One of Meghan Markle's Bridesmaids Didn't Have a Bouquet at the Royal Wedding—Here's Why
When Meghan Markle walked down the aisle of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle last weekend for her royal wedding, she did so surrounded not by the requisite childhood pals and college girlfriends, but a group of tiny toddler bridesmaids and pageboys. This surprisingly well-behaved crew, which included Prince George and Princess Charlotte, trailed Markle to the altar, carried her veil, and were prominently featured in not one but two of the newlyweds’ official wedding portraits. If you’ve spent most of your waking hours since they were released on Monday studying every single inch of the photos (same), you may have noticed a curious detail: The pint-size wedding party appears to be one bouquet short.
Before you dive into “The Case of the Missing Royal Wedding Bouquet,” however, People has already cleared up the mystery. The bouquet-less bridesmaid is Ivy Mulroney, daughter of Meghan Markle’s close friend Jessica Mulroney, who had to keep her hands free during the ceremony for a pretty big job: holding the Duchess of Sussex’s own flowers. The 4-year-old didn’t seem to mind not having her own arrangement to carry, though, because she was able to hold hands with two of her new friends and fellow bridesmaids as they walked down the aisle together. And in one of the official portraits, bridesmaid Florence van Cutsem, Harry’s goddaughter, appears to have kindly let Ivy share her bouquet.
Earlier this week, wedding photographer Alexi Lubomirski explained just how he got the kids to sit still for those sweet portraits. “They were being bribed with one Smartie here, one Smartie there, so as soon as the kids came onto the set, I immediately just shouted out, ‘Who likes Smarties?’ and then everybody, hands up, smiles, even some adults put their hands up,” Lubomirski said, which completely explains the huge grins on every kid’s face.