Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — who will now also be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — are officially married.
The bride wore a custom dress by British designer Clare Waight Keller, the first female artistic director at the French fashion house Givenchy. When Harry saw his bride, he whispered, "You look amazing."
Meghan walked down the aisle with her young wedding party — not with her father, Thomas Markle Sr., who did not attend as he recovers from a surgical procedure to repair damage incurred by a recent heart attack. Prince Charles joined her halfway down to escort her to the altar. Harry, donning the frockcoat uniform of the Blues and Royals, was joined at the altar by his brother and best man, Prince William.
With the royal family looking on — as well as celebrities such as George Clooney, Amal Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Serena Williams and Elton John — Harry and Meghan exchanged vows in St. George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The wedding was every bit the spectacle that was expected to be, and it all went off with military-like precision.
Guests — who also included Priyanka Chopra, Tom Hardy, James Corden and the Middleton family — began arriving a few hours before the vows. Around 11:20 a.m. local time, members of the royal family began arriving.
With his brother in tow, Harry showed up 15 minutes before his bride-to-be, waving at the thousands of people who'd gathered near the castle grounds. Queen Elizabeth II, meanwhile, trailed her grandson by 10 minutes. She was accompanied by husband Prince Philip, who underwent hip replacement surgery last month.
With the hour-long service nearly ready to begin, Meghan and her mother, Doria Ragland, arrived at the castle in a vintage Rolls Royce. Doria went on to the church separately. The young bridesmaids and pageboys — who included Princess Charlotte, 3, Prince George, 4, Florence van Cutsem, 3, and Zalie Warren, 2 (Harry's goddaughters), Remi, 6, and Rylan Litt, 7 (Meghan's goddaughters), Ivy Mulroney, 4, and Jasper Dyer, 6 (Harry's godson) — then arrived in three cars. Duchess Kate — who gave birth to Prince Louis less than four weeks ago — was one of the adults assisting the young bridal party.
Meghan arrived at St. George's Chapel accompanied by 7-year-old twins Brian and John Mulroney — the children of her friends Ivy and Ben Mulroney — who arranged her veil as she walked up the church steps.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, officiated the vows while the Right Reverend David Conner, the Dean of Windsor, conducted the service. An American, Chicago-based Episcopalian Bishop Michael Bruce Curry, gave a rousing, heartfelt address about love in which he quoted Martin Luther King Jr. Harry's aunt, Lady Jane Fellowes — Princess Diana's sister — gave a reading.
The Kingdom Choir performed a beautiful rendition of "Stand By Me" after the sermon.
After the ceremony — during which Harry and Meghan repeatedly held hands — the pomp and circumstance continued as Harry and Meghan planned to leave the castle grounds by carriage, just as Prince William and Duchess Kate did in 2011. The two-mile carriage procession through the celebration-filled streets of Windsor was expected to last 25 minutes.
From the get-go, the wedding was a break from royal tradition. First, it was was held on a Saturday (most other royal weddings take place on weekdays) and coincided with the FA Cup Final, a major sporting event in England. The young royal couple also chose to eschew Westminster Abbey for the big day, despite that being the location of many past royal weddings.