That empty seat at the royal wedding wasn't for Princess Diana

Update, 12:45 p.m.: Royal reporter Rebecca English clarified that the empty chair at the wedding wasn't a tribute to Princess Diana. Instead, it's protocol to leave the seat in front of the Queen empty.

Btw - I’ve seen some reports about the spare seat by Prince William in the chapel as having being left in memory of Princess Diana. It wasn’t empty for that reason. The seat in front of the Queen is always left empty, I am told by BP #royalwedding

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) May 19, 2018

But even with the vacant chair aside, there were plenty of tributes to Princess Diana at the nuptials, including Meghan Markle's veil, her bridal bouquet, the floral arrangements, and the reading from Lady Jane Fellowes, Diana's sister.

Original post, 11:38 a.m.: About 600 guests filled St. George's Chapel for the royal wedding today, but one seat was apparently left vacant—and it's believed to be for Princess Diana. While following along with the nuptials, viewers noticed there was an empty seat next to Prince William on the royal family's side of the congregation. The supposed explanation? It was reserved for Prince Harry's late mother.

Royal fans got emotional over the tribute.

There’ll be a lot of things said & written about Harry & Meghan’s wedding (and rightly so) but one of the stand outs - for me - was the empty seat right next to William ... for Princess Diana 😢💖 #RoyalWedding #HarryAndMegan #PrincessDiana pic.twitter.com/BuWbWRr9Rx

— Jason Reeves (@JaseReeves) May 19, 2018

Aside from the empty chair, the royal nuptials was laden with special nods to the late princess, who passed away in 1997. All three of her siblings were present at today's ceremony, and her sister Lady Jane Fellowes gave a reading.

The white roses in the floral arrangements were also included in honor of Harry's mom. He reportedly hand-picked Meghan's bouquet of forget-me-nots, his mother's favorite flower. Markle gave a sweet shoutout with her veil, which was reminiscent of Diana's insanely long "monarch-length" headpiece for her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles in 1981.

To top it off, Sir Elton John, a longtime friend of Diana, performed at the lunchtime reception

There was also apparently an empty chair left at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in Westminster Abbey seven years ago. Viewers at the time also speculated on Twitter that it was a nod to the groom's late mother.

Who's sitting in that empty chair to Camilla's left? Is that for Diana or something? #RoyalWedding

— David Kae (@DavidAtlanta) April 29, 2011

A moving tribute of an empty chair for the late Princess Diana. Gone but never forgotten. #royalwedding

— Donnie Dhillon (@DonnieDhillon) April 29, 2011

Prince William and Kate Middleton paid tribute to Diana in various ways on their wedding day in 2011. First and foremost, the Duke gave his bride his mother's engagement ring. They also visited her grave before their wedding day. The address was given by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, who knew Diana and spoke at her 10th anniversary memorial, Reuters reports. Finally, the hymn "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer," which was sung at the late princess' funeral, was also included in her son's royal wedding.

(Source: Harper's Bazaar)