Royal Wedding: Will Kate Middleton Be Part of the Ceremony?

The royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry is set to take place on May 19, 2018, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

With all the excitement surrounding the event, many are wondering if Kate Middleton will be involved in the ceremony.

While it was recently announced that Prince Harry has asked Prince William to be his best man, the identity of Meghan's maid of honour remains unknown.

Although Meghan's future sister-in-law may have seemed like a promising choice, an expert has revealed that it is not possible for Kate to be Meghan's maid of honour on her special day.

According to William Hanson, a British etiquette expert, it would be unbecoming for the Duchess of Cambridge to fill this role due to the same royal protocol which prevented Kate from being a maid of honour at her own sister Pippa Middleton's wedding to James Matthews in 2017.

“It's unbecoming for a member of the royal family to walk behind a commoner, which, as painful as that sounds and despite being directly related to Catherine, is what Pippa is,” Hanson told Cosmopolitan at the time.

Therefore, Kate, who recently gave birth to her third son, Prince Louis, would not be able to serve as maid of honour at the ceremony.

But is Meghan herself considered a commoner?

According to royal expert and managing editor of Daily Break Kelly Lynch, the answer is yes.

“As far as I know, Meghan will be considered a commoner even when she becomes HRH because she's not a peer of the realm,” Lynch told Express UK.

Peers of the realm include the Queen and those with titles such as Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron.

However, this may change after the royal wedding, when Meghan and Harry's titles are expected to be given as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It is believed that Meghan Markle wanted a more private royal wedding, but the couple was forced to change their plans due to public demand.

“The couple have had to bow to public demand rather than have the more private wedding they wanted,” an insider exclusively revealed to Express UK.

This compromise centers around the particular element of the wedding, the carriage ride.

It would seem this is not what Meghan initially wanted for the wedding.

“The carriage wasn't going to happen,” the insider said.

“Meghan wanted it to be their wedding.

It was her request for it to be much more private than Kate and William's wedding.

However, the couple was eventually forced to bow to public demand.

The palace received thousands of letters saying the public want to be part of the wedding.”

While Kate may not be serving as maid of honour, she is expected to attend the ceremony with her husband and children.