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Harry, Meghan confess they didn't actually marry in secret

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have admitted they didn't legally marry in secret three days before the royal wedding after their official marriage certificate showed May 19, 2018.

The couple has now come out saying the ceremony with the Archbishop of Canterbury in Kensington Palace saw them just "privately exchange personal vows".

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their wedding day
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have admitted they didn't legally marry in secret before their royal wedding as previously stated to Oprah Winfrey. Photo: Getty

It comes two weeks after the pair told Oprah Winfrey in their bombshell interview they wed three days before their actual wedding.

The revelation reportedly had Britons fuming as to why $58m of taxpayer money was spent on the wedding if they were already married.

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A spokesman for Harry and Meghan confirmed with The Sun, they did not officially marry three days before the wedding.

The source said the couple had "privately exchanged personal vows a few days before their official/legal wedding on May 19".

During the interview, Meghan told Oprah, "You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that."

She explained the couple asked the Archbishop to marry them in private at Nottingham Cottage, on the grounds of Kensington Palace.

This claim was proven to be false when the General Register Office revealed the couple's wedding date, showing they did officially tie the knot at Windsor Castle.

"They did not marry three days earlier in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury," Stephen Borton, former chief clerk at the Faculty Office, told The Sun.

"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.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss outside St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss outside St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding on May 19, 2018. Photo: Getty (Jane Barlow - PA Images via Getty Images)

"What I suspect they did was exchange some simple vows they had perhaps written themselves, and which is fashionable, and said that in front of the Archbishop — or, and more likely, it was a simple rehearsal."

Additionally, Mr Borton revealed the grounds of Nottingham Cottage is not an authorised wedding venue, so they couldn't have legally married there. There were also not enough witnesses present for a wedding ceremony.

"In order for them to be married a Special Licence was drawn up and the wording from Her Majesty the Queen authorising the wedding and the official venue was recorded," Mr Borton said, adding the fee normally paid for a Special Licence was waived.

The wedding certificate shows Prince Charles and Doria Ragland were the couple's witnesses.