Inside the royal wedding reception: Details on the food, first dance, and Meghan's bridal speech

St George's Hall at Windsor Castle, where the first reception of the day will take place - AFP
St George's Hall at Windsor Castle, where the first reception of the day will take place - AFP

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married earlier today, at a ceremony at St George's Chapel in Windsor. 

A host of celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney and David Beckham, were among the 600 invited guests alongside senior members of the Royal family. Another 2,640 members of the public were chosen to watch as Harry and Meghan arrived, followed by the ceremony, from the grounds of Windsor Castle.

But the festivities aren't over – the royal couple have not one, but two receptions to look forward to this afternoon.

The reception will include the cutting of the wedding cake and speeches from The Prince of Wales, Prince Harry and Ms Markle. The Duke of Cambridge, who is the best man, will act as compere for the reception.

Here is everything you need to know about the rest of their day, from the lemon and elderflower cake to the live entertainment.

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Sir Elton John's performance

Sir Elton John performed at the lunchtime reception for guests celebrating the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Prince Harry asked Sir Elton to perform at the reception which was hosted by Her Majesty The Queen at St George's Hall, Windsor Castle.

One guest told The Telegraph the pop icon sang Circle of Life - made famous by the 1994 Disney film The Lion King - and Tiny Dancer.

Sir Elton performed for the newly married couple in recognition of the close connection he has with Prince Harry and his family.

The music legend's relationship to the monarchy stretches back decades, and he famously re-recorded Candle in the Wind in tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales. 

Sir Elton John waves as he leaves St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle  - Credit: Chris Jackson/PA
Sir Elton John waves as he leaves St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Credit: Chris Jackson/PA

Kensington Palace said: "Sir Elton John has performed at the lunchtime reception for guests celebrating the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle.

"Prince Harry asked Sir Elton to perform at the reception which was hosted by Her Majesty The Queen at St George's Hall, Windsor Castle.

"Sir Elton performed for the newly married couple in recognition of the close connection he has with Prince Harry and his family."

Sir Elton sang at the funeral service for Harry's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

A Candle in the Wind was originally recorded by Elton John as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe and was released on his 1974 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album. 

But he re-recorded the song in 1997 following the death of his close friend Princess Diana and Sir Elton's one and only live performance of the song was at her funeral in September of that year. 

It was released as a single a week later and went on to sell around 33 million copies worldwide - making it the second bestselling record of all time behind Bing Crosby's White Christmas. 

All proceeds from the single sales were donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial fund. 

Speeches

Guests were moved to tears by the speeches made at the afternoon reception.

Suhani Jalota, the founder of the India-based Myna Mahila charity, described speeches by the Prince of Wales and Harry as "lovely", saying: "Some people were even crying. I think it was just a very, really nice atmosphere to be in where everybody felt really loved."

She added: "Essentially it was just about how Harry was as a child and growing up. And now just about the couple and how beautiful they are together. So I think it was just about their personalities and how they gel really well together."

Of Harry's speech she added: "He was talking about his wife and you know everybody was clapping because it was the first time he was using that term for Meghan so it was really nice."

The menu

Her Majesty The Queen is giving a Lunchtime Reception at St George's Hall in Windsor Castle for around 600 guests drawn from the Wedding Service congregation.

Guests will be served a selection of canapés, including:

  • Scottish Langoustines wrapped in Smoked Salmon with Citrus Crème Fraiche

  • Grilled English Asparagus wrapped in Cumbrian Ham

  • Garden Pea Panna Cotta with Quail Eggs and Lemon Verbena

  • Heritage Tomato and Basil Tartare with Balsamic Pearls

  • Poached Free Range Chicken bound in a Lightly Spiced Yoghurt with Roasted Apricot

  • Croquette of Confit Windsor Lamb, Roasted Vegetables and Shallot Jam

  • Warm Asparagus Spears with Mozzarella and Sun-Blush Tomatoes

Guests will also be served a selection of bowl food, including:

  • Fricassee of Free Range Chicken with Morel Mushrooms and Young Leeks

  • Pea and Mint Risotto with Pea Shoots, Truffle Oil and Parmesan Crisps

  • Ten Hour Slow Roasted Windsor Pork Belly with Apple Compote and Crackling

Sweet canapés will also be served, including:

  • Champagne and Pistachio Macaroons

  • Orange Crème Brûlée Tartlets

  • Miniature Rhubarb Crumble Tartlets

The receptions at St George's Hall and Frogmore House

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are touring Windsor, guests from the congregation will wait for the happy couple in St George's Hall to celebrate the first of the day's two receptions. This will be hosted by the Queen, will take place during the afternoon and will be attended by all guests who were invited to the service.

Invitations were posted to 600 lucky guests; royal sources have said the guest list has been restricted to those who have a direct relationship with the couple, both because St George’s Chapel is relatively small and because the prince is not in the direct line of succession.

Some members of the public have received an invitation to wait in the grounds outside the chapel to watch the bride and groom and their wedding guests arrive and leave.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Frogmore House - Credit:  REUTERS
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the grounds of Frogmore House Credit: REUTERS

From 7pm, a select 200 close friends were due to attend an after party hosted by the Prince of Wales at Frogmore House, Windsor. Half a mile away from Windsor Castle, the 17th century Grade I country house is owned by the Crown Estate and is part of the Frogmore Estate on the ground of the Home Park.

Prince Harry and Ms Markle's engagement photos were taken in the grounds of Frogmore House. The images were taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski, who has also been chosen to take the photographs on the wedding day. 

Lubomirski, the British-born son of Peruvian-English mother and a Polish-French father, also happens to be a Prince himself: his full title is His Serene Highness Prince Alexi Lubomirski.

It is expected that members of the Royal family, Ms Markle's family and intimate friends of both the newlyweds will be at the evening reception – although Princess Charlotte and Prince George will no doubt have been put to bed after their big day in the limelight.

While it has been confirmed that the Duchess of York has been invited to the service, she is said to be “deeply unhappy” that she has not been invited to the Prince of Wales' private reception later in the day. The Duke of York and his daughters with Fergie, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York are said to be attending both events.

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The food

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding reception guests were to be served classic dishes made from seasonal British produce - much from the Queen's own estates.

The sweet and savoury canapes are designed to be consumed in two bites, while the bowl dishes can be eaten standing up.

The food was likely to be washed down with champagne and wine from the extensive royal cellars and soft drinks.

Harry and his bride-to-be have tasted and selected their wedding reception menu, created by staff from the royal kitchens at Windsor Castle over the past few days.

Royal chef Mark Flanagan at the royal kitchen at Windsor Castle - Credit: David Parker/Daily Mail/PA Wire
Royal chef Mark Flanagan at the royal kitchen at Windsor Castle Credit: David Parker/Daily Mail/PA Wire

Royal chef Mark Flanagan led the team who put the finishing touches to the canapes and bowl dishes being served during the afternoon event, hosted by the Queen in the castle's St George's Hall.

Mr Flanagan said: "The day of the wedding has fallen very kindly for us. All the British vegetables are just coming into season... and that's been a point of focus for us.

"We know the couple wanted us to make sure we used all of the local seasonal produce as much as possible throughout their menu, and this recent good weather is really helping us to achieve that.

"(For) all their decisions, we purely made suggestions and the couple. They've tasted everything, they've been involved in every detail."

The head chef would not discuss the dishes in detail but produce like asparagus, peas and tomatoes are in season - providing a wealth of options for the culinary expert who has worked for some of the world's best chefs, like Michel and Albert Roux and Raymond Blanc.

In a bid to keep as many ingredients as possible British and local, Mr Flanagan's team have sourced them from the Home Counties and lands associated with the Queen like Windsor. He said: "We are using produce off Her Majesty's estates and that features very much."

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He added: "We've really just been trying to let the ingredients stand proud within the dishes. There's no experimentation on Saturday whatsoever, tried and tested and predominantly classics."

Preparations for the reception began earlier this week and, after trials and tests, all the 30 kitchen staff working on Saturday know in great detail the job ahead of them.

Over the past few days they have been washing and peeling vegetables, and getting other produce ready so that there would be the minimum amount of cooking and maximum amount of presentation time on the big day.

The wedding dinner is being staged at Frogmore House by the Prince of Wales, with different caterers responsible for the private event for 200 guests.

The royal chef said he and his team started preparing for the wedding before the couple requested their services.

Royal Palaces head chef Mark Flanagan and Pastry chef Selwyn Stoby - Credit: David Parker - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Royal Palaces head chef Mark Flanagan and Pastry chef Selwyn Stoby Credit: David Parker - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Mr Flanagan said: "Once the wedding announcement was made, we started to work on some ideas, about what we would do if we were asked to be involved, so we were able to get into the trial situation early in March."

Harry and Meghan have visited Windsor Castle to sample the menu suggestions in the castle's Great Kitchen.

It dates from the reign of the 14th century monarch Edward III and is believed to be the oldest working kitchen in the country, having served more than 30 monarchs, including the Queen.

Mr Flanagan said: "This is the great kitchen of Windsor Castle, an absolute pleasure to work in surrounded by the most amazing battery of copper (pots)."

He added that working to prepare dishes for the royal nuptials created a sense of pride for himself and his staff: "All weddings are great celebrations and it is an honour for all of our team to have some small part to play in that celebration."

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The cake

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding cake will be displayed in a special installation, their baker has revealed.

Claire Ptak, who is making the culinary centrepiece for the couple's big day, said the layered lemon and elderflower cake - in three parts of varying sizes - would be presented in a non-traditional way.

"You'll have to wait and see on the day. It's an installation of the way that we're putting it out. It's the last thing that we'll reveal. It's a non-traditional layout," Ms Ptak said earlier this week. "It's a slight shift from tradition."

The chef, who owns the small, trendy Violet Bakery in east London, has been working with her team of six bakers full time for five days in the large kitchens of Buckingham Palace.

She described the flavour of the cake as being a balance of sweet and tart, combined with "ethereal" elderflower.

Claire Ptak puts the finishing touches to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's cake - Credit:  Hannah McKay
Claire Ptak puts the finishing touches to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's cake Credit: Hannah McKay

The cake, which is being decorated on the outside with a white, elderflower swiss meringue buttercream, is made of layered lemon sponge, drizzled with an elderflower syrup to a recipe specially created for the couple.

The layers are sandwiched with buttercream and lemon curd.

Some 200 Amalfi lemons are being used in the recipe, as well as 10 bottles of Sandringham Elderflower Cordial made using elderflower from the Queen's Sandringham estate, 20kgs of butter, 20 kgs of flour, 20kgs of sugar and 500 organic eggs from Suffolk.

Ms Ptak said: "It's a lemon sponge – a special sponge that I developed just for the couple, and we drizzle the layers with elderflower cordial from the Sandringham estate so it's really lovely and as local as you can get.

"We have a lemon curd made from Amalfi lemons which to me have the most delicious flavour, and then we've got elderflower swiss meringue buttercream."

Claire Ptak puts finishing touches on the cake - Credit: Hannah McKay
Claire Ptak puts finishing touches on the cake Credit: Hannah McKay

She added: "The buttercream is sweet and the lemon curd is very tart so you get a very lovely thing happening when you take a bite, which is to get all of these flavours and sensations perfectly balanced."

Ms Ptak, who is American like Ms Markle, said: "The elderflower is so quintessentially British to me as a Californian. It's a kind of an ethereal, floral flavour which I think is very special, especially for a wedding."

Slices of the cake will be served to the 600 guests at the lunchtime reception in St George's Hall after the ceremony.

Three types of Meghan's favourite flowers peonies - Madame Claude, Bowl of Cream, and the aptly titled Duchess - in shades of white and cream will decorate the cakes, along with four different white and cream roses - Patience, Purity, Jeanne Moreau and Princess Miyuki.

The flowers will be removed before guests tuck in to the cake, but the slices will be served with edible rose petals.

Ms Ptak added:"There's a few logistics of serving so many people at the same time. But it's been a great process."

Claire Ptak carries part of the cake out of the oven - Credit: REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool 
Claire Ptak carries part of the cake out of the oven Credit: REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool

She said Harry and Meghan loved the lemon and elderflower cake after trying a number of different samples.

"They loved it. They tried quite a collection. What they said to me is that they really loved the idea of the seasonality and the freshness."

Ms Ptak has not making a back up cake in case of a disaster, saying: "It's cake. It can't go that wrong. We have enough cake and we don't want to be wasteful. Anything that is left over, we were going to donate to charity."

The chef had to call in some of her former workers to have enough staff to work on the cake and keep her bakery open.

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The first dance

The couple have reportedly chosen Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) as their first dance. Ms Markle revealed in a 2016 interview with Lifestyle Magazine that the hit is her 'happy song'.

Earlier this week, Skybet revealed the track is the bookies' favourite, with the odds at 2/5. Bob Marley is also on their list, at 10/1 – while Elton John is at 2/1. 

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