Why There Was One Empty Seat at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Wedding

Viewers watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding on Saturday morning noticed an empty seat among the royal family during the ceremony.

While some might have thought this was a symbolic move in honor of Princess Diana, there was a much less exciting reason for it.

Sources told PEOPLE the chair was left empty so Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, had a perfect view of the ceremony. The 92-year-old Queen was seated in the second row, alongside husband Prince Philip. Harry’s brother, Prince William, who served as Best Man, sat in the front row next to his father, Prince Charles. But no one sat in the seat to William’s right.

During William’s 2011 marriage to Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Queen did not need an empty seat in front of her because she sat in the front row.

While the seat was not a tribute to the late Princess Diana, the ceremony included several other references to Harry and William’s mother. Their lavish floral arrangement, designed with floral designer Philippa Craddock, included white garden roses, one of Diana’s favorite flowers. It also included peonies and foxgloves.

Diana’s siblings were also on the quest list. Sir Elton John, who famously re-wrote “Candle in the Wind” for Diana, performed at the luncheon after the ceremony. John also performed at Diana’s funeral in 1997.

Markle’s engagement ring also includes diamonds from Diana’s collection.

“The little diamonds on either side are from my mother’s jewellery collection to make sure that she’s with us on this crazy journey together,” Harry said when they announced their engagement last fall.

Markle added, “It’s so important to me to know that [Diana] is part of this with us.”

Markle, the new Duchess of Sussex, and Harry were married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle Saturday morning. Since Markle’s father Thomas Markle Sr. did not attend the ceremony, Prince Charles walked her down the aisle.

Markle also made a big change to the traditional wedding vow, dropping the promise to “obey” her new husband in a feminist move. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer originally has the bride vowing to “love, cherish and obey” her husband, but she edited it to reflect modern vows. Catherine also omitted it at the 2011 wedding.

Markle was raised in the Episcopalian faith and went to Catholic high school in Los Angeles. She was baptized before the wedding, although she was not required to be.

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