The Archbishop of Canterbury has finally spoken out about Meghan and Harry’s wedding claims and confirmed he didn’t marry the couple in secret.
In their bombshell CBS interview with Oprah, the royal couple insisted they got married in a private ceremony officiated by Archbishop Justin Welby days before their grand wedding that was witnessed by the entire world.
“Three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that. We called the Archbishop and we said ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us.’ So the vows that we have in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury,” Meghan claimed.
After her allegations, critics were quick to call out the couple for their allegations and point out it was not possible for them to get married twice because that would be illegal under British laws.
While the Archbishop of Canterbury long maintained his silence over the issue, he has now finally spoken out and confirmed that the ‘secret wedding’ claim was untrue as he confirmed that the legal wedding took place in St George’s Chapel on May 19, 2018 – the date listed on the couple’s marriage certificate.
Speaking to an Italian publication, Archbishop Welby insisted that “the legal wedding was on the Saturday” after being asked if he really married Meghan and Harry three days before their grand wedding.
“If any of you ever talk to a priest, you expect them to keep that talk confidential. It doesn’t matter who I’m talking to,” the archbishop said.
“I had a number of private and pastoral meetings with the duke and duchess before the wedding. The legal wedding was on Saturday.
“I signed the wedding certificate, which is a legal document, and I would have committed a serious criminal offense if I signed it knowing it was false. So you can make what you like about it. But the legal wedding was on the Saturday. But I won’t say what happened at any other meetings.”
Previously, a vicar also dismissed Meghan’s garden wedding claim saying the event was no more than a private conversation with the archbishop.
Rev Mark Edwards of St Matthew’s Church claimed to have looked into the allegations because of how they affected members of the clergy.
“It puts us priests in a difficult position on what constitutes a Church of England wedding. Should there be witnesses and licensing and legality or is it now just an ad hoc arrangement with members of clergy? Can we now do private weddings without witnesses in our back gardens?” he said.
“Justin saying he refuses to comment is not helpful to the rest of us clergy and our own policies and practices. I have had people ask me during lockdown if they could have a private wedding, and I have had to explain that would not be a legal wedding and not according to canon law.”
He added: “I think we need a clarifying statement – we need to know what our policies and procedures are. It can’t appear to be one rule for one and another rule for another.”
As Rev Edwards said, he reached out to the Archbishop’s office to get to the bottom of the matter. “Justin had a private conversation with the couple in the garden about the wedding,” he was reportedly told. “But I can assure you, no wedding took place until the televised national event.”
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