Why Harry and Meghan’s Wedding Will Be More Exclusive Than William and Kate’s

Elise Taylor
Updated
Kensington Palace said today that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not invite political leaders in an official capacity.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s May 19 wedding will, according to Kensington Palace, have “around 600” guests. For most, this would be considered a large wedding. But by royal standards, it’s actually considered fairly conservative.

Prince William and Kate Middleton, by contrast, had 1,900 guests—a number just shy of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, who wed in front of roughly 2,000 guests. Why such a difference?

First of all, it has to do with Harry’s hereditary position: as soon-to-be sixth in line to the throne, his wedding is not an official U.K. state occasion, like his big brother’s was. So while William and Kate were obligated to invite diplomats from across the globe, Harry and Meghan do not need to do so, and won’t: “It has been decided that an official list of political leaders—both U.K. and international—is not required for Prince Harry and Ms. Markle’s wedding. Her Majesty’s government was consulted on this decision, which was taken by the royal household,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson told The Guardian. (That means no Theresa May, no Donald Trump, and, allegedly, no Michelle and Barack Obama—which, in some ways, solves a political headache: there was much buzz about what would happen if the Obamas were invited to the wedding, but Trump as was not).

It’s an interesting move, as there is royal precedent for both inviting political leaders and not: Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s second son, and Sarah Ferguson still invited Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and First Lady Nancy Reagan to their 1986 wedding, whereas Prince Edward did not invite senior dignitaries. Regardless, cutting out those politicians trims the guest list significantly.

Another reason? The venue. Will and Kate got married at Westminster Abbey, which has a capacity of 2,000 people (and even that can be stretched: for the Queen’s coronation, they installed special seating that made it fit over 8,000). St. George’s Chapel, where Harry and Meghan will marry, can only fit 800. So a smaller guest list was, in this case, a real necessity.

As the night wears on, the invitees will grow even smaller, with just 200 people attending the evening reception at Frogmore House. Which, all things considered, almost seems intimate, doesn't it?