By James Simons-
The Archbishop of Canterbury has declined to confirm whether he blessed a private union between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as claimed by the Duchess Of Sussex, during her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Welby was asked by the Italian newspaper la Repubblica, to clarify all that occurred a few days before the globally witnessed wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in particular whether he had blessed a marriage union between the Dutch and Duchess of Sussex.
Unsurprisingly, the ArchBishop said the details of his meeting with the pair was confidential and he had no intentions of disclosing what took place.
Instead, Welby emphasised that the legal wedding took place on the Saturday, adding: “But I won’t say what happened at any other meetings.”
The archbishop told the paper: “If any of you ever talk to a priest, you expect them to keep that talk confidential. It doesn’t matter who I’m talking to. I had a number of private and pastoral meetings with the duke and duchess before the wedding.
“The legal wedding was on the Saturday. I signed the wedding certificate, which is a legal document, and I would have committed a serious criminal offence if I signed it knowing it was false.”
It was the first time the ArchBishop touched on the claim made by the Duchess of Sussex that she and Prince Harry got married three days before the royal wedding.
The ArchBishop’s comments came the same day he had a conversation with the Queen in which they exchanged pleasantries, and wished each other a Happy Easter.
Quite notable was the fact he did not address the relevant question of whether the vows he blessed between the pair was understood to him to be considered a marriage of any sort.
A legal marriage in the UK has to be signed and registered, but there are other forms of marriages that take place that are not considered to be legal.
Competent analysts observing this issue have concluded that Prince Harry and Meghan considered the exchange of vows in he presence of the ArchBishop as a private informal marriage between the pair, first ordained by God through the ArchBishop, in a spiritual sense.
The wedding witnessed by the world was seen by the couple as as formal and legal wedding to be witnessed by the world, but potentially capable of being disrupted by unknown forces.
Marriage Ceremony
During her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast earlier this month, Meghan said the pair had the marriage ceremony with the archbishop, Justin Welby, in their “backyard”.
The duchess said nobody knew the couple had shared personal vows for “just the two of us” ahead of their wedding day in Windsor on Saturday 19 May 2018.
During the interview, Meghan had told Winfrey: “You know, three days before our wedding we got married. No one knows that, but we called the archbishop and we just said, ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle, is for the world, but we want our union between us.’”
Meghan Markle said of the vows, that they were “just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury”. Both Harry and Meghan said it was “just the three of us”.
Prince Harry kisses Meghan Markle in marriage ceremony On May 19, 2018 Image: cnn.com
Controversial
The claim that the pair got married a few days earlier than their official ceremony was among a number of controversial revelations served by the couple to the explosive Winfrey interview, which raised up serious questions.
Other damaging allegations made included an unnamed source raising concerns about how dark their son’s tone would be, before he was born.
Also extremely damaging where claims that members of the royal family told Harry that his son would not be given the title of a prince, and that no reason at all was provided for this. The insinuation was later made by Meghan Markle that the denial was associated with race.
It has since been revealed that only those directly related to the throne automatically inherit titles like that of a Prince, and that a great grandson has no entitlement to the a title.
That revelation raises further questions as to why the palace did not explain this to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and if they did, why the pair did not reveal this during their interview.
The explosive interview sparked a storm in the UK, leading to the dismissal of well known former television presenter, Piers Morgan, and also led to the resignation of the Editor of The Society Of Editors, Ian Murray.
Morgan recently revealed he was forced to step down after he refused to apologise for dismissing the accounts of Meghan, but has has been a leader of the campaign to point out any seeming flaws in her testimony to Oprah, which sent shock waves through Buckingham Palace and the rest of the world.
He recently suggested that the ArchBishop of Canterbury must have conducted an illegal marriage.
Piers Morgan Lost GMB Job oer disparaging comments about Meghan’s Oprah Interview Image: cnn.com
Former Editor of The Society Of Editors: Ian Murray
Television personality Sharon Osborne, was also forced to step down following her open support and sympathy for Piers Morgan.
Ms Osborne had been on the show for the past 11 years, but had to go in the face of the severe backclash from her conduct on air, in which she rudely confronted her co-host, without showing any concern for the fact her behaviour made her appear childish and deaf to the seriousness associated with Piers Morgan’s begaviour.
Sharon Osbourne left show on Friday over her support for friend Piers Morgan