Sonja Rouillard, author of the Romance Readers Guide to Historic London, shares some great ways to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Harry and Meghan…

But before we get to the article–a quick request: my novel, The Viscount’s Seduction is a RONE Award nominee. The RONE award is a prestigious industry award for indie and small press books. If you have time, please go to InD’Tale Magazine and cast a vote to help The Viscount’s Seduction move on to the next phase of the RONE competition. You’ll have to sign-up for InD’Tale Magazine, but registration is free and will give you access to great reviews and articles. But hurry! Voting closes May 20, 2018. 

And now, on to the Royal Wedding:

Fairytale Royal Wedding ~ Five Ways to Royally Celebrate 

~ second in a three-part America’s Princess series by by Sonja Rouillard

Even though the wedding is just a week away, it’s not too late to plan something fun so that you can feel part of this unique moment in history. It’s not every day a new princess is made and this time she’s one of ours!

Hold a Viewing Party

The most obvious choice is holding a viewing party, but here’s the rub—the wedding takes place at 12:00 noon London time. For us Yanks, that’s 7 AM on the East Coast and 4 AM on the West Coast. Ouch! And you’ll want to start watching at least two hours earlier to see all those fancy people show up in their fancy garb.

Coverage starts at 4:30 AM EST. Of course, you can always tape it and watch it the next day. So, the first thing you need to do is to gather some friends and decide whether to stay up all night or watch it taped the next day.

Celebration!

And, here are ways you can celebrate along with the Royals:

Royal Pampering! ~ The American princess is going to be quaffed, gussied, and powdered (well not powdered—wrong century). But Meghan will want to look her best. Wouldn’t you, if 80 million people (via tv or streamed live) were going to be staring at you?

Even though we’ll be celebrating in private, there’s no reason we shouldn’t also look our best. So, grab a couple besties and go out on Friday to get a mani-pedi or pick up a funny hat to wear. Burlington Coat Factory is great for that.

For an inexpensive tiara, a certain big box store (starts with a w), carries them for about $10 and they’re pretty. Here’s gorgeous tiara that belonged to eldest daughter of King Louis XVI, Marie-Thérèse, (circa 1819).

How to watch the wedding in style?

Host an Afternoon Tea but in the middle of the night!

There are tons of ideas online, but don’t forget to offer a prize for the best fascinator. Fancy it up with a request for Sunday-best attire and top hats, and invite your friends with beautiful wedding-style invitations.

Try a Cream Tea or High Tea. Since it’s the middle of the night, offer lighter fare with a Cream Tea (doesn’t mean cream in the drink, but rather just scones and desserts). Go for a full, beefy meal with a High Tea (which refers to the height of the table, not the royal-ness of the event). Or offer a traditional English Breakfast, especially apropos for the US east coast.

Or Wait Until the Next day

Next Day Parties yield lots of flexibility. You can do an Afternoon Tea that’s actually in the afternoon, a black-tie evening reception, or even just a pizza party. Try making individual pizzas in the shape of crown!

A Princess Bachelorette Party would be perfect if there’s a friend getting married in the near future. You can do it as a RW watch party and or just go with the American Princess theme. Give all the attendees a tiara (although in the UK, traditionally only married ladies can wear one).

Want to give a wedding gift?

Royal Fundraiser ~ Says Kensington Palace, the couple is “incredibly grateful for the goodwill shown to them since the announcement of their engagement and are keen that as many people as possible benefit from this generosity of spirit.”

Prince Harry and future Princess Meghan have politely requested that well-wishers wanting to offer gifts, make a donation to one of their seven charities. These range from the Children’s HIV Association to one that empowers women in Mumbai’s slums. You can make donating a part of any event you host or do a bake-sale or other activity to raise monies.

See the full charity list at https://www.today.com/news/prince-harry-meghan-markle-seek-charity-donations-not-wedding-gifts-t126708. When Kate and Wills married they did the same thing and $1.7 million was raised for charity.

More Formal Celebrations Closer to Home

From pubs to fancy hotels, there are ready-made parties around the world where you can celebrate with other royal wedding fans. Here’s just a few:

London’s exclusive Devonshire Club is allowing non-members to attend their Afternoon Tea complete with a mini Royal Wedding Cake (£32). https://www.devonshireclub.com/member-events/royal-wedding-garden-party

Boston’s Fairmont Copley offers an RW Viewing Party ($75-$750). https://www.eventbrite.com/e/royal-wedding-viewing-party-at-fairmont-copley-plaza-tickets-44452960000

In Chicago check out this RW Reception at The Drake Hotel, featuring the “Queen of Cabaret” singer Denise Tomasello and her 17-piece orchestra. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/royal-wedding-reception-gala-featuring-denise-tomasello-tickets-43773064414

Or near Atlanta in Marietta, the British-American Business Council is holding a fancy-dress Indian Hills Country Club RW Watch Party ($55 members; $65 non-members). https://www.babcga.org/event-2805939

In San Francisco, check out this fancy rebroadcast party by Crown & Crumpet at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel ($95-125pp)—fancy dress and fascinators encouraged! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-afternoon-tea-to-celebrate-the-royal-wedding-on-19th-may-2018-tickets-44390690751

Live in Meghan’s old stomping ground in LA? You can go to a Royal Slumber Party at the Cat and Fiddle pub ($25pp). https://www.eventbrite.com/e/royal-slumber-party-the-royal-wedding-hosted-by-cat-and-fiddle-brits-in-la-tickets-45542743572

I bet just about every British Pub in the U.S. will be open for business, so you might find the perfect party in your neck of the woods.

Lastly, my Favorite Suggestion for Celebrating…

Join our Royal Wedding Facebook Hop and celebrate along with 25 best-selling historical romance authors who’ll be giving away prizes all weekend!

There will even be live posts from Windsor Castle the week before, author-made insider videos of the castle and the church, and live author chats during the wedding. https://www.facebook.com/groups/RWHop

Whatever you choose, it’s going to be a fun weekend.

Want to know more about the places that are important to Meghan and Harry, such as Kensington Palace or Windsor Castle? Pick up a copy of my Romance Readers Guide to Historic London.

For more history and more on Meghan and Harry’s relationship, check out my previous article at RomanceReadersGuides.com, “American Royalty — 5 Americans Who’ve Married Up”.

~ Sonja

Photos in the public domain.  Painting by Thomas Sutherland, 1819.