Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has contradicted British royal Meghan Markle’s claim that she wed Britain’s Prince Harry several days before the official lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in 2018. The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey in an interview last month that she married Harry in a secret ceremony officiated over by the archbishop a few days before the Windsor event, which was held in the glare of royal pomp and pageantry.

“You know, three days before our wedding, we got married — no one knows that,” she said. “Just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

However, Welby said otherwise.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex got married in 2018. Picture: Instagram

“The legal marriage took place on that Saturday,” Welby was quoted as saying by Die Welt, adding that he personally signed the marriage certificate. “I would have committed a crime if I had signed something that was not true.”

He said he had earlier had a “series of private and pastoral meetings” with Harry and Markle, but declined to give details on the conversation. “If you talk to a priest, you can expect that conversation to remain private.”

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As reported by Malay Mail Online, British media have previously published a copy of the wedding certificate showing the official marriage occurred at Windsor Castle, with the official who drew up the licence saying Markle was either confused or misinformed, and the couple had perhaps exchanged some simple vows before the archbishop.

Born on August 4, 1981, Rachel Meghan Markle is an American member of the British royal family and a former actress.

Markle was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her acting career began while she was studying at Northwestern University. As an actress, she was most known for her role as Rachel Zane in the American legal drama Suits for seven seasons (2011–2017). Markle’s lifestyle blog, The Tig (2014–2017), featured a column profiling influential women. She also gained recognition for creating and releasing two fashion lines of clothing in 2015–2016.

Markle became engaged to Prince Harry in 2017. Upon their marriage in 2018, she became Duchess of Sussex. Their son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, was born in 2019. The following year, the couple stepped down as senior members of the royal family moving to Canada and then to the Duchess’ native southern California. In late 2020, they launched Archewell Inc., an American public organisation that focuses on non-profit activities and creative media ventures./TISG