Harry and Meghan admit Archbishop of Canterbury didn't secretly marry them

Meghan made the surprise claim in her interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey. (Photo: CBS/Harpo Productions)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have set the record straight on their claim that the Archbishop of Canterbury married them in secret three days before their wedding at Windsor Castle.

The Duchess of Sussex made the surprise claim in her interview with Oprah that they had called Archbishop Justin Welby and asked him to marry them in their garden because it was more intimate. 

"You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that," she said.

"The vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury."

Harry then added: "Just the three of us." 

The Archbishop has remained quiet on the claim, which if true would have broken rules around re-marrying and the requirement of two witnesses. 

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess has now clarified what took place in private with the Archbishop of Canterbury, telling The Sun that they "privately exchanged personal vows a few days before their official/legal wedding on May 19."

Stephen Borton, former chief clerk at the Faculty Office, also told The Sun that he had drawn up a marriage licence only for the wedding at Windsor.

"I'm sorry, but Meghan is obviously confused and clearly misinformed," he said. 

"They did not marry three days earlier in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

"The Special Licence I helped draw up enabled them to marry at St George's Chapel in Windsor and what happened there on 19 May 2018 and was seen by millions around the world was the official wedding as recognised by the Church of England and the law."

The newspaper also claimed that a copy of the official wedding certificate recorded the ceremony as taking place on May 19, 2018, at Windsor in front of witnesses Prince Charles and Doria Ragland, Meghan's mother. 

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