I wasn’t going to even write about this, but I found one detail so poetic, now we have to talk about it. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding invitations have officially gone out. On Thursday, Kensington Palace confirmed the invites had gone out with a series of tweets about how the invitations were made and what they look like. Since Harry is Prince Harry of Wales, the second son of the Prince of Wales, the invitations carry the fleur-de-lil “badge.”
The invitations follow many years of Royal tradition and have been made by @BarnardWestwood. They feature the Three-Feathered Badge of the Prince of Wales printed in gold ink. pic.twitter.com/cd7LBmRJxO
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2018
Kensington Palace says that the wedding invitations will specify which parts of the wedding guests are being invited to – there’s the service at St. George’s Chapel, the “lunchtime reception at St George’s Hall, which is being given by Her Majesty The Queen.” And then “Later that evening, around 200 guests are being invited to the reception at Frogmore House given by The Prince of Wales.” As in, not all of the wedding guests are being invited to Frogmore House. It’s too small. But here’s what I found fascinating about the wedding invitations:
Lottie Small, who recently completed her apprenticeship, printed all of the invitations in a process known as die stamping, on a machine from the 1930s that she affectionately nicknamed Maude. pic.twitter.com/kWs2RFx7nN
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2018
Using American ink on English card, the invitations are printed in gold and black, then burnished to bring out the shine, and gilded around the edge. pic.twitter.com/gQpC6tDot0
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2018
“American ink on English card.” Perfect. The bland, stiff, pale English paper is the blank slate for the black American ink. Meghan is the black ink and she’s writing herself all over Harry’s cardstock.
Allegedly, Harry has invited his exes Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas, as well as maybe-hookup Ellie Goulding. That’s what The Sun claims. I have my doubts.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Pacific Coast News.
Its an elegant card.
I’m more interested in Maude.
Me to! I love that picture and video. More Maude!
Maude looks fascinating! The invites are beautiful too.
I have so many questions about the reception Frogmore house. Does the Queen go? What kind of music is played? Are they dancing the night away to Beyonce? What kind of late night snacks will be offered?
+1
Lol, I assume their reception will be just like a normal wedding reception. Drinks, dancing, good food, toasting to the happy couple, fun, etc. I’m not sure if the Queen and Phillip will attend the evening one?
Conspiracy theorists were out in full force about these invites yesterday.
What? How is there room for a conspiracy? I’m over here, having a disproportionate response to this romatic little detail (NEVER read the Mussolini posts first) and other people are already losing it?
I love these invitations, they look so beautiful.
Because the Prince of Wales is on the invitation instead of the Queen. The Queen was on William’s invitation. Haters will grab onto anything in an attempt to cast doubt.
Because Charles, the goddamn Prince of Wales, next in line to the throne, somehow is one of the lesser royals??? WTF? People are nuts. These are troubled times. I know some are dead set against the BRF and I get it. But I’m not financing their invitations so I’m ALL for the romance and the glamour and the distraction.
“Mussolini”😁
The Queen was on William’s because he is a direct heir. Harry is not. End of conspiracy.
What is the supposed conspiracy?
Oh, about Charles not HM.
Interestingly, I’m looking at this differently. I noticed that WK was the queen emblem on the card and HM are PoW emblem and I see this as sign that PoW transitioning to monarch status, but I could be wrong.
Will may not have wanted his father’s name on the invitation, ha! That’s all I’m getting out of this.
I just don’t get It. I can believe that Meghan was going around in thre same circles as him or something like that but believing that she’s blackmailing him? Crazy.
I hope those hirls are trolling cause if they aren’t i’m worried for their mental health.
Jesus these Royal weddings must cost millions! Those invites alone were probably a fortune. I was such a huge fan of the Royal family but honestly over the past few years I side eye everything. They are a huge drain on tax payers, it’s crazy that this institution is allowed to exist still.
yeah they do and im bloody furious that the UK is literally letting kids grow up in extreme poverty because of benefit cuts, and disabled people are killing themselves ( or dying whilst appealing said cuts) and yet we somehow have enough for a hugely over the top wedding.
Agree with everything you said.
Oh Please!! The UK is one of the richest countries in the world, and if there are children growing up in ‘poverty’….(you probably have no idea of what real poverty is) it has got nothing at all to do with the RF. They do a huge amount to improve the lives of young people. Do get a grip.
Oh, please, the royal family does not “do a huge amount to improve the lives of young people.” Maybe Charles does, but not the younger royals. And this wedding will cost taxpayers a fortune!! And really it is her second wedding. Seems tacky and over the top. I think it is all silly.
Then vote for better politicians who make the policies. A wedding is not the problem. If the public wants change, then they have to demand it and vote for republican candidates.
Denying one couple a dream wedding when everyone else had one is petty and useless. It is also
Change the system. This wedding one or the other changes nothing.
The royals having cheaper wedding invitations would not do a damned thing to solve child poverty in the UK, but believe you me, there are children living in utter degradation and squalor in the UK, cheek by jowl with some of the richest people in the world.
I live in the UK and lived on disability benefits. The UK as a country might be “wealthy” but the gap between rich and poor is atrocious. Besides how do you define wealth? There are entire neighbourhoods in West London that are ghost towns because all the properties have been purchased by Arab and Chinese billionaires. They spent millions making over properties they will never see just as part of a p***ing contest, putting in swimming pools and private cinemas and digging sub-basements that destabilise the area. In doing so they send prices across the area skyrocketing so actual Londoners can’t afford to live there any more and are forced out. Would you consider an area “wealthy” if the average house price is £20mill, when no one from that area can afford it?
I’m not attacking the royals but the idea there is not poverty in the UK is laughably offensive. Do you have any idea how many people have died directly from disability benefit cuts?
Lela, I am more about the 65,000 mostly elderly monarchist who froze to death, because they couldn’t afford to turn on the heat in 2017! Also I am of the belief, the bigger the wedding the more likely it is to fall apart, really not a good time to put on such a hoohah affair!!
London and New York have lots in common: losing their old identities to millionaires gobbling up properties, turning neighborhoods into private islands, and shopping malls for the moneyed classes, while average people are priced out and can’t afford to live in their own city anymore.
I see homelessness on the rise everywhere, and where I live, folks are living in their cars while holding down two or more jobs.
There’s an attractive and young woman who panhandles near my house. She can’t find work and just lost her middle class home and she and her elderly dog are stuck outside begging for food each day. It’s appalling.
Suicide rates are on the rise.
Nobody cares.
Signs of an economic Depression to come, everywhere I look, while rich people are flaunting wealth and turning blind eye and deaf ear to suffering.
What does this royal wedding do for average people? Nothing. It’s just a temporary distraction. Another dog and pony show for the rich.
Sigh, so gorgeous. I love everything about this. Can’t wait for the wedding.
Luvvie….you really need a hobby or a distraction.
@Keepitreal, why does Kristen need a hobby or a distraction? Because she is looking forward to Meghan’s wedding which you probably don’t approve of? Such rudeness is unnecessary.
@keepitreal If you feel compelled to make a nasty comment — maybe YOU need a hobby. Bye girl!
PS: I’m not your luvvie.
This person has been sniping everywhere today.
I’m eagerly looking forward to the Karate Kid reboot on You Tube. I guess I also need a hobby other than lurking on CB.
And yet here you are Keepitreal…snookums.
Well, that was pretty rude. Weddings aren’t my thing, but even I’M looking forward to the pictures. And a lot of people truly enjoy them – it’s a fun distraction from the sh!tstorm we’re going through right now with Trump. You can have a full life and still look forward to a glamorous wedding.
Yes, I sighed as well, Kristen.
The invites are lovely and I liked reading about their production. Like you, I’m really looking forward to 19 May. I love weddings; love their pomp and circumstance, the people-watching, the fashion, the food and the gaiety. Yeah, I’m ready for the wedding! LOL!
P.S. Ignore the trolls; they’re only going to get worse as the wedding date gets closer. And when it does, likely there will be little green heads exploding in random, lonely little pockets around the world, but no one will notice.
@olenna thanks, dear!
My pleasure, Kristen! I think people who never cared about a royal wedding in the past are gonna be so into this one that it just may break a viewing record.
It is getting more exciting by the day. Also there is a little hint in the invitation that Harry WILL wear uniform…Yaay!
There has been talk of him wearing a morning coat, but surely since the invitation is encouraging guests to wear military uniform, if they wish, must mean that Harry is going to dress up. But has anyone got married at Windsor Chapel in uniform? Please Harry wear a uniform!
I can’t wait either
They are a huge drain and after the Queen dies the whole institution should be dissolved. The whole thing is archaic and irrelevant in today’s world.
Also, for those of you that say that they generate income to the UK via tourism, they do, but we are still in deficit funding them.
The Royal Family should be seen as a business- and this business is making a significant loss at the expense of the taxpayer so it’s time to dissolve this company once the Queen passes.
I would love to see the latest facts on this.
“The Royal Family should be seen as a business- and this business is making a significant loss at the expense of the taxpayer so it’s time to dissolve this company once the Queen passes.”
Actually there are a number of publications refuting this opinion eg
Royalty Inc: Britain’s Best-Known Brand
Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture
Royal Tourism: Excursions Around Monarchy (Tourism and Cultural Change)
written by professionals and academics.
There is an interesting discussion to be had about what the financial pros/cons would be if the monarchy were to be abolished at midnight tonight – what would replace it etc but it’s not as simple as we’d have xmillion pounds to spend on the NHS etc
Everything I’ve ever heard on this debate, even from anti-Monarchists, is that the Royal Family is actually a boon to the economy. Tourism to England is quite frankly fueled by the fact that its a kind of immersive experience into the past, nostalgia fuel basically, and the Royal Family is a huge part of why. That may be ‘problematic’ in and of itself, of course, but there’s a cost/benefit factor to consider if calculating these things.
BorderMollie: i wonder who these anti-Monarchists are who nonetheless believe that the royals are a boom to tourism. There is plenty of evidence that this is a PR lie, and none that supports this accersion.
Yes, royal history draws tourists, but there is no need to have a living, in-situ royal family to draw tourists.
1. Evidence from international tourist boards in terms of numbers AND revenue show that the top ten visited royal palaces are empty ones. From Versaille to the Aluhambra to the Forbidden City to all those German Palaces (too many to mention). Versailles alone attracts more visitors than several of these palaces combined which makes it the most visited Palace in the world, proven in visitor numbers and revenues. No French royals in over 200yrs.
2. The only royal related building / item in the top 20 reasons (measured via polls, number of visitors and revenue) people visit the UK is the Tower of London and most people don’t automatically associate it with royalty or think of it as a palace.
3. Every UK tourist board, national and local has the same results regarding reasons why people visit the UK ie royalty and the royal family is not listed.
4. Brand Finance, the company that is often quoted in the PR lie uses variables that are steeped in royal history to claim the BRF is a tourist magnet and ignore that those variables are ran as separate commercial entities with no input whatsoever from the royals by association or regular use eg the crown estates, Hampton Court, the royal collection. When you add up those variables, then sure the numbers are high, but you strip them away and look at the royals……numbers do not stack up at all.
That’s really interesting, LAK, thanks. I’m not particularly supportive of the royals myself, but I always try and be reasonable in my takes.
England just feels different to other European countries, like it’s draw is almost that it’s this huge nostalgic re-enactment and the prominence of the royals plays into that. Not necessarily a good thing, of course. Nostalgia is a double edged sword.
If Britain became a republic the Royal Family would not magically cease to be a profitable brand in terms of tourist ££. No one is proposing bulldozing all the palaces and castles and doing some kind of Stalinist purge where no one is allowed to mention that they existed. The individuals would still exist. The buildings would still exist. The carriages, jewels and clothes would still exist. The history would still exist. All these things would still attract tourists.
Look how much money Buckingham Palace makes and that’s all from one small area being open to the public for a small part of each year. Open the entire palace 12 months a year and I bet you’d see a huge rise in income. Yes perhaps a minority would no longer be interested if the Queen was no longer officially considered ‘The Queen’ but I bet to most tourists this would be a minor quibble.
If anything getting rid of the monarchy would increase tourist income, first because more Royal attractions would be open to the public, and for longer; second because of the draw of seeing where the “last British monarch” lived – history before your eyes!
BorderMollie: It feels different because there is an ongoing, agrressive campaign to paint the royals as necessary to the fabric of British identity.
Queen Victoria’s son and grandson (Edward 7 and George 5) recognised the need to wed the family into the fabric of British identity as a self-preserving masterstroke.
Her son created or elevated pre-existing local cerebrations into national spectacles in which the royals participated and showed themselves eg Trooping the Colour was a private military parade with a few regiments within London based barracks. He elevated it into a bigger parade involving most of the military services (except navy) and participated in it himself. His participation was the first time a British monarch had done this sort of thing since the Tudors, and it was seen as a PR master stroke because the people loved it and voila! it became an annual event.
Ditto most public celebrations involving the royals from the monarch’s birthday to the Cenotaph ceremony to Windsor garter ceremony.
Incidentally, Edward 7 came upon these ideas from India. He did a tour of the country on behalf of his mother and was taken with the Indian rulers’ habit of putting on spectacles for their subjects where they showed themselves in dazzling tableaus / parades.
George 5 improved on his father’s public ceremonies by instituting the charity work that most aristocrats do as noblisse oblige. By doing these charity visits, ribbon cuttings, garden parties etc the royals meet regular people who as a result are more likely to support the royals than not. These visits are the royal equivalent of political campaigns where politician meets their constituents and kisses babies. More self-serving PR.
On top of the media gaslighting campaign that says they are important for tourism.
Finally, regardless of your stand vis a vis monarchy, what Meggles says is true. Remove the in-situ family, and the history remains. It will continue to attract visitors just as it does around the world where royals were removed.
French are cashing their royals. People don’t wanna see the actual Queen or King, just the history. And UK has plenty to offer.
BTW never heard a person say i am going to London to look for the royals. People just go sightseeing.
ok my British Empire hating heart (I’m South Asian, screw the Brits for raping our country AND our people, figuratively and literally), and my super jaded on romance-heart LOVE THIS DETAIL THANK YOU FOR TELLING US.
Ellie Goulding has been bragging she is going to the wedding. Until she produces the invitation she just seeks attention. Samantha was interviewed by Expressen yesterday, showing Meghan’s baby pictures, apologizing for trashing Meghan for over a year in the press, and begging for an invitation. Waiting for Trump to put out a Twitter screed that he didn’t get an invite – and Obama did.
Oh, please, please have Obamas be invited….
Wouldn’t that be grand? If invited, I would so love the Obama’s to accept the invitation. I suspect however that they would be too classy to participate in anything that would cause drama. But…wouldn’t be it be delicious?
Truthie–yes, they probably wouldn’t want to cause any problems whatsoever for Harry and Meghan. That’s the kind of people they are. Unlike, you know….
The monarchy ain’t going anywhere folks, calm down. William and Kate wedding cost the taxpayer millions of $s, likewise Charles and Diana’s, Anne and Mark’s, Andrew and Sarah’s, Edward and Sophie’s, before them. They all cost tons of money and after each, people were of the opinion that the monarch was at the brink but the monarchy is still standing. There are people that want a republic but there are equally as many if not more that don’t want a republic and are happy to keep their royals. The monarchy ain’t gonna end with HMTQ passing.
I love stationary so for me, this is fascinating. Thanks for posting!!
I love a good invite on expensive cardstock! Gold leaf to boot!
I find beautiful invitations interesting. I love to look at the typography, the stock, everything.
Lovely engraved invites but I certainly can’t tell & don’t care that the ink is American.
What is with the dotted lines across the front? Are names of guests going to be written in?
Yes, Snap Happy. The calligrapher will fill in the invitee’s name on the lines.
Also, why is their Twitter called Kensington Royal? I get that they live there, but other people do too, right?
Lovely, but I am biased- it appears to be the same font we used on ours 23 years ago. : )
This headline is making me live. It is the only truly nice news we are hearing in our godforsaken country ruled by a madman.
I love Royal weddings.
Can’t wait to see MM’ s dress.
Those are three ostrich feathers, not a fleur de lit. If an English prince had a French symbol like a fleur de lit on his wedding invitations there’d be calls to strike him from the line of succession.
Here’s an article about the symbol. http://www.vaguelyinteresting.co.uk/the-prince-of-waless-feathers/
I’m going to assume that many of the pro-Royal comments on here are from Americans, because in the UK oridinary people (not living in London) are more concerned with more important things, e.g. that our food banks are running dry and working people, like nurses, rely on food banks, the housing crisis, what are the ramifications of Brexit, the dire state of the NHS….just to name a few. People are struggling and I find it quite telling that I have heard not one person discuss the wedding- other than the press, social media, etc.