Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding offered a more “attractive” vision of the monarchy than King Charles’s Coronation, a royal author has claimed.
More than 20 million Britons tuned in to watch Charles’ crowning at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
The day was marked by pomp and ceremony, with senior royals turning up in all their finery and a 2,000 strong congregation singing powerful hymns as Charles was officially crowned King.
The Coronation had all the trappings of tradition but it lacked the bold modern-day vision of the monarchy that Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018 offered up, one royal author told Express.co.uk.
“When Harry and Meghan got married that was an amazingly happy, multi-racial, very modern feeling,” Clive Irving, author of The Last Queen said.
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He continued: “It had the American choir, the American pastor. It wasn’t too long of a service.”
In contrast, Charles failed to deliver a more progressive vision of the monarchy and the length of the service was “interminable”, Irving opined.
The event was too “medieval”, the royal author claimed, lacking the diversity of faith and cultural makeup that made the Sussexes’ wedding a marvel.
Also, the person at the very heart of it failed to imbue the day with a sense of magic, Irving said.
“The monarchy cannot function if the person at the centre of it doesn’t look happy and doesn’t project a sense of confidence and a sureness of touch.”
The former Sunday Times editor continued: “He seemed either tired, short-tempered or misplaced, as if he was uncomfortable with the whole idea of being there.”
Irving also compared the King’s performance to that of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
“She just seemed to be the whole centre of it. She glowed. She was the focus. Charles didn’t even manage to be the focus of it,” he said.
Harry and Meghan’s big day
The couple got married on May 19 2018 St. George’s Chapel in the walls of Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England.
The wedding was a global event, thanks to Harry’s status as a senior British royal and Markle’s celebrity following after starring on the hit US show Suits for seven years.
Joining the couple on their big day were a phalanx of celebrities, many of whom shared their wish to change the world.
Oprah Winfrey, Idris Elba, Elton John, George and Amal Clooney, Serena Williams, James Corden and David and Victoria Beckham all watched from rows of seats in the Gothic masterpiece that is St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
READ MORE: Five reasons why King Charles’s overall popularity has seen an upsurge since Coronation
In a rousing sermon that highlighted a bit of a culture gap between outgoing Americans and reserved Brits, the Most. Rev. Michael Curry of the US stirred the congregation from its fairy-tale reverie, quoting Martin Luther King in a sermon that had some reaching for hankies and others shifting in their chairs.
“There’s power in love,” Rev Curry said, his voice rising. “Love can help and heal when nothing else can.
“There’s power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will.”
He also quoted from the Song of Solomon in the Bible: “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.”
