An American bishop has been praised for delivering a sensational and passionate sermon at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding on Saturday.
Michael Curry, 64, stole the show with a 12-minute speech, which touched upon slavery, the Old Testament and even quoted Martin Luther King.
The bishop also provoked a few chuckles in the chapel — and even Harry and Meghan couldn’t help but giggle at one point. Meanwhile Prince William seemed to be desperately trying to hold back a fit of laughter.
He began by quoting Martin Luther King: “We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that, we will be able to make of this old world a new world. Love is the only way.”
The bishop then added: “There’s power in love. Don’t underestimate it. Don’t even over-sentimentalise. There is power, power in love.”
Bishop Curry appeared to realise his speech may have overran and said: “We gotta get you all married!”
His passionate speech was praised on social media as many branded him the star of the wedding.
One user said, “Bishop Michael Curry does a Pippa and steals the show,” while another agreed, saying, “If Pippa was the unexpected star of Kate’s wedding, Michael Curry is the star of this one. Wonderful, wonderful sermon.”
Another added: “Goodness gracious, Bishop Michael Curry sure did seize the opportunity there. Wow. Great speech.”
A third wrote: “So I’m officially a fan of Bishop Michael Curry. That was amazing. #RoyalWedding.”
During an interview on Sky News, the bishop said that it was clear to him, and anyone watching, that Prince Harry and Meghan were in love.
“You could watch them looking at each other and it just sent a message of love,” he said. “If you can visually see a relationship, we saw that. People were happy and joyful and thankful and you know what? We need some joy in this world.”
A beautifully emotion-filled Prince Harry turned to his wife-to-be as she stepped up to the altar beside him and said “you look amazing, I missed you”. People worldwide smiled, lipreading his clearly fond remarks as they were beamed around the world onto the television sets of millions of viewers.
The wedding, in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, is believed to have attracted billions of viewers around the world, while more than 100,000 lined the streets in Windsor.