Nearly two billion people tuned in to watch as Meghan Markle walked down the aisle at St George’s Chapel in May 2018 to marry her prince.
All eyes were on the couple as they swapped rings, exchanged vows and kissed. But viewers could not quite make out all of the sweet nothings Prince Harry whispered to his beautiful bride… until lip readers got involved.
Expert lip reader Terry Ruane told the Daily Mail that Harry was visibly nervous ahead of the fairytale ceremony and asked his brother Prince William: ‘Is Meghan here?’ The prince later quipped: ‘My hair is going to go grey’.
Much to Harry’s delight, Meghan, resplendent in a Givenchy gown, finally made her way down the aisle meeting her father-in-law Charles, the then-Prince of Wales, halfway.
Her own father, Thomas Markle, was unable to attend the wedding due to heart surgery. It is understood that Charles was ‘terribly touched’ to walk her down the aisle instead.
The non-traditional act clearly struck a chord with Harry who said, ‘Thank you, Pa’ as Charles delivered Meghan to the altar.
There, the royal groom bit his lip and whispered a string of sweet nothings to his bride, according to Good Morning America. He said, ‘You look amazing. I’m a lucky guy’ – to which Meghan replied, ‘Thank you’.
But it was after the ceremony when the newlywed couple emerged from the late-medieval chapel that a horde of lip readers came into their element and noticed Meghan allegedly ordering Harry around.
Nearly two billion tuned in to watch Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding on May 19, 2018
Harry is seen whispering sweet nothings to his bride at the altar
Lip reader Larry Wenig told Inside Edition that the Duchess seemed to take the lead in staging the fairytale kiss that would be plastered across the front pages the following day.
‘Okay, let’s kiss,’ she said under her breath. Harry obeyed and licked his lips before leaning in to peck her as the crowds roared.
‘She’s already leading the way,’ a journalist from Inside Edition told Wenig. ‘The strong feminist that she is!’
Another moment caught by lip readers shows Meghan seemingly dropping the ‘F-bomb’.
As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex travelled through Windsor in a horse-drawn carriage, Meghan turned to Harry and seemingly said, ‘Oh f***!’ as she put her hand over her chest.
Social media went into a frenzy as viewers began to question what they had just seen, with some suggesting she had been so overwhelmed by the occasion, it had just slipped out.
One Twitter user exclaimed: ‘Turned the royal wedding on just in time to see Meghan definitely say “f***”. Absolute scenes.’
Another spluttered: ‘I swear I just saw Meghan say “f***” in the back of the carriage as she went through those gates lol.’
Charles, then Prince of Wales, walks Meghan down the aisle as her own father could not attend
Harry allegedly told Meghan that she looked ‘amazing’, to which she replied: ‘Thank you’
The newlyweds leave St George’s Chapel after the ceremony to roaring crowds
‘Okay, let’s kiss,’ a lip reader suggested Meghan said on the steps of the chapel
A third commented: ‘Meghan says “Oh f***!” as carriage enters private section of Long Walk. What a farce!’
Outlets suggested the candid moment happened because Meghan thought that since the carriage had finished its climb up the Long Walk, the crowds were behind her and no one could see them any more.
The Daily Star claimed she ‘couldn’t be blamed for her reaction’ as she was faced with ‘incredible scenes’ of thousands of fans screaming her name.
Meghan-friendly US magazine The List said in a video: ‘Hey, it can happen to the best of us, especially if you are not used to getting driven around in carriages.’
And Metro wrote: ‘To be fair, doing an open-top procession in front of 100,000 people is not your everyday event.
‘So if she did have a momentary loss of control of her language, we think she can be forgiven.’
Whether or not she cursed is still up for debate, as no members of the public were close enough to overhear the couple at the time.
Instead, some theorised Meghan, clearly overwhelmed by the crowds, said: ‘Oh, wow’.
As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex travelled through Windsor in a horse-drawn carriage, Meghan turned to Harry and seemingly said, ‘Oh f***!’
Whatever the case, the newlyweds had just gone past an estimated 150,000 well-wishers as they made their first appearance as a married couple.
There is no doubt the sea of royal fans draped in Union flags would have been a lot for anyone to face, as some of the jubilant well-wishers had been camped out near the castle walls for days while others arrived as early as 4am to secure a good spot.
Even Prince Harry seemed overwhelmed with one lip reading expert suggesting he said, ‘I’m ready for a drink now’ as the carriage trundled onwards to the lavish reception.
