Royal wedding invitations sent

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding invites have been sent out.

Kensington Palace has confirmed that the invitations for the couple's big day on May 19 are on their way to their guests. The couple are inviting a number of people to the service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, followed by a lunchtime reception, and there are also 200 invites going out for the evening reception, to be held at the nearby Frogmore House.

A series of tweets on Kensington Palace's official Twitter account reads: "Invitations to the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have been issued in the name of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

"Guests have been invited to the service at St George's Chapel and to the lunchtime reception at St George's Hall, which is being given by Her Majesty The Queen. Later that evening, around 200 guests are being invited to the reception at Frogmore House given by The Prince of Wales."

The invitations are being created by Barnard and Westwood and use gold and black American ink on English card.

Kensington Palace added: "The invitations follow many years of Royal tradition and have been made by @BarnardWestwood. They feature the Three-Feathered Badge of the Prince of Wales printed in gold ink. Lottie Small, who recently completed her apprenticeship, printed all of the invitations in a process known as die stamping, on a machine from the 1930s that she affectionately nicknamed Maude.

"Using American ink on English card, the invitations are printed in gold and black, then burnished to bring out the shine, and gilded around the edge. @BarnardWestwood have been making Royal invitations since 1985, and Managing Director Austen Kopley said he was thrilled and honoured to be making them. (sic)"

- Bang! Showbiz