People chosen from across UK to join staff and local schoolchildren in Windsor Castle grounds

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are inviting 2,640 members of the public to the grounds of Windsor Castle on their wedding day - but the invitation stops short of a slice of the royal cake.

The commoners, 1,200 of whom will be chosen “from every corner of the United Kingdom”, will get to watch the arrival of the bride and groom as well as their wedding guests, and then the carriage procession as it leaves after the service.

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The couple said they want members of the public “to feel part of the celebrations too”. They will not attend the ceremony inside St George’s chapel at Windsor Castle on 19 May, or the reception.

Of the invitees, 1,200 will be nominated by nine regional lord lieutenant offices. Lord lieutenants are the queen’s personal representatives in each county of the UK.



A statement from Kensington Palace said: “The couple has asked that the people chosen are from a broad range of backgrounds and ages, including young people who have shown strong leadership, and those who have served their communities.”

All of the tickets will be named, preventing anyone trying to make money by selling them.

In addition to those nominated by the lords lieutenant, there will be:

200 people from a range of charities and organisations with which Harry and Markle have a close association.

610 Windsor Castle community members, including members of the St George’s Chapel community.

530 members of the royal households and crown estate.

100 pupils from two schools close to the castle - the Royal and St George’s.

The Royal is a Church of England school for pupils from four to nine years old that was built to educate the children of staff employed by the royal family. St George’s school is an independent prep school, originally founded to educate the choristers of St George’s chapel. It charges up to £16,000 a year.

Timeline Prince Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle Show Hide

The pair meet in London through friends and begin a relationship. News breaks that the prince and Markle are dating. Kensington Palace confirms in an unprecedented statement that they are dating. The prince attacks the media over its “abuse and harassment” of his girlfriend.

Markle reportedly meets the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte for the first time in London.

The engagement looks set when Markle graces the cover of US magazine Vanity Fair and speaks openly about Harry for the first time, revealing: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.” Markle makes her first appearance at an official engagement attended by the prince when she attends the Invictus Games opening ceremony in Toronto, Canada – although the pair sit about 18 seats apart. It emerges that the prince has taken Markle to meet his grandmother, the Queen, whose permission they need to marry. They met over afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace. The prince’s aides are reported to have been told to start planning for a royal wedding, with senior members of the royal family asked to look at their diaries to shortlist a series of suitable weekends in 2018. Clarence House announces the engagement, and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh say they are “delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness”.

The couple marry before a celebrity-studded congregation at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

The couple's first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, is born in London. They announce that they are to step back from life as 'senior' royals, triggering a row with Buckingham Palace. After a crisis meeting with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William at Sandringham, the Queen issues a statement saying the couple will have a 'transition period' before ending their royal duties. It is announced that Harry and Meghan will drop their HRH titles and repay £2.4m of taxpayers money used to refurbish Frogmore Cottage.

After the ceremony, there will be a carriage procession through Windsor before the couple join their guests for a reception at at St George’s hall.

In the evening, Prince Charles will host a private reception for the couple and their close friends and family.

The royal family are paying for the wedding, including the church service, music, flowers and reception. But security costs are falling on taxpayers.