Royal lookalikes grace parties for Harry and Meghan’s wedding
A QUEEN Elizabeth II lookalike held court in umhlanga yesterday as 200 women – and two men – celebrated the wedding of Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. And there was another royal wedding spoof at a house in Morningside in Durban.
At the Oyster Box Hotel in umhlanga, people from all over the country dressed in their finery, including fascinators and tiaras, converged for a right royal brunch at the fivestar hotel.
With red, white and blue bunting strung across the function room, giant paintings of London buses, cabs and telephone boxes and Union Jack and St George flags on the walls, they were transported to the scene of the wedding on the other side of the world.
While the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex were stealing the show at Windsor, the Queen Elizabeth II double was basking in the limelight in umhlanga. The local “queen”, Barbie Hamilton, is the personal assistant of the hotel’s general manager, Wayne Coetzer, and guests were queuing up for photographs with her.
In Morningside, guests gathered to watch the royal wedding with their own looka-like royal couple. As the proceedings unfolded at Buckingham Palace, Henry Charles Smith, 25, and his girlfriend Maxine Botha, 25, stood in front of the guests.
Back at the Oyster Box, the “queen” was in an outfit made by Cindy Meyer of JLS Clothing in Durban, her hat was made by Jeanie Nel of Bluff milliner Hatz and her hair was done by leading stylist Terry Scott. She wore the same nail varnish as the real queen (a shade called Ballet Slippers). Coetze sported a Union Jack Flag tie and a “Harry and Meghan” badge.
Guest Yvonne Whyte, who travelled from Howick for the event, had a surprise gift waiting for her at the reception.
“It was a big box of Harry and Meghan wedding day souvenirs and a flag that my daughter Nikki couriered from London,” she said, beaming.
As the guests at the Oyster Box enjoyed British fare, including smoked salmon, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, English-style beer-batter fish and chips and custard slices, they watched the wedding on big screens, oohing and aahing as they spotted celebrities like George Clooney and David Beckham.
The Morningside celebration was organised by Katie Friedman, who is from London but resides in South Africa. While on holiday at Isimangaliso Wetlands Park, she spotted Harry’s lookalike and invited him to the celebration.
“Katie said I looked like Harry. It was no surprise for me because I get told that all that time,” he said.