How Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Will Pay Tribute To Harry’s Deceased Mother

The couple plans to remember the groom’s late mother, in some way during their big day.

From the carriage ride around Windsor to the lemon and elderflower cake, the upcoming royal wedding is set up to be a marvelous blend of suitably formal and the touchingly personal. And the couple has quite the lot planned for that day, one of which is remembering Prince Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana.

The Flowers

When it was finally revealed who exactly will be doing Harry and Meghan’s wedding flowers, a tiny detail was also revealed. In the end, Philippa Craddock got the job, and we hope she doesn’t disappoint. Among all the seasonal branches of beech, birch and hornbeam-accompanied with plenty of Meghan’s favorite peonies-it were revealed that the florist will also include white garden roses, which we know were the favorite flower of Princess D.

White roses were everywhere in the wedding of Harry’s parents Charles and Diana, and they were also planted all over Diana’s final resting place in Althorp, and are all extensively used in her memorial garden at Kensington Palace which opened last year. At the time gardener, Sean Harkin spoke of his choice of roses for the White Garden, revealing “I think lots of people would refer to Princess Diana as the classic English rose. It felt like it was a must to include them.”

The Spencer Family

 

In the years after what happened at Diana’s funeral, with her brother giving a eulogy that was very critical of the Royal family, the relationship William and Harry would have with their maternal relations were unsure.

However, as it seems that both royal brothers have shown that they value their mother’s side of the family and that they are very much part of their lives. Every one of the Spencer clan was invited to Kate and William’s wedding, and William and Harry have also attended the weddings of their maternal cousins over the years. Laura Fellows, who is Diana’s niece, is one of Princess Charlotte’s godmothers.

Even though Harry and Meghan’s guest list is just a third of what William and Kate’s was, there still lots of representatives of Diana’s side of the family, such as  her sisters Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, their partners and their children, plus Diana’s brother Earl Spencer, his wife and his older children. A statement from Kensington Palace revealed, “In addition to having the support of The Queen, his father The Prince of Wales, and his brother Prince William as Best Man, Prince Harry is also keen to involve his mother’s family in his wedding … Lady Jane Fellowes will give the reading.”

The Charities

Diana, in her lifetime, was a patron for dozens of charities throughout her life, but there were only a few that were really close to her heart. It seems that she was very much on Harry and Meghan’s mind when they were deciding on which seven charities would benefit from their wedding gifts.

Following in the footsteps of William and Kate at their own wedding, Harry and Meghan have stated that instead of gifts, they would like people to donate to the seven charities they have chosen. These include The Children’s HIV Association, which supports children growing up with HIV across the U.K. and Ireland. Her work affiliated with HIV/AIDS charities was so significant that back in 2017 she was awarded a posthumous award by Attitude, which was picked up by Prince Harry.

Another charity that Harry and Meghan have chosen was Crisis- the UK’s national charity for homeless people, and homelessness was another of Diana’s most significant charity affiliations. The Princess would take her young sons with her when she was visiting the shelters, so they could understand first hand and from a young age, that not everyone is born with the privilege they have.

The Gems

Meghan already has something that connects her to Princess Diana: her engagement ring. While the main diamond is from Botswana-which is a place close to their heart as its there where they spent the begging of their relationship and returned there for Meghan’s 36th birthday in 2017-the two stones on either side are from Diana’s personal collection.

During their engagement interview, Harry explained it was, “To make sure she’s with us on this crazy journey together.” While Meghan added, “Not being able to meet his mum, it’s so important to me, to know that she is a part of this with us.”

In addition to this, it is most likely that Harry will give Meghan another piece of Diana’s jewelry on their wedding day. It is a tradition for the royal groom to give the bride jewelry on their wedding day. Prince Philip gave the queen a diamond bracelet which was made from stones from his mother’s tiara, and it’s thought that William gave Kate a pair of Diana’s sapphire and diamond earrings that were remodeled especially for Kate.

Diana’s jewelry was passed down to William and Harry for them to gift to their future wives, so it is highly likely that Harry will present Meghan with something from his mother’s collection.

The People

Diana was most famously known as the People’Princess for her ability to make connections with those who she had only just met, and instilled in her sons the importance of reaching out to members of the public.  So it is the ultimate tribute to his late mother that Harry has requested that 2,640 everyday folk be invited into the grounds of Windsor Castle to share in his big day.

The crowd will be made up of 1,200 members of the public – from every part of the UK and a mix of backgrounds and ages, focusing on young people who have shown strong leadership and those who have served their communities – as well as 200 people from the couple’s favorite charities, 100 pupils from local schools, 610 Windsor Castle community members, and 530 members of the royal households and Crown Estate.