We Have Wedding Details: a Noon Ceremony + a Carriage Procession!

We are back with a quick update on tomorrow’s engagements in Edinburgh, as well as all of the wedding details released by Kensington Palace last night. (Now you’ll know what time to set your alarm for on the big day and you can plan those early morning parties!)

We’ll start with tomorrow’s trip to Scotland, as we now have a rough time frame for the first event. Multiple reports say Meghan and Harry will arrive at the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade at noon.

Tuesday, February 13: Meghan and Harry will be in Edinburgh, Scotland. They will first visit Edinburgh Castle; after being welcomed by the Royal Marines Scotland Band, they will watch the firing of the One O’clock Gun inside the Castle. Their second stop is at Social Bite, a group of cafes using its profits to end homelessness in Scotland. The couple will meet the charity’s founders, as well as staff and some of the people supported by Social Bite. Their final engagement will be at the Palace of Holyroodhouse (generally called Holyrood Palace), the monarch’s official residence in Scotland. They will attend a reception celebrating Scotland’s Year of Young People.

The One O’Clock Gun tradition goes back to 1861 when it would be fired so that ships docked nearby could set their maritime clocks. We will have updates and full coverage of tomorrow’s event on Facebook, Twitter and here on the site.

Now to the details about Meghan and Harry’s wedding. The Kensington Palace news release begins with these comments:

 “Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle are hugely grateful for the many good wishes they have received since announcing their engagement.

“They are very much looking forward to the day and to being able to share their celebrations with the public.”

Here are the primary points covered in the news release:

• The service at St. George’s Chapel will take place at noon BST (British Summer Time). That is 7 am in New York and 4 am on the west coast.
• At 1300/1 pm local time there will be a carriage procession from the Chapel through the town of Windsor.
• After the carriage procession, Harry and Meghan will join the reception at St. George’s Hall.
• Prince Charles is hosting a second reception Saturday night for close friends and family.
• The Dean of Windsor, The Rt Reverend David Conner, will conduct the service. The Most Reverend and Rt Honourable Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, will officiate as Meghan and Harry make their marriage vows.
• The release did not include news about tv coverage of the service. A December TMZ report says there will be a pool camera; I think of TMZ as generally being accurate. But this was back on December 1st, so plans may have changed since then. There’s no question the events outside the Chapel will be televised (arrivals, carriage procession); my guess is that it will be broadcast, but we’ll have to wait for confirmation from the Palace.

We have just a bit of background info to share about the venues. St. George’s Chapel is on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where HM and Prince Philip spend much of their time.

A few notes about the Chapel:

• Prince Harry was baptized at St. George’s Chapel
• This is where Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were married
• It is also where Prince Edward married Sophie Rhys-Jones
• Princess Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, married Autumn Kelly here
• This is where Princess Eugenie will marry her fiancé, Jack Brooksbank, in October

The Chapel is a more intimate setting, seating up to 800 guests. Westminster Abbey can accommodate up to 2000 people.

More about the Chapel from Architectural Digest:

St. George’s Chapel was built in the 15th century and is a towering piece of Gothic architecture. It is lauded for its stone fan-vault ceilings, but the intricate stained glasswork along each of its walls, and the tall arched windows, intricate woodwork, and ironwork doorframes add to the historic feel of the grand room. The tombs of ten sovereigns also lie within the chapel, including Henry VIII and Charles I.

Below left, the Rt Reverend David Conner, and on the right, the Rt Reverend Justin Welby.

One of the bigger pieces of news in the release is confirmation of a carriage procession through Windsor. Here is a look at the route. (Click here to go to the map page.)

This is a terrific video from Visit Windsor; it gives you a ground-level view of the route in just under 2 minutes. 

Here is a summertime view of the long walk heading back to the Castle.

As noted in the release, the reception will be at St. George’s Hall. You may recognize it as the setting for many a state banquet.

The location of the evening reception has not yet been announced. Meghan and Harry are said to like Frogmore House as a venue. That is where the couple’s engagement photos were taken.

This is merely a quick overview, we’ll continue to post as we learn more details about the wedding.

UPDATE: KateKateKate on the WMW Facebook page is going to be in London and heading to Windsor for the wedding. She is organizing a meet-up for WMW / WKW folks who are also going to be in town. She has created an Event on Facebook, click here to visit the page.

We’ll see you tomorrow!

LINKAGE:

• the Press Association has a 360-degree view of the Chapel on its Facebook page here
• Read more about Windsor Castle here; more on St.George’s Chapel is here; background on Frogmore House is here
• The Express has a photo gallery with pictures shot inside St. George’s Chapel; Town and Country offers a gallery of royal weddings at Windsor Castle
• Click here to read about some of Harry’s connections to Windsor