Duchess’s heartfelt speech at royal reception left guests in awe as she thanked the King
As Meghan Markle celebrates her seventh wedding anniversary with Prince Harry, royal watchers are reflecting on the moving speech she gave at their 2018 wedding reception — a moment that quietly revealed both her gratitude and the challenges ahead.
On May 19, 2018, the former Suits star became the Duchess of Sussex, marrying Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. The ceremony was followed by a luncheon reception hosted by King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, at Frogmore House.
There, Meghan broke tradition by delivering a speech — an emotional moment in which she thanked Charles for walking her down the aisle in place of her absent father, praised the late Queen Elizabeth II, and declared she had “found her prince.”
According to royal biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand in Finding Freedom, Meghan’s remarks subtly hinted at the constraints she would later say she experienced within the royal institution. “This American was no typical duchess,” they wrote. A guest added, “You could literally hear a pin drop.”
The speech was described as a rare, open expression of Meghan’s voice during a time when she was still adjusting to royal life. “For her to have been quiet for as long as she had, and then have this really safe space where she could give these heartfelt remarks — it was a really special moment,” a confidant recalled.
Years later, Meghan would revisit that theme in her interview with Oprah Winfrey, describing the pressure she felt to remain silent and likening her experience to The Little Mermaid, who gave up her voice to marry a prince.
As the Sussexes mark their anniversary today, the memory of that speech remains a poignant reminder of the Duchess’s early journey — one marked by grace, gratitude, and growing awareness of the cost of royal life.
