Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were gutted at special request at Pippa Middleton's wedding

Catherine's sister Pippa Middleton got married in 2017 - and decided that couples, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, could not sit together at the wedding reception

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were gutted over a special request as they attended Pippa Middleton's wedding back in 2017.

The couple had only started dating less than a year before the wedding and weren't engaged at the time. But Catherine's sister Pippa and her now-husband James Matthews had a strict seating plan at their wedding reception, which meant couples couldn't sit together.

Because of this, Harry sat next to ITV News at Ten presenter Tom Bradby while Meghan shared her table with Roger Federer's wife Mirka. It is believed the decision was made to encourage guests to meet new people by sharing their table with people they didn't know before.

Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote in their book Finding Freedom that the future Duke and Duchess of Sussex eventually reunited near the dance floor after the meal - and at the end of the evening, they spent time together. The authors said: "Sitting together in the custom glass marquee that had been erected on the 18-acre property should have been a fun night for the couple, but, per Pippa's request, no couples sat together."

Another challenge Harry and Meghan faced on the day was that the former Suits actress didn't attend the church ceremony due to fears that the couple's presence at church might overshadow Pippa's big day. On the day, the pair came up with a plan which saw them drive to Berkshire on the day of the wedding - and while Harry attended the church service in Englefield, Meghan stayed in an Airbnb that a close friend had rented on her behalf.

After the ceremony, Harry picked his then-girlfriend up and they had some lunch before heading to the reception at the Middleton's Bucklebury home. Omid and Carolyn claimed a headline which ran on the day of the wedding, comparing Pippa and Meghan's bottoms, contributed to the decision of leaving Meghan out of the church service.

In their book, the two authors wrote: "Harry and Meghan agreed that she couldn't possibly turn up at the church, only fifty metres away from a specially arranged media pen, after such a crass cover story. If they worried their arrival might create a media circus despite taking every precaution, now they had no doubt that it would. Meghan's church outfit and Philip Treacy hat would have to be worn another time."

Once guests arrived at the wedding reception, they had their photo ID checked and their own password to get in. They were greeted by a 140ft glass marquee in the garden, which had been decorated in an enchanted forest theme. Guests took part in a number of fun games and watched an excellent light show before they were served food and drink including mini haggis, deer carpaccio, langoustine claws and asparagus with Hollandaise sauce.

Just under a year later, Pippa and her husband James, along with parents Carole and Michael, and brother James Middleton all attended Meghan and Harry's big day at Windsor Castle. Now Pippa and James have three children, five-year-old son Arthur, three-year-old daughter Grace and one-year-old daughter Rose.