The couple claimed they were married in secret during their infamous interview with Oprah
A vicar said he was told by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s office that "no wedding took place" after Meghan Markle said that she and Prince Harry were married secretly in their garden.
The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey during the interview that was aired around the world: "You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that."
Later on in the chat with Oprah, Harry said it had been just them and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby present.
But the Rev Mark Edwards, who was inundated with requests for private weddings during the Covid-19 lockdown, contacted the Archbishop’s office in the wake of the claims to “get some clarity” on their policy.
But the vicar from Newcastle-upon-Tyne claims he was told by a Lambeth Palace staff member that, “Justin does not do private weddings. Meghan is an American, she does not understand.”
Rev Edwards said the person he spoke to then told him: “Justin had a private conversation with the couple in the garden about the wedding, but I can assure you, no wedding took place until the televised national event.”
Vicars have cast doubt on Meghan’s claims since the interview, as rules on Church of England weddings require at least two witnesses, and the public must have 'unrestricted access' to the ceremony so objections can be lodged.
Experts have said any ceremony that took place is unlikely to have been legally binding.
Rev Tiffer Robinson, a Church of England vicar in Suffolk, wrote on Twitter: “She’s entitled to consider it her marriage if she wants to. Americans are much less concerned with the specifics of marriage law than English clergy.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury has so far said he will not comment on Meghan’s comments as it is a private matter.
But Rev Edwards said it was “in the public interest for the leader of the church to put the record straight”.
He told ChronicleLive : “It puts us priests in a difficult position on what constitutes a Church of England wedding.
“Should there be witnesses and licensing and legality or is it now just an ad hoc arrangement with members of clergy? Can we now do private weddings without witnesses in our back gardens?
“Justin saying he refuses to comment is not helpful to the rest of us clergy and our own policies and practices.
“I have had people ask me during lockdown if they could have a private wedding, and I have had to explain that would not be a legal wedding and not according to canon law.
“I think we need a clarifying statement - we need to know what our policies and procedures are. It can’t appear to be one rule for one and another rule for another.”
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