Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Clarify: Exchange of Personal Vows, Not Marriage Before the Royal Wedding

After previously sharing the 'secret wedding' three days before their exchanged vows in front of a global audience during their May 2018 royal wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle clarified on Monday that what happened three days prior was not marriage, in its technical definition.

Exchange of Vows, Not Secret Wedding

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's spokesperson shared that the couple exchanged only 'personal vows.' The spokesperson also acknowledged that the executed private event of the couple did not constitute any legal or official service.

According to The Mercury News, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared during their interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 7 and implied that the personal exchange of vows which took place in a Kensington Palace's garden, was their legal wedding. They also mentioned that the secret wedding was presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Moreover, the 39-year-old former actress said during the tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview that the secret wedding happened three days before their wedding, and no one knows about it. Meghan also shared that the vows that they have framed in their room are just between the two of them in their backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

However, the statements by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Winfrey cast doubts and gave ammunition to the couple's critics, questioning the credibility of other things that they have mentioned during their explosive interview. The statements in the interview also prompted officials from the Church of England to cast doubt on the claims regarding the secret wedding in the couple's backyard, citing that the church law states that a wedding is not legal unless witnessed by two individuals or it will take place in a certified place of worship, Insider reported.

In addition, the archbishop's office stated to a Newcastle vicar after being requested for clarification that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby does not do private weddings. The office also mentioned that Meghan is an American, and she does not understand.

Critics Cast Doubts

Rev Mark Edwards, the vicar at St Matthew's Church, in Dinnington, and St Cuthbert's Church, in Brunswick, said that he had a private conversation with the couple in the garden regarding the secret wedding and emphasized that there's no wedding that took place prior to the televised national event. The vicar also mentioned that a Lambeth Palace staff member confirmed that there is no secret wedding.

Also, critics of the couple grabbed the opportunity and the timing of the said inaccuracies and discrepancies in their tell-all interview in an attempt to undermine a number of damaging revelations that the couple said about the royal family. But defenders of Harry and Meghan stated that Meghan was merely making the point that their exchange of private vows in the garden was more of a personal promise for them as it was specified on the interview that it happened between them and not part of a spectacle for the world, Birmingham Mail reported.

Meanwhile, former chief clerk at the Church of England office that grants marriage licenses, Stephen Borton, stated that Meghan is obviously confused and clearly misinformed. They did not marry three days before in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

WATCH: Inside the Royal Family's 'Deep Sorrow and Shock' Over Meghan and Harry's Oprah Interview - from PEOPLE