WINDSOR, England, May 19 (Reuters) – Prince Harry and his bride Meghan married on Saturday in a dazzling ceremony that blended ancient English ritual with African American culture, watched up close by royals and celebrities and from afar by a global TV audience of millions.

Wearing a veil, diamond tiara and a sleek dress with a long train, Meghan was accompanied up the aisle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor by Harry’s father, Prince Charles, before she and Harry exchanged vows and were proclaimed husband and wife.

The union of Harry, a former royal wild child and sixth-in-line to the British throne, and actress Meghan, a divorcee whose mother is African-American and father is white, brought a measure of modern glamour and diversity into the monarchy.

The couple kissed on the steps of the chapel as they emerged into the sunlight after the ceremony, delighting vast crowds who had descended on the genteel town to witness a spectacular show of British pomp and pageantry.

Newly styled the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after Queen Elizabeth bestowed those titles on them, the couple then sat in an open-top horse-drawn coach for a tour of Windsor, cheered by a sea of well-wishers along every inch of the route.

As well as traditional Church of England anthems and delicate English choral music, the ceremony also featured a gospel choir singing “Stand by Me”, the 1960s hit by American soul singer Ben E. King.

Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, 61, accompanied her daughter to the chapel in a vintage Rolls Royce and shed tears of emotion at several points during the ceremony.

Meghan entered the chapel unescorted, offering TV viewers and the congregation a first good look at her hotly anticipated wedding dress, which was created by British designer Clare Waight Keller of the French fashion house Givenchy.

The royal couple, who met on a blind date in 2016 and fell in love in a tent under the stars in Botswana, tied the knot in a castle that has been home to 39 English monarchs since 1066.

Harry and Meghan will not immediately leave for a honeymoon and will carry out their first official engagement as husband and wife next week.

Despite being unlikely to ever ascend to the throne as he is behind his father, brother and three nieces and nephews in the line of succession, Harry has been at the forefront of efforts to modernize the monarchy in recent years.

Congratulations to the Royal Couple!