PARTY TIME!
Harry and Meghan’s royal nuptials cause for celebratory get-togethers
In pyjamas and old wedding gowns, with high tea or a bit of the early morning bubbly, royal watchers in North America and around the globe are fascinator-ready to watch the nuptials of Prince Harry and his unprecedented fiancée: Meghan Markle.
He’s the spare to the heir, soon to be booted to fifth in line for the throne, but Harry is forever the people’s prince to many inside and outside the Commonwealth who once wondered whether the bad boy of Windsor would ever tie the knot. She, of TV Suits fame, has whipped up some big fan buzz, including those thrilled by her mixed race heritage.
Their “woke” wedding (the Spice Girls are expected) is May 19 at midday, Windsor Castle time (a.k.a. Greenwich Mean Time), which translates to morning hours in North American time zones.
Viewing party plans are in the works, as are pricey hotel packages and bar meet ups. The frenzied have their own Facebook groups and some have cajoled less-enthused spouses to jet across the pond to watch the pomp in person from a spot on the carriage route.
Hardcore royal enthusiast Julie Brillhart said she fired up her Harry and Meghan Facebook page to connect fans with parties back in November “the minute I woke up in the morning and found out Meghan and Harry were engaged.” She and her twin sister now have nearly 5,000 members.
“We are in love with Meghan Markle,” Brillhart said. “For every little black girl who has ever wanted her very own princess who is a well-known, modern princess, they now have one. Isn’t that wonderful? She will always be our American princess.”
The group’s members share wedding updates and plans for gatherings, and they live in 91 countries on six of the seven continents.
“We’re actively looking for contacts in Antarctica,” Brillhart said. “They had their own Women’s March so we thought wouldn’t it be great for them to have their own little get-together for the wedding.”
Royal media commentator Eloise Parker in New York said much of the U.S. hype is due to Markle’s status not only as an American but a divorced one.
She’s “kind of all of us and we could use a good news story right now,” she said. As for Harry, Parker said, he likely will never be king but, “people have a soft spot for him as the royal bad boy.”
For Esha Dev, who is IndianAmerican, the fact that Markle is a fellow woman of colour offers an added connection.
“There’s definitely that, seeing that representation join the royal family,” she said.
Dev plans to host a viewing party, complete with mimosas, English tea and pastries, for a small group of friends in her tiny one-bedroom apartment in Philadelphia.
“I didn’t even exist when Princess Diana got married,” Dev, 31, said. “The William and Kate wedding didn’t seem like such a big deal to me but this one has really stirred me up.”
For the well-heeled, hotels are also gearing up. The Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., has on offer the Royal Romance Suits You package for a cool US$24,000 with a four-night stay in its Brando Suite.
Upon arrival, guests will receive a bottle of Tignanello and banana cake — Markle’s favourite wine and the flavour chosen for their wedding cake, the hotel said. They also get the Strathberry tote bag that sold out after Markle was pictured carrying it and an introductory helicopter lesson to honour Harry’s service in that department.
A yachting excursion, a bespoke necklace modelled after Meghan’s engagement ring, afternoon tea, traditional English breakfast in bed and dinner at Cafe Boulud are included, with five per cent of proceeds going to some of the couple’s favourite charities, along with a local humane society.
Gossip columnist Rob Shuter, a Brit, royal wedding podcaster and former executive editor of OK! Magazine, called the wedding excitement a slow burn in the U.S., though cheeky Harry has always held a special place in the hearts of many. “I think this wedding is going to be a way for all of us to escape,” he said. “Who doesn’t need that right now?”