In case you’ve been living under a rock since Monday 27 November, there’s a royal wedding happening in five months’ time.
Prince Harry will marry former actress Meghan Markle – the American 36-year-old who has transformed some embedded royal traditions after just over one year of dating Harry.
Whether you have been hiding under that rock, in desperate denial that Harry isn’t actually now off the market, or if you just can’t get enough of our Royals and want to recap on what we know about the wedding so far, prepare for a Royal rundown…
Harry and Meghan announced their engagement three weeks ago on Monday 27 November.
A statement was released via Clarence house on behalf of Prince Charles of Wales.
The following day, it was then announced that they would tie the knot in May 2018 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
It wasn’t until last week that the date of their nuptials was confirmed as Saturday 19 May 2018.
It could be an awkward day in some households, however, as it is the same day as the FA Cup Final 2018.
As President of the Football Association, Harry’s older brother the Duke of Cambridge usually attends the high-profile match and presents the trophy.
May 19 is an important date
On May 19, 1536, King Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn was beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
In 1567, Queen Elizabeth I ordered the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Pope Gregory II was elected on May 19, in the year 715, and it is also Pol Pot’s birthday.
It’s also the same date that Prime Minister William Gladstone died in 1898.
However, it’s believed that the FA and the royal family are trying to find a way for William to attend both events.
Harry and Ms Markle have gone against tradition by choosing a Saturday.
Royal weddings usually take place on a weekday. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wed on a Friday and the Queen on a Thursday.
But Harry and his fiancee’s choice avoids the issue of whether the royal celebration should be a bank holiday.
May 19 is also the day in 1536 when Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, was executed on Tower Green for alleged adultery.
The May wedding will also have been picked to give Kate time to recover after the birth of her third child, which is due in April.
Palace aides have already said that the Prince and Ms Markle’s wedding will ‘reflect their characters and personalities’ and be a moment of ‘fun and joy’.
They will say ‘I do’ in the historic surrounds of the Castle’s 15th century St George’s Chapel.
Ms Markle, who is to become a British citizen, is being both baptised and confirmed ahead of the religious ceremony.
The royal family are paying for the wedding, including the church service, the music, the flowers and the reception.
But the security costs for the high-profile event are falling to the taxpayer.
The Queen will be there, as will the rest of the royal family, along with Ms Markle’s parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte look set take on the roles of pageboy and bridesmaid.
If you need a reminder of what the ring looks like, check it out here:
Romantic Prince Harry designed the ring himself, using diamonds which belonged to his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
The two outside stones came from the late princess’ personal collection and are a poignant tribute to Diana in the year of the 20th anniversary of her death.
At the centre of the ring is a large diamond from Botswana, a country that holds special significance for Harry, who has visited many times since he was a child.
It is also a place where the couple has spent time together over the last year and a half, Kensington Palace said.
The jeweller behind the most photographed bling since Prince William got down on bent knee to Kate Middleton in 2010 has vowed never to make a ring like it again.
Jeweler Cleave And Company created Meghan’s stunning three-stone engagement ring with and creative eye of Prince Harry.
‘We’re not going to be making replicas of it,’ Stephen Connelly, the Cleave And Company director, told the Associated Press. ‘If you want a ring, then we’ll design you a different one.’
As well as letting Meghan revel in her unique design that nobody else will have, Connelly also admitted that the reaction to her band had been ‘a bit of a shock’ – so they might not be able to handle the hysteria that would come if they actually did start churning out replicas.
A beaming Ms Markle showed off the sparkling jewels at an open-air photocall in the Palace’s Sunken Garden.
The band is made of gold and the ring was made by Cleave and Company, Court Jewellers and Medallists to Her Majesty The Queen.
Harry is not the only royal to design his bride-to-be’s engagement ring using jewels that belonged to his mother.
The Duke of Edinburgh designed an engagement ring for the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, in 1947.
The Duke had the ring made by the jewellers Philip Antrobus Ltd, using diamonds from a tiara belonging to his mother, Princess Alice of Greece.
When Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, he gave her Diana’s famous sapphire and diamond engagement ring.
He hid the priceless heirloom in a rucksack so he could pop the question on holiday in Kenya.
Of course, if you’re not fussy about who designs your ring, you might well get another jeweler to replicate Meghan’s for you.
Or you could live in hope that QVC will push out more of their pretty darn good replicas that they sold for a mere £22.50.
MORE : Meghan Markle is now BFFs with Victoria Beckham ‘after bonding over £600 facials’
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