Prince Harry and his American fiancée Meghan Markle have invited 600 guests to their wedding in May, although who is on the list is not being revealed yet, his office says.
Kensington Palace said all those invited to the May 19 ceremony at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, his grandmother Queen Elizabeth's home west of London, would also be invited to the lunchtime reception afterwards.
Later in the evening, 200 guests will attend a private reception at nearby Frogmore House which will be hosted by Harry's father, Charles, the Prince of Wales.
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The palace said the invitations, die-stamped in gold with the edges bevelled and gilded, had been sent out this week. However, it said no details of who had been invited would be released at this stage.
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales requests the pleasure of the company of ... at the Marriage of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales with Ms Meghan Markle," the invitation reads.
Men are instructed to wear 'Uniform, Morning Coat or Lounge suit' and women 'Day Dress with hat'.
About 1900 people were invited to the lavish wedding of Harry's elder brother William and wife Kate at London's Westminster Abbey in 2011. Their guest list included celebrities such as singer Elton John, ex-soccer player David Beckham and his fashion designer wife Victoria along with royalty from around the world and political figures, although not international heads of state.
Some British newspapers have speculated that Harry might invite former US President Barack Obama whom he interviewed for BBC radio at Christmas, but not current President Donald Trump.
Royal biographer Claudia Joseph said Harry would not want to do anything that would have political repercussions that could cause embarrassment for the Queen.
"Harry adores his grandmother and is not going to want to upset her," Joseph, author of How to Dress Like a Princess, told Reuters. "The last thing he's going to want to do is spark World War III."
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She said the choices Harry and Markle had made so far indicated they would have a more personal wedding than William and Kate.
The palace has already announced that more than 2500 members of the public and figures from charities the couple support would be invited to watch the arrivals of the bride and groom and their guests, and to see them depart on a carriage procession around Windsor after the ceremony.
Meanwhile Harry is expected to follow a royal tradition started nearly 100 years ago of using a wedding band of Welsh gold.
His great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was the first to use gold from Wales in her ring when, as Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, she married the future King George VI in 1923.
Her example was followed by the Queen when she married Prince Philip in 1947 and then by royals through to William and Kate's wedding in 2011.
For Markle's wedding, the rare gold ring with the Welsh dragon stamp will probably be made by jeweller Wartski at its London workshop, said Ben Roberts, managing director of Clogau Gold of Wales, which uses gold from the same mines from which gold was gifted to the royals.
Official confirmation that Welsh gold has been used in Markle's ring will only come after the wedding.
Reuters
