Karen Gibson was on the bus when she got the call from Clarence House, asking if The Kingdom Choir would perform at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.

“My response was, ‘Are you kidding?’” she laughs. “There was complete silence on the other end, so I said, ‘Of course you’re not kidding, are you?’”

Gibson’s surprise belies the fact that The Kingdom Choir – the gospel group she has led for more than 20 years – are no strangers to high-profile bookings. Since she founded the choir in 1996, they have sung in front of the Pope, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu and President Bill Clinton. In 2002, they performed in front of the Queen for her Golden Jubilee.

But, says Gibson, the wedding of the now-Duke and Duchess of Sussex was a unique experience. “You think royalty is royalty, but this was another level altogether,” she says. “It was a very private and intimate ceremony, but on a worldwide platform.”

The 54-year-old is keen to emphasise that it’s “an honour to be invited to anybody’s wedding”. But, of course, Meghan and Harry are “a power couple. They’re royalty, but their interests and concern for making the world a better place make them a very special twosome indeed.” She met the pair before the wedding, and says they were “like any other couple in love organising their wedding, wanting things to be just right”.

Meet the woman who led the choir at Harry and Meghan’s wedding