Former Spalding school boy Rev Mark Edwards investigated Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'garden wedding'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘garden wedding’ was just a ‘private conversation’ with the Archbishop of Canterbury, a vicar from Spalding who investigated the matter, has claimed.

Former Spalding schoolboy Rev Mark Edwards MBE decided to look into Meghan’s claims after receiving many requests for private weddings during Covid lockdowns, which he has had to decline.

Rev Edwards, who grew up in care at Ivo Cottage, in Albion Street, Spalding and attended the Gleed Boys’ School, is now the vicar at St Matthew’s Church, in Dinnington, and St Cuthbert’s Church, in Brunswick, Newcastle upon Tyne.

He said he was told by a Lambeth Palace staff member that, “Justin (Welby, the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury) does not do private weddings. Meghan is an American, she does not understand”.

He says the claim has caused confusion among clergy and couples anxious to tie the knot and is asking the Archbishop of Canterbury to clarify the situation.

Rev Edwards, who famously rebuilt his life after being abused in care, sectioned to a mental hospital and attempting suicide, said: “It puts us priests in a difficult position on what constitutes a Church of England wedding.

“Should there be witnesses and licensing and legality or is it now just an ad hoc arrangement with members of clergy?

“Can we now do private weddings in back gardens without witnesses?

“Justin refusing to comment is not helpful to the rest of us clergy and our own policies and practices.

“I have had people ask me during lockdown if they could have a private wedding, and I have had to explain that would not be a legal wedding.

“I think we need a clarifying statement – we need to know what our policies and procedures are. It can’t appear to be one rule for one and another rule for another.”

In the bombshell interview with famous chat show host Oprah Winfrey last week, the Duchess of Sussex said: “Three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that.”

Later on in the show Harry said it had been just them and the Archbishop present. Rev Edwards said the person he spoke to told him: “Justin had a private conversation with the couple in the garden about the wedding, but I can assure you, no wedding took place until the televised national event.”

Vicars have cast doubt on Meghan’s claims since the interview, as rules on Church of England weddings require at least two witnesses, and the public must have ‘unrestricted access’ to the ceremony so objections can be lodged.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has so far said he will not comment on Meghan’s comments as it is a private matter.

But Rev Edwards said it was “in the public interest for the leader of the church to put the record straight”.

In their Oprah interview, Meghan (39) and Harry (36) revealed they held a private ‘union’ in their back garden in which they shared personal vows for “just the two of us”.

At the time, Harry and Meghan were living in a private home in the grounds of Kensington Palace, Nottingham Cottage, which is where they got engaged.

Speaking about the royal wedding, Meghan said that she felt as though the star-studded event “wasn’t our day”.

During the wedding, the couple exchanged traditional vows, which were viewed by millions of people around the world.