SA expats will party regally
SOUTH African expats living in London will be partying into the wee hours of the morning after Saturday’s royal wedding.
Street parties are being finalised and the Union Jack flag is flying in all its glory, in central London, to prepare for the wedding of the year.
“Everyone is really excited. It’s not every day that you get to be part of a royal wedding like this. It is also awesome that the royal household has changed and adopted a modern outlook,” said 40-year-old Deon Pillay, the head of fund reporting and regulatory change at an invest management company. He has been living in New Hendon Village in London for 17 years.
“Celebrations are being planned across the country their vows, is expected to be shown outdoors. I know a lot of friends who are hosting or attending a wedding celebration party.”
He said the royal family are showing they promote racial diversity as Markle is of African-American descent. Pillay, formerly of Pietermaritzburg, added that this would be his third royal wedding experience.
He saw Prince Harry’s father, Prince Charles, tie the knot with Diana Spencer on television while living in South Africa, and his brother, Prince William, marry Kate Middleton.
Mellissa Mallaya-Pandya, who moved to Croydon and Kent in South London sixand-a-half years ago, said: “Celebrations are being planned across the city, from tea parties to pubs planning weekend parties. I’ve been invited to a few Meghan hen do’s and drinks.”
Having found her Prince Charming, her husband Paresh, an intuitive life coach, in London she said she was in the country when Prince William and Kate Middleton exchanged nuptials.
“I watched it on television with my husband’s family. Many residents requested their streets be closed to host parties,” she recalled.
“I remember watching Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding on telly. My school had brought TVs in and we watched it in class. I was very young and fell in love with the idea of a real princess and carriages, and I still remember her dress as the most exquisite dress I’d ever seen.”
But this time around, she won’t be watching the wedding live as she’s planning a holiday to ring in her birthday.
Mallaya-Pandya, formerly of Westville in Durban, is a palm reader and worked with her sister Jayshree. They are known as the Mystic Sisters.
Describing Prince Harry and Markle as an inspirational couple, Arthi Cobb said she found that Londoners were genuinely happy for them.
Cobb, 33, a recruitment director, relocated to east London from Johannesburg 11 years ago.
“While I’ve not noticed a tangible difference in the atmosphere just yet, I expect a lot of excitement this week. Everyone I know and have spoken to is happy for them. I look forward to watching the wedding on television with my family.”