Royal Wedding: Gospel choir chosen to perform for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen one of Britain's leading gospel choirs – The Kingdom Choir – to perform at their wedding on May 19.

Kensington Palace made the announcement as it gave more details on Twitter of music at the royal wedding at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle next month.

The Kingdom ChoirFacebook

Performing will be award-winning conductor Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir, which the palace said is made up of a group of British artists 'dedicated to creating a sound that demonstrates the community they share,' and has been performing both nationally and internationally for over 20 years.

The Kingdom Choir describes itself as 'an outstanding and extraordinary group of singers drawn from various Christian traditions in the South East area of England'. 

The group posted on social media to thank the couple for the invitation to perform: 'We are extremely excited to be taking part in such a historic moment, and know that it is one that we will always treasure,' a statement said. 'We'd like to take this opportunity to wish the couple all the very best for their coming union and thank them once again for their kind invitation.'

Also playing will be 19-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, winner of 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year. Last June, Prince Harry saw Sheku play at an event in London in support of the work of Antiguan charity the Halo Foundation, the palace pointed out.

The music will be under the direction of James Vivian, who is director of music at St George's Chapel, and will also include the choir of St George's Chapel.

In March, in preparation for the wedding, Markle was baptised in a private ceremony at the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

More than 1,000 members of the public have been invited to attend the wedding service.

In total 2,640 will be given access to the grounds for the celebrations and they will be able to watch the arrival and departure of the bride and groom at the chapel as well as the carriage procession through Windsor afterwards.

Charity representatives, pupils from local schools, royal household staff and Windsor residents are among the guests as well as 1,200 people from all around the UK.

Meghan Markle during her first public outing with Prince Harry(PHOTO: Instagram/Finlay & Co)

'The couple has asked that the people chosen are from a broad range of backgrounds and ages, including young people who have shown strong leadership and those who have served their communities,' a recent statement from Kensington Palace said.

It said that Harry and Markle wanted 'members of the public to feel part of the celebrations too'.

'This wedding, like all weddings, will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters and values of the bride and groom,' it added.

After the service at midday, the couple will tour through Windsor in a carriage, greeting well-wishers who are expected to come from all over the world to line the streets.

'They hope this short journey will provide an opportunity for more people to come together around Windsor and to enjoy the atmosphere of this special day,' a Kensington Palace spokesman previously said.

They will return for a reception with guests of the service before a second reception for friends and family later in the evening.

St George's Chapel, Windsor, is where Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall's marriage was blessed by Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. It is a more intimate setting than alternatives such as St Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge married. It holds 800 people and is the favoured location of Harry and Markle, who are organising the day themselves.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will officiate at the wedding and David Conner, dean of Windsor, will conduct the service at St George's Chapel. It has not yet been announced who will give the address.

Justin Welby has said their decision to marry 'before God' in a church was based on a 'seriousness both about faith and about their lives together'.