Mom's Minute

Introduction

Did you see the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry?  If not, don’t fret. There will be lots of videos of the wedding online.  However, I saw the wedding live, as it unfolded and would like to share my review of the royal wedding with you -- hot off the press!  As an aside, the royal wedding was held at St. George’s Chapel, Winchester Castle, Winchester, England on May 19, 2018.

Celebrities at the Royal Wedding

Many well known celebrities were at the royal wedding.  Of those that I saw, the most striking couple to me was handsome George Clooney and his stunning wife Amal Alamuddin.  Next in line was David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham, followed by Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian.  I’m sure there were other celebrity couples there as well. These are the ones I actually saw during the live broadcast. To give you some background -- 600 guests are allowed in the chapel as well as the lunch that followed.  Later in the evening, the number of guests will be reduced to 100 to enjoy the reception festivities.

Massive Crowds at the Royal Wedding

Have you ever planned an event, and hoped someone would show up?  Well that was not the case for the royal wedding. There were an impressive showing of people at the wedding, hundreds to thousands lined the streets,  including all the royal ponce and circumstance (soldiers/horses). Some people were waving American flags, others were waving the flag of the United Kingdom.  What they all had in common were smiles as they experienced this historic moment.

The Bride’s Walk Down the Aisle

Unfortunately, Meghan Markle's father was unable to attend the wedding due to health problems; however, her mother attended.  What stood out for me when Meghan Markle walked down the aisle was the gorgeous while gown she wore, complete with a 16 foot train.  The train was so long, she had little helpers to hold it up as she walked down the aisle.

Meghan Markle broke tradition and chose to walk down the aisle by herself, part of the way, since her father was not there to give her away.  I liked that she did this, because it looked like she made more of an entrance when she appeared alone in the aisle. About a third of the way down the aisle, Prince Charles met her and walked with her the rest of the way to the altar.

Changes in Tradition for the Royal Wedding

Here are a list that include changes I noticed. As I alluded to before, when Meghan Markle walked down the aisle alone part of the way, she broke tradition --in a good way.  I think it was an excellent gesture for Prince Charles to walk her the rest of the way to the altar.

This is the first time there was an African American bishop at a royal ceremony.  His name is Michael Curry from Chicago. His style and method of preaching I’m sure was a starsk change to what the royal family was used to hearing.  But all in all, I believe he gave a powerful message.

An African- American choir sung exquisitely the song, “I Will Stand By You” which was an appropriate song for the newlywed royal couple.  

A 19 year old cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason played solo at the wedding with the back up of a full orchestra. He played a number of songs on the cello.   By and large, to me, his performance was one of the highlights of the wedding and one that I’m sure made a positive image for young black African-Americans.

An American patriotic song was sung by all during the royal  British wedding.

The major change of course is that Prince Harry’s bride is a beautiful bride of mixed-race, which is a first for the royal family.  

Assessment of  the Royal Wedding

Everything from my vantage point was well organized and went according to plan.  The crowd was orderly, friendly, smiling and waving. I liked that Harry and Meghan exited the church and was able to ride in an open top carriage -- just like in the fairytales!  In a word -- the wedding of Harry and Meghan -- now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was beautiful.

Rating of The Royal Wedding

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the best, I rate the Royal Wedding 5 stars.