Queen consents to Prince Harry, Markle wedding

“I declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between My Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales and Rachel Meghan Markle,” the Queen said at a meeting of her Privy Council in Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.

She said her consent would be “signified under the Great Seal” and entered into the register of the Privy Council, an ancient body of councillors that dates back hundreds of years.

Prince Harry and Markle, who starred in the US television drama “Suits”, will marry on May 19 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, a royal residence located west of London.

British law states that the monarch must give their consent for the marriage of the six people next in line for the throne.

Harry is fifth in line after his father Prince Charles, brother Prince William and William’s children George and Charlotte.

He will be bumped down to sixth place when William’s wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, gives birth next month.

The Privy Council is a kind of royal advisory body and has around 400 members, including religious and political leaders.

Markle was baptised by the leader of the Church of England earlier this month ahead of her marriage to Harry out of respect for the Queen’s role as head of the denomination.