It's confirmed! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in May. But the month of May is no coincidence for the happy couple. Generally, royal weddings take place a few months after an engagement. Prince William and Kate married five months after their announcement, the same amount of time as Prince Charles and his first wife Princess Diana. Meanwhile, the Queen and Prince Philip tied the knot in November 1947, just four months after getting engaged. It therefore seems appropriate for Harry and Meghan to marry in May, some six months after they announced their big news.
A May wedding would also mean that Harry's sister-in-law Kate would almost certainly be able to attend the nuptials. The Duchess is pregnant with her third baby and is due in April, making that month an unlikely choice. The Queen will also be busy with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which is being hosted in London and Windsor in mid-April.
Harry and Meghan are tying the knot in May
Bookies had placed May as the favourite for the high-profile royal nuptials. Betfair spokesperson, Katie Baylis, said: "May is the favourite at 2/5, with April and March both at 10/3 but with the Duchess of Cambridge due to give birth in April you would expect they would wait until after the baby is born."
Royal fans had also speculated that the wedding could take place in May. Because there are "no plans" for an extra day off on the day of the royal wedding – unlike when Prince William and Kate married in 2011 – a wedding at the start or end of May seemed likely, when the two bank holidays fall.
The couple will hold their first joint engagement on Friday
The newly engaged pair's choice of venue and month were unveiled at a Kensington Palace press briefing on Tuesday.
Stay tuned for all the news and details on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement here!