When it comes to a royal wedding, it's all about location, location, location.
In 1981, Harry's mother, the former Lady Diana Spencer, wed his father, Prince Charles, before 3,500 guests at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Years later, in 2011, Harry's brother William wed the former Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey before nearly 2,000 guests.
On May 19, Harry's betrothed, American Meghan Markle, will be escorted by her father, Thomas Markle, down an aisle decorated with branches of beech, birch, hornbeam, white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves before 600 guests in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle to wed her own Prince Charming.
Markle will be following in the footsteps of other royal brides. More than a dozen royal weddings have taken place at the chapel, including both the intimate prayer ceremony that marked the two-part wedding of Prince Charles to his second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, in 2005 and Harry's uncle Prince Edward's wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999.
St. George's Chapel, located within the 900-plus-year-old Windsor Castle, is a part of the residence of the royal family, whose dynasty name, Windsor derives from the sprawling fortress built by William the Conqueror. Queen Elizabeth II spends most weekends at Windsor Castle when she is in London. In addition to the chapel, the castle contains the State Apartments, the Semi-State rooms and the Grand Reception room.
The chapel, an example of English Gothic architecture, is also the resting place of 10 monarchs, including Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. The Queen Mother, Harry's great-grandmother, is also buried in the chapel beside her husband, George VI.
Newer than the castle, the chapel dates back to the 14th century and is nestled in the "lower ward" of the castle grounds. Completed in 1528, it is the site of many royal rituals. In addition to royal weddings and interments, the chapel is the spiritual home to the Order of the Garter, the senior order of British Chivalry established in 1348 by Edward III. It has also been the site for many of the royal family's personal religious ceremonies, including Prince Harry's christening in 1984.
After Harry and Meghan's noon wedding, the couple will board a royal carriage outside the chapel and proceed through Windsor Town, where Windsor Castle is located and home to approximately 32,000 residents. Then they will return to the castle for a formal reception at St. George's Hall
At 180 feet long, the hall is the largest room in Windsor Castle and has been the site of many state banquets. The hall's ceiling and walls are decorated with shields, coats of armor and portraits.
A fire broke out in Windsor Castle in 1992, causing the roof of the hall to collapse. The walls, however, remained intact. Architect Giles Downes remodeled the hall in a modern Gothic style.
After the formal reception, the couple will attend a private sit-down dinner for 200 hosted by Prince Charles at Frogmore House, the 17th-century manor on the castle estate best known as the site of the royal mausoleum where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are buried. Meghan and Harry posed for their official engagement photos on the grounds of Frogmore House.
Located a half-mile south of Windsor Castle, the famed gardens attached to the home contain lakes, glades, walks and bridges with garden buildings interspersed throughout, including a summerhouse in Gothic ruin designed by James Wyatt and a teahouse made for Queen Victoria.