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It was one of the big revelations that came out of their Oprah Winfrey interview that they tied the knot in private in the garden of their then-home Nottingham Cottage just three days before their public wedding at Windsor Castle.
It raised many eyebrows especially amongst the British clergy, who said a wedding isn't legal unless it's witnessed by two people and takes place in a "certified place of worship".
Prince Harry (36) and Meghan Markle (39) did not have any witnesses at their ceremony with the duke himself telling Oprah "it was just the three of us", referring to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who presided over it.
Amidst the confusion, a copy of their marriage certificate was released earlier this week by the register's office in the UK which confirmed their wedding date as the 19 May 2018 and not earlier.
Now the couple have finally set the record straight, confirming via a spokesperson that their backyard ceremony was just a "private exchange of personal vows" and was not an "official service".
Stephen Borton, former chief clerk at the register's office, confirmed that the licence he helped them draw up for 19 May 2018 "was the official wedding as recognised by the Church of England and the law,” he told the UK’s Sun.
“What I suspect they did was exchange some simple vows they had perhaps written themselves, and which is fashionable, and said that in front of the archbishop – or, and more likely, it was a simple rehearsal.”
Royal expert Rebecca English agrees. “You have to have witnesses [for a wedding to be recognised] and there’s a legal process to go through,” she says.
“It sounds like it was a nice, happy, humanist ceremony in their back garden.”
In their interview with Oprah two weeks ago, the Sussexes set the cat amongst the royal pigeons when Meghan (39) said she wanted their union at home to be just “between us” and referenced their proper wedding, which took place at Windsor Castle, as the “spectacle for the world”.
The archbishop himself has refused to comment, saying it is a “private matter”.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, thesun.co.uk, express.co.uk
