Duchess Of York Fergie Is Getting An Invite To Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Wedding
It's the hottest event of the year, but the guest list for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's spring nuptials is still under wraps.
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Still, one name has been confirmed, and that's Sarah, Duchess of York, aka Fergie. According to a source, Harry's close relationship with Fergie's daughter, Princess Eugenie, ensured that her mother would get an invite to the May 19 event.
"Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie are very close, and therefore I wouldn't be surprised to see her welcomed back into the family fold for at least part of the wedding. If not the church ceremony, then maybe the wedding reception," said PEOPLE Now royals contributor Imogen Lloyd Webber.
Fergie's inclusion is interesting, considering she hasn't been an official member of the royal family for over 20 years, following her 1996 divorce from Prince Andrew. She had been very close friends with Princess Diana but was involved in several headline-making scandals in the intervening years that further eroded her relationship with the family.
However, thanks to her ongoing, cordial relationship with her ex-husband, and the fact she still lives with him in Windsor, Fergie has managed to reacquaint herself with the Royals. The Queen has even allowed her back into the royal enclosure at Royal Ascot.
She did not get an invite to William and Kate's wedding, but she'll be a big part of Eugenie's upcoming nuptials in October. She will also attend Harry and Meghan's big day.
Fergie joins the hotly-rumored likes of Victoria and David Beckman, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Sir Elton John on the guest list. Prince Harry has admitted that they don't have the final list yet. Only the royals such as The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William are confirmed guests for the event as of date.
There will be fewer people attending the ceremony compared to William's wedding to Kate Middleton back in 2011. William and Kate married at Westminster Abbey which has a capacity of 2,000, while St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Harry and Meghan will tie the knot, can only seat 800 people.
Playing With Fire And Fury
Foreign royals and dignitaries will no doubt attend. However, with an American marrying into the royal family for the first time, speculation has been rife on whether President Donald Trump will get an invitation.
Government mandarins are reportedly in talks with Harry to invite both the current President and the former or neither. Asking Obama alone may be seen as a snub to Trump in a time when the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. is already fraught with tension.
An invitation for former President Barack Obama seems like a sure thing after Harry became friendly with him and wife Michelle during their meeting at the Invictus Games.
Likewise, Sir Elton was a close friend of Harry's mother, Princess Diana, and was one of the few celebrities to attend and perform at his brother's wedding to Kate Middleton.
"So who knows who is going to be invited or not. I wouldn't want to ruin that surprise," Harry teased when asked about the guest-list recently.
The couple released their engagement photos shortly before Christmas, with the May wedding date confirmed shortly after that. Harry himself was baptized in St. George's Chapel, making it an extra-special location. He and Meghan claimed that they are looking to involve the public in the wedding as much as possible.
