT). According to the release, the ceremony should take just about an hour.
Various outlets and sites will be streaming the wedding live starting early in the morning. NBC’s Today show will begin its coverage at 4:30 am. ET; ABC’s Good Morning America will run live coverage between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. ET; CBS’s Gayle King and Kevin Frazier will kick off their coverage at 4:00 a.m.; Fox will start coverage at 6:00 a.m. ET; and HBO will have Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon reprise their characters of Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan for a royal wedding special starting at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Follow along with The Knot for all things related to the Royal Wedding 2018, and check out our wedding timeline tool here.
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