Prince Harry's American actress fiancee, Meghan Markle, is to be baptised and confirmed as an Anglican Christian by the Church of England at a ceremony at Kensington Palace in London this month.
The 36-year-old, who was raised as a Protestant Christian in California, will formally embrace the Anglican faith in a private service at the palace's 19th-century chapel by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
According to The Sunday Times, among the family members expected to be present for the ceremony is Markle's father, Thomas Markle, who lives in Mexico and has not yet met his future son-in-law. Her mother, Doria Ragland, is expected to travel from her home in California.
A source close to the couple told the newspaper that the bride-to-be asked the Archbishop to conduct the service "as she has formed a close bond with him. She and Harry have been doing wedding prep with him".
The couple will marry on Saturday, May 19, at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Markle was not required to become an Anglican in order to marry Harry in the royal church, but she is understood to have chosen to be baptised and confirmed out of respect for the Queen's role as Head of the Church of England.
Markle's father, a Hollywood lighting director, belonged to the Episcopalian denomination the main US offshoot of the Anglican church and her mother belonged to another Protestant sect. When she was six, her parents divorced and Markle went on to attend the Catholic Immaculate Heart girls-only high school.
Her first husband, Trevor Engelson, was Jewish, but she did not take his faith. The couple married in 2011 and divorced two years later.
Meanwhile, the UK government has approved the late opening of pubs in the UK for celebrations during the royal wedding weekend in May.
At the end of a four-week public consultation, UK home secretary Amber Rudd confirmed this week that licensing hours across England and Wales would be relaxed to mark the royal wedding.
It means pubs, bars and other licensed premises serving alcohol in the country can keep serving until 1 am on the morning of the nuptials, and again after the couple have tied the knot.
"The royal wedding is a chance for communities across the country to join together and celebrate this momentous and happy occasion for our royal family and for our nation," Rudd said.
"As shown by the support for the proposal to extend licensing hours, it's clear that the public back the idea of having more time to raise a glass to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on a day of national celebration."
The Home Secretary can make an order relaxing alcohol serving hours for bars, which are usually limited till 11pm every night, for a "celebration period" to mark an occasion of exceptional international, national or local significance.
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