Unseen Video of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Secret Wedding Reception Resurfaces

Intimate moments of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's fairytale wedding reception have finally seen the light of day and given royal enthusiasts a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of their celebration in St. George's Hall at Windsor. While millions of people around the world watched the 2018 ceremony, the private reception was carefully guarded until now. Harry & Meghan, the Netflix documentary series that released never-before-seen footage, captured the pure joy of their special evening. The candid snapshots from the series, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus, really showed what actual celebration and romance look like.

In one tender moment that captured the hearts of all, Prince Harry is seen dipping his new bride low during their dance; every frame beholds their happiness. "I just really wanted the music to be fun. Even our first dance," Markle said in the documentary, her eyes lighting up at the memory. The couple chose Wilson Pickett's Land of 1000 Dances for their first dance, spinning 'like a whirlwind' across the floor in what Markle described as 'so great,' as per Mirror. 

The reception itself was a masterclass in elegant celebration. Markle had also changed into a stunning, custom Stella McCartney gown for the evening festivities, which included British actor Idris Elba in the unlikely role of the DJ for the star-studded affair. Of course, during that documenting, glimpses could be seen of guests very much having the time of their lives—the formal atmosphere of this royal wedding giving way to true celebration.

This was an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the then-Prince Charles, with only some 200 guests. Such moments of privacy—that the documentary series aired years later—reveal another dimension to the royal couple, one in which they were at their most natural, joyful selves with friends and family members who had come together to celebrate a love saga.

All this has been part of the couple's bigger story of narrating themselves, especially from 2020 after stepping back from active royal duties. The footage here is both poignant and significant, offering eyes into a slightly happier time before the complicated dynamics of being royals pushed them to forge their own path in California, where they now live with their kids, Archie and Lilibet, as per People.

The timing of the docuseries was quite remarkable, too, as the first three episodes aired on December 8, 2022—a few months after Queen Elizabeth's death and King Charles' rise to the throne. Some more episodes came a week later, including various treasured wedding reception moments, and brought with it that peculiar juxtaposition of the couple's past joy with their evolving relationship with the royal family. The series promised to 'share the other side of their high-profile love story,' and through these closer looks into their wedding celebration, for sure, it did so.