Archbishop of Canterbury rejects Harry and Meghan's wedding claims

Britain's Prince Harry pulls back the veil of Meghan Markle watched by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby during their wedding at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in 2018. Photo / AP

The Archbishop of Canterbury has finally ended weeks of speculation and refuted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's claim that they were married in a secret ceremony ahead of their Windsor wedding.

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Justin Welby poured cold water on the claims but refused to divulge what really went on at his earlier meetings with Harry and Meghan.

In the couple's landmark interview with talkshow queen Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle made the bombshell claim that the pair wed in secret before their official royal wedding.

Markle said she and Harry were married "just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury".

Harry and Meghan made their claim during their Oprah Winfrey interview. Photo / Supplied

In his interview with the Italian newspaper, the Archbishop denied the claims.

"The legal wedding was on the Saturday," he categorically stated.

Pressed for details on his meetings with the couple, Welby demurred, saying: "If any of you ever talk to a priest, you expect them to keep that talk confidential. It doesn't matter who I'm talking to."

He went on: "I had a number of private and pastoral meetings with the duke and duchess before the wedding.

"I signed the wedding certificate, which is a legal document, and I would have committed a serious criminal offence if I signed it knowing it was false. So you can make what you like about it. But the legal wedding was on the Saturday. But I won't say what happened at any other meetings."

The Archbishop's denial follows the royal couple's own backtracking of their earlier claims.

Through a spokesman, the couple told US news site The Daily Beast: "The couple exchanged personal vows a few days before their official/legal wedding on May 19."