Years ago, people began to note the different ways Prince William and Prince Harry remembered and invoked their late mother. While William does some work which reminds him of Diana, for the most part, William tends to invoke memories of Diana when he’s being criticized. Harry tends to remember Diana in other ways – with Sentebale, with Invictus, and other good works. My point is that Harry rarely uses Diana as an excuse for his behavior, whereas William used to use his mother’s death as a shield from criticism. Both William and Harry remembered their mother in different ways on their wedding days.
For Harry, it was the smaller things. He would never ask that a seat should be left empty in the church for Diana, which was a theory some people came up with after seeing that there seemed to be an “empty seat” next to William in St. George’s Chapel during the wedding. This was not about Diana:
An empty seat was noticeable next to Prince William inside St. George’s Chapel as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot on Saturday — but it wasn’t for the reason many people believe. Viewers who tuned into the royal wedding questioned whether the seat was reserved to honor the late Princess Diana. In reality, though, the seat was simply kept empty so Queen Elizabeth had a perfectly clear view of the proceedings from the second row, PEOPLE has learned.
The Queen didn’t need the accommodation at Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s 2011 ceremony, however, as she was seated in the front row then.
Good. I’m glad that there wasn’t a seat left empty in Diana’s memory. Everybody’s different and if you want to do that for a deceased parent, God bless. But in this particular case, I think it’s better that Diana was remembered in less obvious ways. Some of those ways? The floral arrangements were a tribute to Diana, and Harry chose some of her favorite flowers: peonies, foxgloves and white garden roses. Harry also asked Meghan to include Forget-Me-Nots into her bouquet in memory of Diana. Diana’s sister Lady Sarah Jane gave a reading at the wedding, and Meghan wore Diana’s aquamarine ring to the wedding party at Frogmore house. Also: the hymn “Guide Me, O Thy Great Redeemer” was used at the wedding, and the same hymn was sung at Diana’s funeral.
It’s my hope that Harry and Meghan will chose to honor Diana in these kinds of smaller, less-obvious ways in the future as well. I’m really hoping that Meghan doesn’t start homage-ing Diana sartorially, or doing those “throwback” looks when they start having babies. At some point, it does get creepy.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.
It’s actually a protocol thing.
No one can sit infront of the Monarch in church so that seat had to be left empty.
Also, it was her sister Jane who gave the reading not Sarah.
That aquamarine is one hell of a rock!
Isn’t it – I prefer this big blue to the other one.
I especially love that it come from a happier, hopeful , joyful time. No bad karma with this ring.
I prefer the other one, honestly. I like the darker colors. There’s something about the size of this one and the simplicity that it just kind of looks cheap to me. Not that it is, obviously. But I think it’s because I had a necklace similar to that at one point and while it wasn’t CHEAP it also wasn’t something I babied much.
I’m on a gemstone buying phase right now though. I’ve been trying to force myself to be more picky so I don’t just buy whatever shiny thing I see. So that could be clouding my judgement as well.
I agree, the aquamarine ring looks so fake and so huge on Meghan’s dainty little finger. It’s even uglier than Diana’s engagement ring.
It’s huge! I have a little emerald cut aquamarine, but this one looks like a doorknob in comparison.
I love aquamarines. It’s hubby’s birthstone so for our 20th anniversary he bought me a gorgeous aquamarine ring. I love it – more than any of my other jewelry. It changes colour in the light and sometimes looks like ice, other times water. Of course it’s not a massive door stop like that one either! 😉
Why didn’t the queen sit in the front row? Was it because William had to be there for best man duties, and Charles was getting up to escort Meghan, so it was easier to place the queen in the first seat in the second row?
Looking at them at eye level, versus having to look awkwardly up?
Apparently the seat in front is less comfy.
This cracks me up. Royal protocol is Liz gets the comfy seat!
No they said like to sit in that particular sit.
No one can sit in front of the Queen yet that huge decorative piece at the end of the pew can block her view…
The angle of the picture gives impression that it’s blocking her view, but in reality it does not. She doesn’t need to turn her head or lean back to see the proceedings.
Now I have an image of the Queen barking, “You, front row, take that impossible hat off, One can’t see a bloody thing and One paid good money for all this you know!”and throwing an M&M at the person.
LOL Liberty! Now that really made me laugh and choke up my breakfast! I love it!
Lol! That’s why she sits up high. Easier to ping people. “Andrew! You’re creeping people out!” *M&M to the head*
OMG That made my day!
Liberty, that’s the first thing that’s made me laugh in 2 days! I laughed out loud. And as I was reading it, I heard it in HMs voice
LOL! She seems more of a Raisinets person.
So THAT’S what is in her handbag!
Lady Jane Fellows , not Sarah.
Thank you for posting this. I hate it when these rumors take off and people just believe them with no proof whatsoever.
Yeah, some people are really overprojecting.
While loosing a parent as a child is rough (I know, been there) you happen to learn to cope with it and live your own life and I’m sure that W & H have learned to do that.
I happened to be in Paris and stuck in a trafic on Saturday in front of the Alma bridge and there seemed to have been more people/stuff there than there has been in the past few years. I found it quite morbid that people would gather there on the day of Harry’s wedding. Even if they chose to remember her, the day was not about Diana
Although I did think it was a bit over the top, i was struck by how thoughtful it was. Now that I know that it wasn’t on purpose, I still find it a powerful reminder. Coincidence or not.
Having lost my own mom, I know it’s especially hard to miss a loved one at big life moments. However, you can’t make all the big events all about missing that person bc it can take away from the actual moment. It’s a delicate balance.
The small touches they did were really lovely and I think they paid respect and honored his mother without taking focus off their wedding. I hope he felt his mom’s presence on their special day.
My husband lost both parents before he was 10 and was pretty much raised in institutions. On his side of the church he wanted a vacant pew in front.
Minx, I’m so sorry for your husband, but that was a lovely way to honor them.
Thanks LV487. It’s made him a strong person in many ways.
Well there don’t appear to be any Forget-Me-Nots in that bouquet …
Also, is it just me who thinks that Meghan and Kate look very similar?
Actually, there are photos of Meghan where I thought it was Pippa and vice-versa. Not all of them, but at some angles, they look crazy similar to me.
I’ve always that Meghan looked a bit like Pippa.
There are most definitely forget-me-nots in her bouquet. They were picked by Harry from their garden.
I think they look creepily similar! LOL I mentioned this months ago and was given flack, but wow they really do look the same in the face. Both stunning women, in my humble opinion.
At my wedding, I had a picture of my late mother, who passed away when I was a toddler, and my late Grandmother who raised me when my mom passed, in the front row to honor them. If an empty seat had been left for Diana, I think it would have been lovely.
I actually would have thought the empty seat was for Thomas Markle and they decided to leave it empty to commemorate his… absence? That was my initial reaction but then I realized “Surely they would have slightly redone the seating arrangement so there wasn’t an empty seat.”
Wouldn’t he have been seated near Meghan’s mother? Doria wouldn’t have sat alone while Thomas sat with the Windsors.
Anyone ever read any details about what all goes on when the royal couple leave the altar to sign the registry book ? They’re gone quite a while, longer than you need to just sign your name. So I always wondered if they get a drink of water, use the restroom, fix their hair, chit chat with their parents. Or is it all really just as formal as what goes on out front and very proscribed steps and positions there too.
Ha, this is the kind of details I’m interested in.
As for the aquamarine ring, I found it si cheap-looking and even uglier than the saphire engagement ring. It’s so huge and so different from Meghan’s usuasl, understated style in jewelry.
That second picture! The way they look at each other. So wonderful.
I think it’s great that they remembered Diana in a few simple and elegant ways. There is a fine line between “a few light remembrances” and “funereal-like additions,” and sometimes people get carried away with it.
Edward’s daughter is really becoming a beauty, isn’t she?
I think the public wants so badly for the royal family to honor Diana every second of the day for any occasion, but I just don’t think the boys feel the same. They do subtle things to honor her, but I don’t think they obsess about about her death as much as the public does.
I’m wondering about Doria sitting in the second row, next to some of Meghan’s friends , it was a few of Harry’s friends who sat in the front row on the Brides side . Doria seems like such a sweet retiring person perhaps she asked to sit in the second row thinking she wouldn’t be so front and centre during the proceedings.