The Queen's letter of consent for Meghan Markle's marriage raised some questions
It wasn't a snub at all
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Your support makes all the difference.As the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry approaches, the Queen’s wording in her consent letter had some people - and media organisations - speculating that she likes Kate Middleton more than the soon-to-be-royal American.
In order for the upcoming wedding to take place, the Queen had to give her official consent as part of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which requires the reigning monarch’s permission for any royal weddings - and so she did, in a consent letter.
But shortly after the Queen’s consent letter was revealed in a Privy Council meeting at Buckingham Palace, people began to speculate that the letter was actually a snub - and proved the Queen favours Kate.
The letter read: “I declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between My Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales and Rachel Meghan Markle, which Consent I am causing to be signified under the Great Seal and to be entered in the Books of the Privy Council.”
Many were quick to compare the letter to a letter of consent written by the Queen for Kate Middleton in 2011 - which referred to Kate as “our trusty and well-beloved Catherine Elizabeth Middleton,” whereas Meghan is simply referred to as “Rachel Meghan Markle.”
While the wording does seem suspect at first, it turns out the letters are actually for two different occasions - and it wasn’t a snub to Markle at all.
Kate’s consent letter was actually from the Instrument of Consent, which occurs closer to the wedding day, and not from the Charter of Declaration like Meghan’s was.
When comparing the Duchess of Cambridge’s Charter of Declaration letter to Meghan’s, the same language is used - simply referring to Kate as “Catherine Elizabeth Middleton.”
Once the May nuptials between Meghan and Prince Harry are closer, it is expected that the Queen will write a more heartfelt letter for Meghan as well.
The royal wedding will take place on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
It looks like the Queen likes both her granddaughter-in-law and her future granddaughter-in-law equally.
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