Justin Welby quotes Stormzy to sooth Royal Wedding nerves

The archbishop of Canterbury is taking inspiration from grime artist Stormzy's song Blinded By Your Grace to calm any Royal Wedding nerves. 

Justin Welby, 62, will officiate at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19 and has admitted to being nervous.

Asked what he was doing to prepare and keep calm the archbishop, who is the most senior cleric in the Church of England, quoted a line from the south London artist.

'There's a line in that - "I stay prayed up and get the job done" - I think that sort of sums it up,' he told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.

He told presenter Lorna Bailey: 'I'm always nervous at weddings because it is such an important day for the couple - whoever they are.'

He added: 'I've made a couple of cack-handed mistakes over the last couple of weddings I've been involved in and I'm thinking this is probably not a good moment to make it a hat-trick.'

Justin Welby has spoken about his nerves ahead of the Royal Wedding later this month. ITV

The last wedding Welby officiated at, for his head of communications at Lambeth Palace, he dropped one of the rings. And in the one before, for his daughter, he gave the vows in the wrong order during the rehearsal.

Welby has been involved in preparing the royal couple for the wedding and officiated when Meghan was baptised into the Church of England in a secret ceremony he described as 'beautiful' and 'very special'.

In a 20-minute interview for BBC Coventry, where Welby was previously canon and sub-dean at the cathedral for 15 years, he chose two songs to play. The first was Simon and Garfunkel's The Boxer, the second was Stormzy's Blinded By Your Grace. 

News
250 doctors and nurses in Wales urge Senedd to vote against assisted suicide
250 doctors and nurses in Wales urge Senedd to vote against assisted suicide

While the Welsh Parliament cannot stop the bill, they may be able to make Westminster think twice.

Coalition of 13 aid agencies urge UK action as Sudan war reaches 1,000-day mark
Coalition of 13 aid agencies urge UK action as Sudan war reaches 1,000-day mark

Humanitarian organisations have renewed calls for urgent UK government intervention as the conflict in Sudan passes 1,000 days, warning that the country is now facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world.

Fulani herdsmen kill 13 Christians in central Nigeria
Fulani herdsmen kill 13 Christians in central Nigeria

Fulani herdsmen arrived at midnight on Monday and shot four Christians who had been asleep in their homes.

Franklin Graham asks for prayers for US amid ICE tensions
Franklin Graham asks for prayers for US amid ICE tensions

The Rev Franklin Graham is calling on Americans to join him in a “time of prayer and repentance” this week, warning that “our nation is in trouble” amid a volatile political climate.