No swords, no phones, no presents and no catching the bride's bouquet...
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding is days away with the couple set to tie the knot on Saturday at St George’s Chapel, at Windsor Castle.
The wedding ceremony will see around 600 guests attend, before sitting down to a reception in Windsor Castle. Then for a select 200, there will be the party of all parties at Frogmore House - hosted by Harry’s father Prince Charles, and boasting festival food truck grub, an excellent music line-up and some very famous faces.
With so many events to co-ordinate on the day, it’s hardly surprising that the royal family have got their hands full with wedding prep.
But it’s not just the bride and groom who have a lot to remember, with their wedding guests also having to comply to a long list of rules on the big day, with the Mail on Sunday even reporting that guests have been offered seven pages of ‘critical guidance’.
Here are the rules that the guests will have to comply to on the wedding day...
No cameras or phones:
As much as we wish that guests could keep us updated with what’s going on in the chapel and record Prince William’s best man speech at the reception, social media has been banned from the wedding. And going a step further, guests will be asked to surrender their phones and cameras before making their way to the reception to protect the couple and their guests’ privacy.
No straying from the dress code:
Guests were reportedly sent a dress code in their invitations, instructed to wear dress uniform, consisting of a morning coat or lounge suit for men, and a day dress and a hat for women. While hats aren’t a strict rule, they are recommended, with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice generally opting for fascinators instead.
No bulky bags:
Guests have reportedly been asked not to bring bulky bags, with attendees going through security and ID checks three miles away from the wedding venue, before travelling to Windsor Castle on buses.
No wedding presents:
The royal couple have asked their guests not to give them a wedding present, instead choosing seven charities for their attendees to donate to. And for guests who are eager to give the couple something personal, they will have to find another time to bestow their present, with Kensington Palace confirming that gifts cannot be brought to St George’s Chapel or the reception at Windsor Castle.
No swords:
This isn’t your typical wedding rule, but for royalty it seems necessary. The dress code instructions are said to include ‘no medals’ and ‘no swords’. We’re going to assume the latter is a safety precaution.
No approaching the Queen:
Guests at royal weddings must follow the Queen’s protocol - essentially following her lead. She is not to be approached, guests must instead wait for the monarch to approach them, and if she does, they must curtsy.
No catching the bride’s bouquet:
While most weddings involve the famous bouquet toss, determining who is going to be the next to walk down the aisle, royal weddings are a little different. And while royal brides have two bouquets - just in case one gets lost after personal experience from the Queen - they always leave a bouquet at the grave of an Unknown warrior in London’s Westminster Abbey - a tradition started by the Queen Mother. Meghan is of course marrying at Windsor Castle rather than Westminster Abbey, but we’re sure the tradition will still be kept in some way. So it's a no-no to the bouquet toss.
No messing with the seating plan:
Most weddings are pretty relaxed in terms of seating plans, but unsurprisingly it’s not the case for royalty. Harry’s family will sit on the right, and Meghan’s on the left, with a strict seating plan for all friends. It’s no wonder people will start entering the church hours before - seating all 600 guests will be a nightmare.
Not much to remember, right? We don't envy those royal party planners!
