On Saturday 19th May, the long-awaited wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle finally took place, quickly taking centre stage as one of the biggest events of 2018. The wedding took place at St George’s Chapel and as Harry and Meghan sealed their vows with a kiss, the pair became the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
(Image source: Mark Jones, no changes made)
The wedding was truly a regal affair, with the guest list extending to American and British celebrities. The Beckhams, Amal and George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Idris Elba, Serena Williams, Abigail Spencer and Priyanka Chopra all made an appearance dressed in their finest.
Other notable embellishments at the wedding included the choice of cakes as well as Meghan’s bridal gown. We saw Harry and Meghan break the fruitcake tradition with a lemon elderflower cake, created by London-based baker Claire Ptak. Of course, Meghan’s dress caused a divide in opinions; the Clare Waight Keller-designed Givenchy gown featured expert tailoring with a 16ft train decorated with the flowers of the 53 Commonwealth countries.
Though every detail of the Royal Wedding has been scrutinised, one key decision still remains shrouded from the public – where will Meghan and Harry spend their honeymoon? So far, it was revealed that the honeymoon wouldn’t take place immediately after the Royal Wedding. The newlyweds made their first appearance together at a garden party on May 22 in honour of Prince Charles’ 70th birthday.
As the British public waits to see which exotic locale will become Meghan and Harry’s honeymoon destination, speculation is rife. In fact, an article published in Travel + Leisure suggested that the honeymoon would take place in Namibia. Though this was not officially confirmed, the location looked likely based on the couple’s tie to Africa. The centrepiece of Meghan’s engagement ring heralded from the continent, and the royal couple also have a history of holidaying in Botswana.
However, new evidence suggests that the pair will now say no to Namibia. Royal expert Omid Scobie emphasised that it would be unlikely for the newlyweds to jet off to any exotic locale that had already been reported in the media. He explained that Africa did appear a likely general destination, however. Now that the rumours are spreading, chances are they won’t go there:
On the 2nd May, Scobie was quoted by the Independent on the subject. He said: “The latest reports may be one step ahead of the newlyweds-to-be – I’m told by several sources that they haven’t actually booked anything yet! Once a private royal itinerary has been leaked, it’s likely that it would be scrapped.”
Of the likely destinations, the royal researchers at Sovereign have boiled it down to eight potential locations, with Tuscany taking the lead.
– Tuscany
– Botswana
– The Philippines
– Tetiaroa, French Polynesia
– Nevis, Caribbean Island
– Cyprus
– Scotland
– The Seychelles
New interactive research, Countdown to Paradise, unveils strong evidence for the heart of Italy to be where Meghan and Harry will celebrate their marriage. Firstly, Meghan Markle’s old lifestyle blog and one of her biggest passions – ‘The Tig’ – was named after Tignanello, a world-renowned ruby red Tuscan wine. Secondly, the conditions are ideally suited to privacy from prying eyes.
In addition, it’s just a short hop from a private landing strip in London to the marquee hotel in the region – Tuscany’s Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco resort. Originally a medieval village, this 800-year old working wine estate offers super-private villas, its own church and even a cookery school using ingredients from its own organic garden.
A royal researcher from Countdown to Paradise, who worked closely with Sovereign, said: “Although there have been recent sources suggesting southern Africa as a likely destination for the royal couple, our painstaking research points instead to the sunny climes of central Italy as the leading contender. And with an average temperature of 23 degrees in May, who can blame them?”