Royal Wedding traditions Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have already broken

And the traditions they are breaking on their wedding day
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From day one, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been breaking with tradition.

They met on a blind date, they flew to Botswana to holiday together after only knowing each other for a few weeks, and Harry famously released a statement in November 2016 both confirming their relationship and asking the press to leave Meghan alone – something unprecedented for the palace.

Below are 10 other ways Meghan and Harry have already broken royal tradition.

1. Meghan’s father will not walk her down the aisle

After a week of back and forth media reports as to whether Thomas Markle would walk his daughter down the aisle, Meghan released a statement this morning via the Kensington Palace Twitter channel confirming his absence. Instead, Meghan will be walked down the aisle by Prince Charles.

2. Meghan will not have a maid of honour

Unlike the Duchess of Cambridge - whose younger sister Pippa Middleton inadvertently stole the world’s attention during her wedding to Prince William in 2011 – Meghan will not be having a maid of honour. Instead she will have young bridesmaids and page boys including Prince George , Princess Charlotte and the children of her best friend, Jessica Mulroney.

3. Meghan wore a sheer dress in the engagement photos

The engagement photos – which looked like they were straight out of a glossy magazine – saw Meghan wear a sheer-topped Ralph & Russo dress , veering from the royal’s unspoken modest dress code.

4. Her style has been shaking up the royal look in general

Something seems to happen when you ‘become’ a royal. As soon as Meghan and Harry’s engagement was announced, gone were the ripped jeans and short dresses and out came the midi-skirts in block colours and a go-to colour palette. While the Queen loves to wear brights, Meghan likes to stick to earthy tones , making her mark(le) on the royal dress code.

5. The wedding venue

Before it was announced the pair would be saying their vows at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, many assumed Westminster Abbey would be the choice of venue for Meghan and Harry. The decision to go with Windsor is a nod to Harry’s dad Prince Charles who married Camilla there in 2005 – and Princess Eugenie is following trend by marrying Jack Brooksbank there later this year.

6. They’re not going with the traditional wedding cake

If you attend a royal wedding, you can expect the wedding cake to be fruit cake as per royal tradition. Meghan and Harry have decided to buck tradition and go with a lemon elderflower cake by Violet Cakes owner, Claire Ptak.

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7. There will be no bank holiday

Royal weddings often take place on a weekday so UK residents are granted a bank holiday. In 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding fell on a Friday granting the nation a day off to celebrate. Meghan and Harry’s wedding falls on a Saturday, meaning there will be no bank holiday for us – but at least we have Sunday to recover…

8. There was a subtle – but major - break in tradition in the wedding invitations

The royal family acknowledged Meghan’s previous marriage in the wedding invitations . Instead of calling her ‘Miss’ they referred to her as ‘Ms Meghan Markle’.

9. The couple invited members of the public to their wedding

Another break from tradition, Meghan and Harry invited over 2,000 members of the public to their wedding to help them celebrate their big day. While these guests won’t be inside the chapel, they will be able to watch the proceedings from the grounds of Windsor castle.

10. Meghan will give a speech at the wedding

During royal weddings, the father-of-the-bride generally gives a speech, but even before it was confirmed Thomas Markle would not be in attendance, the Sunday Times reported Meghan would be giving an ‘affectionate tribute’ to Harry on Saturday.

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