The secrets of Meghan and Harry’s royal wedding venues
Daniel Leal-Olivas/Getty Images
The incredible settings for Meghan and Harry's wedding
The beautiful invites are out and the venues have been decided - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are all set to tie the knot on May 19th. The pair will marry at Windsor Castle in Royal Berkshire, with an evening reception at nearby Frogmore House. Here's a look at the historical buildings playing host to this exciting event. See more of the royal family's stunning residences here too.
Meghan and Harry prepare for the big day
To the west of London, Windsor is a historic, leafy town that's dominated by the stunning Windsor Castle. It's also where the royal family's name came from. Shopkeepers and security staff are preparing for an influx of royal aficionados for Prince Harry's nuptials, with flags and souvenirs all over town.
Instagram/kensingtonroyal
Royal wedding invites reveal wedding venues
Harry and Meghan's wedding invites have revealed that the ceremony will be taking place in St George's Chapel, inside the castle grounds. This will be followed by a reception hosted by the Queen in St George's Hall, and later a second, more private reception at Frogmore House, a few miles outside Windsor.
Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images
St George's Chapel
St George's Chapel is a beautiful building that dates back to the 13th century. It's been the location of several royal marriages and christenings with many of Harry's ancestors, including George V, buried here.
St George's Chapel
Tucked away in the castle grounds, it's a low-key choice for the royal wedding. There is room for 800 guests, far less than the central London alternatives such as Westminster Abbey (capacity 2,000), where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge got married, or St Paul’s Cathedral (capacity 3,500), where Harry’s parents Prince Charles and Diana took their vows.
Martin Keene/PA Archive/PA Images
St George's Chapel
This image was taken of Harry's mother Princess Diana, with Harry and William, in the grounds of St George's Chapel at Easter 1991. It's also where Harry was christened in 1984. Harry and Meghan are planning their wedding to be a true celebration that 'reflects the characters of the bride and groom' and have said that the Chapel holds a special place in their relationship.
Odd Anderson/Getty Images
St George's Chapel
The chapel is also where Prince Charles had his marriage to second wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, blessed in 2005. It's expected that Harry and Meghan will exit the chapel at around 1pm to pose for pictures on the steps. In lieu of Buckingham Palace's balcony, it's probably where we'll see the newlyweds - likely to be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - have their first kiss.
St George's Chapel
Inside, the chapel is beautifully decorated with Victorian stained glass windows, intricately carved stonework and a magnificent vaulted ceiling. It's said to be one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in England, according to the Royal Collection Trust.
Ian McIlgorm/Getty Images
St George's Chapel
Harry attended the wedding Peter Phillips (the son of Princess Anne), and Canadian Autumn Kelly in 2008, and perhaps the decor will give us a clue as to what we might expected from the upcoming royal wedding.
St George's Chapel
The chapel, seen here in a 1936 photograph, is the Chapel of the Order of the Garter, the senior order of chivalry in England, established in 1348 by Edward III. William is already a member and it's expected Harry will soon receive the honour too.
Windsor Castle
After the ceremony, some 2,640 charity workers, community champions and local school children have been invited to watch the wedding from inside the walls of Windsor Castle.
Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images
St George's Hall, Windsor Castle
The newlyweds will greet well-wishers with a two-mile tour of the town, leaving the castle by carriage and travelling along the High Street, before returning along the Long Walk for the reception at St George's Hall - a 55m long hall next to the chapel.
Doug Seeburg-Pool/Getty Images
St George's Hall, Windsor Castle
St George's Hall is a fabulous adjacent entertaining room that's often used for important events. The dinner pictured here at St Georges Hall - celebrating the work of The Royal Marsden hospital in Chelsea and hosted by the Duke of Cambridge - gives us a sneaky idea of what it might look like dressed up for the wedding.
Johnny Eggitt/Getty Images
St George's Hall, Windsor Castle
St George’s Hall was originally a timber building with exposed stone walls, built in the 14th century. It was remodelled in the classical style in the 1680s, and again as a neo-gothic room building in the 1820s, when it was doubled in length. It was this structure that burned down during the great Windsor Castle fire in 1992.
Johnny Eggitt/Getty Images
St George's Hall, Windsor Castle
The fire started in the private chapel and caused a huge amount of damage. It took five years and £37 million ($50m) to restore. St George's Hall required an entirely new roof, replacing the old plaster with a Gothic-style hammer-beam roof using 70 English oak trees.
Windsor Castle
The chapel and hall are in the lower ward of the castle, which is the oldest continuously occupied castle in the world. It's also one of the largest, with around 1,000 rooms and 484,000 square feet. It sits on about 13 acres of land.
Getty Images/Christopher Furlong
Windsor Castle
The Queen and Prince Philip regularly spend weekends at the castle in their private quarters, but the rest of the castle is open to the public, showcasing over 1,000 years of history. Outside royal wedding season, you can also visit St George's Chapel for private worship or attend a service.
Martin Keene/PA Archive/PA Images
Frogmore House, Home Park, Windsor
A 10-minute drive away is where the second, more intimate, reception will happen. There are only 200 guests invited to this one, hosted by Prince Harry's father, the Prince of Wales, at Frogmore House, which is located in Home Park.
The Royal Collection Trust
Frogmore House, Home Park, Windsor
The house is a grade I listed building, used as a private escape or an entertaining venue by the royal family. Home to members of the aristocracy since the first house was built in 1684, it's been part of the royal estate since the 18th century when George III purchased it for his wife, Queen Charlotte. Its name comes from the large number of frogs that lived in the surrounding area.
The Royal Collection Trust
Frogmore House, Home Park, Windsor
The regal interiors are a long way from Meghan's more minimal style, as seen in her former home in Toronto. Frogmore House was once the home of Queen Victoria's mother, The Duchess of Kent and it's suitably luxurious, decorated with historic portraits, antique furniture and gold leaf.
Frogmore House, Home Park, Windsor
The present-day royal family have been visiting for years, pictured here celebrating the Queen's 39th birthday. Princess Anne is on the left, with Prince Edward in the pram, the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the Duke of Edinburgh on the right.
Frogmore House, Home Park, Windsor
In 1997 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, furnished what had previously been Queen Charlotte's library and the Duchess of York's dining room with a selection of items from the decommissioned Royal Yacht Britannia.
Photo by andbabycomestoo.co.uk.
Frogmore House, Home Park, Windsor
Wedding guests who venture into the grounds will find richly planted gardens filled with wisteria and redwood trees - and even an 18th-century Gothic ruin. You can visit too but only on three days a year, with the proceeds of the tours going to charity.
Frogmore House, Home Park, Windsor
Frogmore House underwent an extensive restoration in the 1980s, with efforts made to restore it to how it looked during Queen Charlotte’s residency. The total cost was £2.5million ($3.65m).
Instagram/kensingtonroyal
Prince Harry and Meghan's royal wedding venues
The attractive couple posed for an engagement shoot in the grounds of Frogmore House, so we had a sneak preview of what the wedding photos might look like. We're sure they can't wait to start their married life at Kensington Palace and you can take a look inside their fabulous new home here.