Meghan Markle: the unconventional bride

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship has already broken traditions, including the royal ones. Markle is divorced, and bi-racial, and American making the union a somewhat unusual affair, in a way that has not be seen in the royal family in the past 50 or so years.

And as the details about the wedding, scheduled to take place on May 19, continue to emerge, it seems increasingly clear that Markle and Harry are very much doing things their way. New reports claims that Markle would like her mother, Doria Ragland, to walk her down the aisle. This decision would not really be appalling for most other contemporary weddings, but, this is the royal family we are talking about; to have her mother escort her down the aisle instead of her father is seen as somewhat renegade!

“With the wedding, they both want to do things their way. While they will always be mindful of traditions and the views of their elders, the day is ultimately about them and what they want to do,” a source said. “The day of the wedding itself will certainly hold a few unconventional surprises. Don’t expect a royal wedding by numbers. They want to involve their friends and family as much in as much as possible throughout the day.”

A different source reaffirmed this by saying, “Harry has never been one to follow instructions and both he and Meghan are extremely independent individuals. I wouldn’t imagine for one second that they plan to sit back and be told what to do, and they won’t. Their romance feels refreshingly modern and I think that’s something that everyone at Kensington Palace has felt incredibly excited by.”

The palace has not officially commented on Markle’s inclination here and during their joint interview with the BBC following their engagement announcement, Markle and Harry revealed that while Harry had gotten to meet and know Ragland, he had not yet met Markle’s father, Thomas (though they had spoken on the phone).

In an interview on December 27, Harry said that Markle had found the “family she’s never had” in the royal family. Harry’s comment sparked a lot of anger in Markle’s paternal family and her half-sister and half-brother expressed their anger by claiming that Markle “always had a family to come back to” but she was too busy in her career to pay any attention to them. Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, was also supposedly distressed by these comments.

Meghan’s father, a former television lighting director, married Ragland in 1979, and the two divorced in 1988. The current status of Markle’s relationship with her father is unclear; in 2016 she posted an Instagram post on Father’s Day in which she wrote, “I’m still your buckaroo, and to this day your hugs are still the very best in the whole wide world.” In December, he was tracked down by reporters outside of his home in Rosarito, Mexico, where he is said to live a “secluded life.”

Harry and Meghan’s wedding promises to have a much more low-key energy than William and Kate’s; as it will be in a much smaller venue; and there won’t be a balcony kiss or bank holiday or procession through the city.

However, the wedding is estimated to provide a £500 million boost to Britain’s economy as tourists flock to the country and Britons celebrate.

There were an extra 350,000 visitors to the UK in April 2011 when Harry’s elder brother William married his wife Kate compared to the same month the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Business valuation consultancy Brand Finance predicted a similar surge in May and in total, it estimates the nuptials will generate some £500 million ($680 million). “We think approximately £200 million will come from tourism, travel, hotels,” said the company’s chief executive David Haigh.

Businesses in Windsor are already gearing up to take advantage of the worldwide interest in the couple. “It’s going to be a massive boost for the economy, it will be great to see so many people here for the wedding and actually to host the wedding itself,” said Andrew Lee, manager of the Harte and Garter hotel opposite Windsor Castle.