Why Prince Harry will be breaking the rules if he names William his best man

Basically the whole world got on board with the news of the upcoming royal wedding after Prince Harry announced his engagement to Suits actress Meghan Markle last month. Even a few committed republicans welcomed the distraction considering the truly bleak year we’ve had (despite the fact that we had the prospect of an extra bank holiday cruelly snatched away from us).

And as the royal planners now prepare for the upcoming nuptials in May 2018, it has emerged that Prince William might end up not being Harry’s best man thanks to an archaic rule.

British and European royalty expert Marlene Koenig told Town & Country that there’s technically no such thing as a best man in royal weddings - only ‘supporters’. “The best man or best men are officially called supporters,” she said. “William will probably be Harry’s supporter.”

Indeed, when Prince Charles married Diana in 1981, he asked his brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward to be his ‘supporters’. This all seems a bit odd and rather outdated to us – not really in keeping with the modern royal image that William and Harry are obviously trying to build.

However, Prince William did away with the stuffy rule and bucked royal tradition at his own wedding when he named Harry as his best man in 2011. Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa also served as maid of honour. So there’s still a chance Harry could also break royal protocol.

Personally, while we’re looking forward to the wedding next year, we’re mainly excited to see the inevitable fall out from Harry’s stag do. 

And this best man rule isn’t the only quirk related to men and royal weddings. Viewers of William’s wedding to Kate may have spotted that William was not presented with a ring, unlike in most modern marriages. 

The reason for this is that traditionally men were not given wedding rings – it was only during World War II when men started to wear rings as a comforting reminder of home – as well as his personal preference when he explained he “isn’t one for jewellery”.

(Images: Rex)