On that May day in 2018 it seemed nothing could derail the Harry and Meghan fairytale.
The weather had obeyed and the crowds had turned out.
A few of us got the nod to stick our heads in the church about an hour before the first guests turned up.
The scent of the sweet peas and white roses, jasmine and peonies lasted on my nose for the rest of the day.
Britain had been through a torrid time: terrorist attacks, a divisive Brexit vote, a hung election.
The wedding was truly celebrated.
But the honeymoon for the divorced American actress and the prince was cut short by the harsh realities of royal life.
The insider account
Now, a new book titled Finding Freedom offers a detailed look at what went on behind the scenes.
It was written by journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand — both of whom I knew when I was a correspondent for the ABC in the UK — and they said they sought at least two sources for each story they told.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have put out a statement insisting they have not been interviewed for the book. But none of their friends would have spoken to the authors without the couple's approval.
This is no trashy gossip rag about the young couple. Read these chapters and imagine it is Harry and Meghan speaking the words.
It is sympathetic to them and reveals the mistrust that already lurked behind the scenes on that wedding day.
I've now read the book, available in Australia from today, and spoken with Scobie about its contents. Here are seven things I learned.
1. Why the book was written at all
There's no end of words that have been written about Harry and Meghan, which begs the question: why delve back into the story?
For Scobie, it was a simple case that there was more to tell.
"For a long time, we've really been used to seeing the narrative around the Sussexes played out through various anonymous royal sources, palace courtiers, senior aides in the various British tabloids," he told me.
"We very rarely hear from those around the couple themselves.
"I felt that there was a lot more to this story than we'd actually heard."
2. Kate and Meghan are not BFFs
There was an assumption among some that Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge would become close.
After all, both were outsiders and if there was anyone who would know what Meghan was going through it would be Kate.
Yet the two women hung out only a handful of times before the wedding, despite both living at Kensington Palace.
On one occasion they ran into each other leaving the Palace grounds for the same shopping street but there was no offer they go together.
There was no feud though, Scobie said.
"She's (Kate) a woman who's very focused on her own family and her duties within the monarchy, and unfortunately busy lives and priorities elsewhere meant the friendship between her and Meghan was never really able to blossom."
3. Meghan wasn't 'Duchess difficult'
The resignation of one of Meghan's assistants in 2018 set off a stream of tabloid stories about how impossible she was to work for.
It fit into a growing narrative Fleet Street was prosecuting that Meghan was "Duchess difficult".
Yet the authors of Finding Freedom discovered it wasn't actually a "resignation" at all.
"There was a much deeper story and the couple were long unhappy with [the assistant] up until the point that she had left," Scobie said.
However, sources said Harry and Meghan could be "impatient and impulsive" — so were they their own worst enemies?
"They were a couple who got results, so they really needed people around them that harnessed and embraced the speed with which they worked," Scobie said.
"And so there were times where they often came second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth to other members of the royal family."
4. Palace silence upset them
Finding Freedom details how Harry and Meghan didn't understand why no-one disputed the misleading and malicious tabloid stories that circulated endlessly.
"They just needed a few people in their corner to stick up for them," Scobie said.
"They'd seen the palace rush to the defence of William and Kate, but when it came to the Sussexes, they were often left alone and to suffer.
"It was moments like that that made them wonder where people's allegiances were. Were they in the Sussexs' camp or were they looking out for their own and others in the institution?"
5. There were hostile insiders too
The book suggested one senior royal referred to Meghan as "Harry's showgirl" and some royal staff were suspicious of her.
"There's just something about her I don't trust," one royal courtier was reported to have said.
Scobie said Meghan was always going to ruffle feathers.
"Meghan in many ways ticked great boxes when it came to her life achievements," he said.
"She was an accomplished philanthropist, an experienced actress. She had seen the world and done a lot before entering the House of Windsor.
"And of course, she was different to the rest."
6. They're gone for good
Earlier this year, Harry and Meghan shocked the world by announcing they were stepping back as senior members of the royal family.
They planned to pursue their own goals, become financially independent, and divide their time between the UK and North America.
Scobie has found they're not only happy in Los Angeles, they're thriving.
And despite having 12 months to decide if they want to go back into the fold, it's highly unlikely.
"They've got a safe family environment, they're able to focus on the work they want to do," he said.
"There have been very few leaks about their personal lives or the work that they're doing and that is because they've got a team around them they feel they can trust.
"The idea of looking back and re-entering the monarchy in any way whatsoever just wouldn't appeal to them."
7. But they want to patch it up
The couple wants to improve family relations with The Firm, and rebuilding those strained ties are important to them, Scobie has found.
Harry and Meghan have been in touch with Prince Charles and the Queen, he says, and "there's some signs of hope, but perhaps not in a working capacity."
Yet things are different with William.
Scobie said Harry was offended by William's advice when he started dating Meghan, in particular the line: "Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl."
"Harry ended up getting advice that he perhaps didn't actually ask for," Scobie said.
"We have to remember these are two men well into their 30s and it's no longer a sort of big brother, little brother dynamic.
"And that's something that I think William has never really gotten used to and Harry has always wanted to change."
And here is where we get to perhaps the saddest takeaway from the book.
The wash-up
Finding Freedom is telling for what it reveals about Harry and William and the deterioration of their relationship.
They were always different, one destined to be king, the other struggling to find his own path.
Harry and Meghan may be many things, but they are not naive.
They know this book won't repair already strained relations with the royal family. But it does give them a voice.
I can't help but think of author Andrew Morton who revealed after Princess Diana's death that she was in fact the source for his biography.
She remained insistent she had not participated in the book. The audio tapes proved otherwise.
Scobie is insistent this isn't history repeating itself.
Yet decades later, Finding Freedom is Harry and Meghan's story. If not told by them, then at least for them.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA4LTEyL2ZpbmRpbmctZnJlZWRvbS1ib29rLW9uLWhhcnJ5LWFuZC1tZWdoYW4tc3BsaXQtZnJvbS1yb3lhbC1mYW1pbHkvMTI1NDE0NDbSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTI1NDE0NDY?oc=5
2020-08-11 19:06:00Z
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