Spiced-up royal rumour
As a 13-year-old, Britain’s Prince Harry described meeting them as the best day of his life. So who better to perform at his wedding than the Spice Girls? Mel B, known to fans as “Scary Spice”, has sparked a rumour that the band will perform at the royal wedding of Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle on May 19.
The prince, now 33, met the Spice Girls shortly after the death of his mother, Princess Diana. In November 1997, Harry made his first public appearance after the funeral, at a charity concert in Johannesburg, where he and his father watched the band perform.
The Associated Press reported: “By bringing Harry with him on the trip, Charles fulfilled Diana’s wish that their son should visit Africa.”
Sandy Henney, then press secretary to Prince Charles, recalled asking the band to meet the young prince, reminding them that he had recently lost his mother.
Mel C and Victoria Beckham “fussed over him”, said Henney, while Emma Bunton kissed him on the cheek, leaving the prince “like the cat who’d got the cream”.
He is said to have described the meeting as the best day of his life, and went on to host the band for tea.
His fiancée, who grew up in the US, is reported to also be a fan of the band whose motto was “Girl Power”.
The Spice Girls have given other indications of regrouping, saying in a statement: “The time now feels right to explore some incredible new opportunities together.”
Appearing on US TV chat show The Real this week, Mel B was asked whether she knew any fellow Britons who had been invited to the wedding.
Nodding, she confessed: “Yeah, I’m going . . . I don’t know if I should’ve said that!” She then added: “Well, us five Spice Girls . . . why am I so honest?”
The singer, who gained a reputation as the most outspoken of the group in its heyday, appeared to struggle to say nothing as she was asked outright whether they would be performing, looking down with a smile and shaking her head in mock frustration.
Throwing her cue cards in the air, the show’s host screamed, ran around the studio and exclaimed: “Yes, they are performing! Yes!”
“I need to go,” said Mel B. “I’m going to be fired.” Asked for details on what the wedding invitation looked like, she said: “It was proper. I’m not saying any more.”
Kensington Palace did not wish to comment on the claims, but it is understood that invitations to nonperforming wedding guests have not yet been posted.
Other artists tipped to perform include Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Sophie Ellis Bextor, whose song Murder on the Dance Floor Markle once cited as a favourite.
Harry recently praised Markle’s taste in music, saying he could vouch for her “good tunes”.
The Spice Girls have a long record of mixing with royalty, with Geri Halliwell famously kissing Prince Charles on the cheek and appearing to pinch his bottom.
In 1997, then deputy president Thabo Mbeki joined Charles, Harry and the Spice Girls for a photo session.
At another meeting the same week, president Nelson Mandela called the band his heroines and joked: “I don’t want to be emotional but this is one of the greatest moments of my life.”
Charles was quick to respond: “It is the second greatest moment in my life . . . the first was when I met them the first time.”