Meghan Markle and Prince Harry applauded for ‘groundbreaking’ multicultural wedding with gospel choir, American bishop and nod to Commonwealth

WEDDING watchers have hailed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for their multicultural ceremony today — saying it broke the Royal mould.

Their nuptials at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle featured a rip-roaring sermon from an American preacher and a moving rendition of Stand By Me by a black gospel choir.

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Ingrid Seward, Editor in Chief of Majesty Magazine, told The Sun Online: "There's never been a royal wedding like in modern history.

"It was certainly a departure from tradition and and bodes well for the future of the modern monarchy."

Their wholly modern ceremony was a far cry from Royal Weddings of previous generations and showed the Monarchy mirroring modern Britain.

Mixed-race divorcee Meghan, 36, was embraced with open arms by her in-laws — a welcome not extended to previous newcomers to the family.

How the Royal Wedding has unfolded so far...

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sealed their marriage with a kiss after a groundbreaking modern Royal Wedding
• Following the ceremony the couple were whisked away in a carriage for the Royal Procession
• Meghan stunned in a Givenchy gown with a 15ft veil embroidered with flowers
• The Queen wore a green coat and hat for the ceremony as Philip, 96, walked unaided after recent hip op
• Princess Charlotte and Prince George melted hearts with their outfits for the big day
• But Kate raised eyebrows with her 'cream' coloured gown
• At the ceremony American Bishop Michael Curry stole the show with an eccentric speech
• Celebrities including George and Amal Clooney, the Beckhams and Oprah Winfrey were among the guests at the wedding
• Up to 150,000 people swarmed the streets of Windsor to get a view of the newly married couple
• Prince Harry and Meghan became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after their marriage

King Edward VIII had to abdicate the throne to marry his twice-divorced American lover Wallis Simpson in 1936.

And more recently, Princess Margaret's husband the Earl of Snowdon was not allowed to have his preferred best man Jeremy Fry at their wedding in 1960 because he was gay.

The Most Rev , the first presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in New York, moved millions watching the ceremony as he spoke about the power of love.

Mr Curry opened his speech with the words of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, who said: "We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love.

"And when we do that, we will be able to make of this old world a new world. Love is the only way."

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The bishop then added: "There's power in love. Don't underestimate it. Don't even over-sentimentalise. There is power, power in love."

Prince Harry was seen looking adoringly at his bride after the speech — and appeared to say "wow".

Ms Seward said: "The star of the ceremony was certainly the American preacher, The Most Reverend Michael Curry and with nice to see the royal family smiling and laughing as he made his address. It felt very inclusive.

"It was nice that Prince Charles to the hand of Meghan's mother, Doria as they went into the vestry for the signing of the register.

"For me it Harry and Meghan's hands that also made this one of the most unusual of royal weddings.

"l have never before seen a royal couple hold hands and entwine their fingers like Harry and Meghan did when they were at the altar.

"She clearly adores Harry and there is no doubt they are in love.

"But moment that brought me to tears was discovering that Harry had picked forget-me-nots - his mother's favourite flower - at Kensington Palace for his bride's bouquet."

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Royal historian Sarah Gristwood, who wrote Elizabeth - The Queen And Crown, told The Sun Online: "It was amazing - more so than any of us was expecting. It showed how this wedding is helping to take the royal family forward into the 21st century.

"We knew she would enter the chapel alone and she wouldn't given away but we didn't how different it would be.

"It was partly the strong American presence and partly the strong black presence.

"Not only the bride and groom said 'I do' but the congregation and family said 'I will'.

"A lot of lessons were learned from Princess Diana's life and death - and this feels like one of them.

"We've obviously seen some turmoil in Meghan's family this week and this was a real open recognition of both of the potential for family trouble and family support."

Royal Commentator Dickie Arbiter told The Sun Online that the wedding showed how the Monarchy "continues to evolve".

“But we can’t forget that it’s been changing and evolving for the past 1,000 years."

He added: “If we compare The Queen from the 1950s to The Queen from today they are very different people.

“When Diana first burst on the scene in 1981 everybody said: ‘Gosh doesn’t she do things differently.’

“Now you’ve got William and Harry in their thirties - they’re just doing what their mother did in her day and doing things differently."

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Historian Anna Whitelock said that the Royal couple have made the ceremony ";look and feel different" to those that have gone before.

She wrote: "Harry and Meghan have definitely made a #RoyalWedding look and feel different. Time will tell what they can do for the monarchy".

And Peter Rolfe, owner of luxury events organiser PAVE London, which has arranged a number of royal events, said the ceremony was groundbreaking.

He told The Sun Online: "It think the thing that is obvious is how much the black community have been featured in the ceremony so far, which is different from previous royal weddings.

"The whole day has been a blend of tradition, which the American guests will love, and modern elements, such as the choir singing Stand By Me.

"It shows Harry and Meghan are very much in love and blending their backgrounds."

Social media users have praised the ceremony — with one dubbing it the most multicultural Royal Wedding ceremony in history.

Daisy Loughlin wrote: "This wedding is incredible showing Britain as a tolerant multicultural country, living for it it."

Mr Curry's address was followed by "Stand By Me" sung by Karen Gibson and the Kingdom choir.

The loved-up pair gazed at each other during the ceremony, with Meghan wowing in her spectacular gown by designer Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy.

She teamed it with a dazzling Mary Diamond Bandeau tiara – lent to her by the Queen.

Ms Markle expressed the wish of having all 53 countries of the Commonwealth with her on her journey through the ceremony.

Ms Waight Keller designed a veil representing the distinctive flora of each Commonwealth country united in one spectacular floral composition.