‘I just think they’re cool’

Millennials embrace royal wedding

TORONTO • Laura Moniz was never especially interested in the Royal Family, but she is going all out to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The 32-year-old schoolteacher says she has invited a group of her girlfriends to a slumber party the night before the May 19 nuptials, when they will drink cocktails, make funny hats and then get up early the next morning to watch what they hope will be an over-the-top spectacle at Windsor Castle.

She expects there will be kitschy bingo games and snarky comments, but also some genuine joy for the new couple: “I just think they’re cool,” says Moniz.

Moniz has always been partial to Prince Harry over older brother Prince William, and says she is delighted with the way Markle is shaking up tradition.

“She’s older than Harry, which kind of breaks the narrative a little bit, she’s American, she’s biracial, she’s been divorced before. She’s kind of turning the Royal Family on its head, which I think is awesome. And it really gives the royals a nice shot in the arm in the sense of relevancy.”

Markle and her prince certainly seem to have struck a chord with millennials in a way that Prince William and Kate have not, says marketing expert Lisa Raffaele, VP of client services of the Toronto PR company Punch.

Raffaele says she’s seen a marked interest in millennial chatter around the royal couple, and suspects much of it is driven by Markle’s celebrity as a TV actress from the Toronto-shot Suits and her previously robust Instagram and blog posts, which outlined favourite fashions, foods and social trends.

“We’re noticing an uptick on this particular wedding versus other royal weddings. Mostly because the couple is appearing to be a lot more accessible and relevant,” says Raffaele.

Punch’s account director Annie Hennessey concurs, adding that Prince Harry’s reputation as a renegade royal has made him more relatable precisely because he is rough around the edges.

Of course, the wedding has a strong older following, too.

Daniel Demois, co-owner of the Fox Theatre in Toronto’s east end, says he expects a mostly senior crowd when his theatre opens its doors May 19 to display the festivities on the big screen.

“It will definitely cater to an older crowd just because of the nature of it — it’s a wedding, we’re serving tea, that’s just the feel that I get,” he says.