Lottie Small use the die stamping press at the workshop of Barnard and Westwood in London. Photo / AP
Lottie Small use the die stamping press at the workshop of Barnard and Westwood in London. Photo / AP
The 24-year-old former intern at the printing company that produced the 600 invitations for Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding has said she 'squealed a little bit' when she was given the royal task.
Lottie Small, who works for the Royal Warrant-holding firm Barnard & Westwood, has also admitted that the hardest part of the job was having to keep the secret from her mother.
Miss Small only recently finished her apprenticeship at the London printers and bookbinders and said she was 'unbelievably excited' to be given the enormous responsibility.
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for the media. Photo / AP
She told The Daily Telegraph: "The worst thing is keeping it from Mum. With anything else, she'd be the first person I would call and she'd share in my excitement."
The guests at the wedding will attend the service at St George's Chapel before they all make their way to a lunchtime reception at St George's Hall, which is being given by the Queen.
Later that evening, 200 guests are invited to the private reception at Frogmore House given by The Prince of Wales.
The invitation stipulates a strict dress code with men asked to don military uniform - likely to be worn by Harry, a former solder who is now Captain General of Royal Marines - or a morning coat and lounge hat, with women asked to wear a day dress and hat.
The invitations, posted this week, have been produced by company Barnard & Westwood, which has held a Royal Warrant for Printing & Bookbinding by Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985.
Using American ink on English card, the invites - on thick white card gilded along the edge - feature printed italic writing and are issued under Charles's name and bear his heraldic feathers embossed in gold at the top.
Each invitation was printed by Lottie Small, who recently completed her apprenticeship, on a machine from the 1930s that she affectionately nicknamed 'Maude'.
The invitations are similar to the ones sent out for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011 - although these were in a different font and were issued with the Queen's royal cypher.
They featured the words "The Lord Chamberlain is commanded by the Queen to invite...."
The invitations read: "His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales KG KT requests the pleasure of the company of....... at the marriage of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales with Ms Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on Saturday 19th May, 2018 at 12 Noon followed by a reception at Windsor Castle."
The royal couple will marry at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19, with millions of people expected to watch around the world.
They will then embark on a carriage procession around the Berkshire town, cheered by residents and visitors, before a reception at St George's Hall.
The young printer adds gold ink to the die stamping press. Photo / AP
A smaller number of guests will join them at the evening receptions hosted by Prince Charles.
Standing about half a mile south of Windsor Castle in Windsor Home Park, Frogmore House has been a Royal Residence since 1792.
Small cuts the crests being used on the invitations for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in May. Photo / AP
Frogmore House is where Harry and Ms Markle posed for their official engagement photos.
The location of the venue - away from the Castle - will offer the pair privacy as they celebrate with friends and family.
Palace aides have previously said that the prince and Ms Markle's wedding will 'reflect their characters and personalities' and be a moment of "fun and joy".
The Queen will attend, as will the rest of the royal family, along with Ms Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte are likely to take on the roles of pageboy and bridesmaid.
The royal family are paying for the wedding, including the church service, the music, the flowers and the reception.
But the security costs for the high-profile event are being covered by the state.
Small cuts the crests being used on the invitations. Photo / AP
A spokesman for Kensington Palace said: 'Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle are hugely grateful for the many good wishes they have received since announcing their engagement. They are very much looking forward to the day and to being able to share their celebrations with the public.'
Harry proposed to Suits star Ms Markle during a cosy night in over a roast chicken dinner after a 16-month whirlwind romance.
In his engagement interview he told of how "the stars were aligned" when he fell for his future wife, whom he met on a blind date.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will marry the couple and the Rt Rev David Conner, Dean of Windsor, will conduct the service at the Castle's 15th century chapel.
The wedding takes place on the same date as the the 2018 FA Cup Final and, as president of the Football Association, Harry's older brother the Duke of Cambridge usually attends the FA Cup Final and presents the trophy.
Windsor Castle is less than 30 miles from Wembley Stadium and about an hour's drive – meaning that William would be away from the celebrations for a minimum of two hours if he was to dash off to present the silverware.
Last month, the second-in-line to the throne joked about whether or not he would be best man, quipping: 'He hasn't asked me yet – it could be a sensitive issue.'
He also said he is 'still working' on the date clash between the wedding and the football.
Meanwhile Meghan was whisked off to A-list favourite Soho Farmhouse for a two-night stay with some of her closest friends earlier this month - with rumours abound they had enjoyed an early hen do.
Invitations for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding. Photo / AP
Two of Meghan's closest friends, Pilates instructor Heather Dorak and New York-based TV producer Lindsay Jill Ross are believed to have made the trip from the US for the weekend event.
Quality Street heiress Millie Mackintosh was thought to be in the running to be a bridesmaid at the wedding - but she was not thought to be in attendance at the weekend getaway.
Millie struck up a close friendship with Prince Harry's American fiancée after they were introduced in 2016.
Meghan has also cited the reality star as one of her 'go-to' friends to exercise with, and talk all things fashion due to their own clothes lines.
Other members of Ms Markle's high-profile girl gang including Serena Williams, actress Priyanka Chopra, Suits co-star Abigail Spencer and fashion designer Misha Nonoo, who are likely to be invited to her bridal shower.
Ms Markle could also extend the invite to royals and members of their inner circle including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Violet von Westenholz, Prince Harry's childhood friend who is believed to have played a role in introducing the couple.
It had been suspected that Harry and Meghan would select a banana cake for their upcoming nuptials because the Prince loves "anything with banana".
But instead they have gone for a lemon and elderflower creation to reflect their springtime wedding date.
Meghan is known to be a fan of peonies, which will be in bloom at the time of her Windsor wedding, and East End based baker Claire Ptak has used peonies on her stylish wedding cakes in the past.
Claire makes wedding cakes on request and Harry and Meghan's lemon and elderflower creation appears to be a unique custom design just for the royal couple.
Announcing the news, Claire wrote on her Instagram account: ''Kinda excited to announce this one! Violet has been chosen to make the wedding cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. They both share so many of the same values regarding food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and of course, flavour!'
Her rustic baking style is a marked difference from Kate and William's traditional wedding cake, which was an eight-tiered iced fruitcake decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers.
How many tiers the next royal bride and groom will have on their cake remains to be seen, but what seems certain is that they are breaking with formal tradition.
And the fact they are eschewing fruitcake does raise another question – the top tier of a wedding cake is traditionally saved for the christening of a couple's first child. In fact, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (with great foresight) kept three tiers of theirs.
Inspiration for the flavour may come from close to home. Harry's father, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall were presented with two lemon and Cornish elderflower sponge cakes on a visit to Porthleven in Cornwall last summer.
