The royal wedding is now behind us—we know, it’s hard to process. But we are still finding it tough to contemplate much else—as it is, today has brought us official photographs, new reports about what went on in the reception, and—gasp—critiques from major pop stars about the fit of Meghan Markle’s wedding dress.
And there remain a number of lingering questions about the day’s events that we have been mulling to ourselves, and texting our friends about, and posing to our co-workers in Slack, and otherwise contemplating, which we will try to work out with you here.
Why was Meghan running 15 minutes late?
It was reported early Saturday—via word breaking in the press room—that Meghan was running 15 minutes late for the ceremony. (David Muir relayed that information live for viewers watching the ceremony on ABC.) Meghan essentially made up the time, arriving to the ceremony only a few minutes past the scheduled arrival. If she had actually shown up 15 minutes late, it would have been a significant news story, considering the extreme logistical precision of the day. But this does beg the question: what happened that led to the initial concern of lateness? A dress- or wardrobe-related hitch? A last minute romantic-comedy style desire to silently reflect on the major life shift ahead of her? Something completely unrelated, like a hiccup with the car? This one will likely remain unsolved, though expect The Crown to come up with an entertaining rationale in Season 7.
Did Meghan curtsy to the Queen?
It was one of the biggest “day of” stories on Saturday: Meghan did not curtsy to the Queen!, outlets shouted. And it is true that in the video footage from inside St. George’s Chapel, Meghan was not seen curtsying to the Queen on her way up to the altar. But it was revealed later on, after some careful video analysis, that the Duchess of Sussex did not in fact forget the very important custom. The culprit for the misconception was, as Page Six put it, “some wonky TV video editing.” For whatever reason, the feed cut to a wide shot when Meghan bowed to the Queen, making the curtsy very hard to see. (The three networks that covered the wedding did not respond for comment.)
Why was Carey Mulligan there? James Blunt? Tom Hardy?!
While many of the celebrities present were ones we were expecting to see—Serena Williams, George and Amal Clooney, Priyanka Chopra—there were a few less obvious ones who showed up. James Blunt likely made the cut due to his having served in the British Army, like Prince Harry, and the two both support causes related to veterans. (Blunt also performed at the Invictus Games in 2014.) While we want to think Carey Mulligan and Meghan have become fast friends, sharing Hollywood audition stories and sipping tea together, it’s more likely, again, a military connection, as her older brother served in the British Army and she has worked for Congo’s War Child charity. (Her husband, Marcus Mumford, also supports the ONE Campaign.) Tom Hardy’s connection to Harry is slightly less clear, though the two were photographed chatting at a polo event in 2014, and the Dunkirk premiere in 2017. (Hardy delightfully posted a photo of Harry and Meghan on his Instagram on Saturday, with a caption reading “Boss,” which is pretty much exactly as we would expect from a Tom Hardy Instagram caption.)
Is Oprah going to do a tell-all interview with Doria?
It was reported a few weeks back that Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother, was seen leaving Oprah’s house in Los Angeles, holding a bunch of gifts, after a six-hour meeting. It probably shouldn’t have come as such a huge surprise, then, that Winfrey was present at the wedding. But what of a potential interview with Ragland, who has yet to grant any since her daughter started dating the prince? Well, the Daily Mail claimed this morning that the “real reason” Winfrey was invited was to conduct an interview with Ragland in the U.K. following the proceedings. However, the story has since been amended to state that Ragland is “not planning to appear on air” and that Winfrey was at the wedding solely as a guest. We would not be too, too shocked, though, to see the two sitting down for a one-on-one at some point in the next year.
Why did Kate re-wear a dress for the third time?
Aside from Meghan’s, one of the dresses that was most anticipated was Kate Middleton’s. The Duchess of Cambridge, who gave birth to son Louis four weeks before the royal wedding, ended up surprising us all, however, by . . . wearing a dress she had already worn twice before, to two high-profile occasions (one for Charlotte’s christening, once for the Queen’s birthday). Commentators seem to be somewhat split on this decision. On the one hand, for most high-profile weddings, when someone has all the resources in the world, it would probably seem a little insulting to not even bother to pick up a new outfit for your brother-in-law’s wedding. In Kate’s case, though, this is likely less any sort of “statement” and more in line with her general practice of attempting to not detract or steal the thunder at other people’s weddings. At her sister Pippa’s wedding, while not a repeat look, she wore an extremely conservative Alexander McQueen gown. We like to think Kate decided to have more fun with her outfit to the reception Saturday evening, when there would not be photographers present.
What did Cressida and Chelsy think of all of this?
One of the more intriguing dynamics at the wedding itself was the presence of Harry’s ex-girlfriends Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas. It is something of a British high-society custom to invite former significant others, and, by all accounts, Harry is on good terms with both women. But what did both blondes think of what went down? It’s hard to say! At one point during the ceremony, the feed cut to a somewhat somber looking Davy, which led many, of course, to speculate as to what she might be ruminating upon; another cutaway, though, had her smiling. Unfortunately their Instagrams did not offer much to go on. Bonas posted an Instagram story of her wedding look, thanking the designers. Davy posted a few stories on Sunday of her hanging out with friends and celebrating a birthday. (Davy and Bonas follow each other on Instagram and are pals, so we like to think the two certainly will be planning a drinks date soon to fully debrief.)
Are we done hearing from the Markle family?
Great question! As much as we may hope that the wedding will mark the end of the drama-loving Markle family making headlines, it does not appear likely (at least for the time being). Thomas Markle, Meghan’s father, called TMZ up after the wedding, telling the outlet, “My baby looks beautiful and she looks very happy. I wish I were there and I wish them all my love and all happiness.” Meghan’s half-brother’s son, Tyler Dooley, who was in London for the wedding, was caught bringing a knife into a nightclub late Saturday night; he told the bouncers he had the knife because “Donald Trump had said London wasn’t safe” (you really can’t make this stuff up). And, yes, Samantha Markle is continuing to speak to the press, as well, commenting on Doria Ragland on Monday. (Though at least she is not making quite the same waves with her statements as she was before the wedding.)
