Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding is so soon after Prince Louis’ birth

It appears that Prince Harry and Meghan had a very good reason for wanting to get married in May.

With no need to reserve their wedding venue years in advance and an array of sun-drenched summer months to choose from, many have questioned why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose a wedding date just weeks after their sister-in-law Kate Middleton's due date.

The Duchess of Cambridge, 36, will be fewer than four weeks postpartum when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot on May 19, having given birth to her third child at the end of April, and some people have argued that this seems a little 'unfair' to Kate. However, it seems there’s a very good reason for the wedding being so soon after Prince Louis’ birth, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanting to get married in May 2018.

‘One of the reasons that Prince Harry has wanted this wedding to happen quite quickly — this is really whirlwind by royal standards — is because his 96-year-old grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, is retired now and Prince Harry really wants him to be at his wedding,' royals expert and author of the biography Harry: Life, Loss, and Love Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight.

According to Nicholl, Prince Harry, 33, is ‘incredibly close to his grandfather’ and ‘thought it was it was a great thing to [have] the wedding sooner rather than later, so his grandfather could be there, fit and healthy’.

Sadly, the Duke of Edinburgh has suffered several health problems in recent months and in April he was admitted to hospital and underwent hip surgery.

‘It is the case that Harry wanted to marry sooner than later so that his grandfather could be in good health, and he wouldn’t want to overshadow the Queen’s official birthday celebrations in June or interrupt her long summer holiday in Scotland,' Nicholl continued.

Nicholls went on to say that she believes Prince Harry and his bride-to-be would also have consulted with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge regarding the date.

‘It was a case of them deciding to get married and then finding a suitable date. Royal weddings usually happen in the spring and May was the month that obviously worked for everyone’s diaries,’ she added.

‘It is close to the Duchess having had her third baby but Harry has made sure there is no pressure on Kate to do anything at the wedding other than show up.’

Last week Buckingham Palace revealed that they are hopeful Philip will be at the wedding ceremony, but his attendance is not guaranteed.

He is currently recuperating at home following his operation, and when asked whether or not he would be there on May 19 to see Harry and Meghan tie-the-knot, a Palace aide replied: ‘We very much hope so.'

Words by Kirsty McCormack