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Keeping Up With The Royal Wedding: The Most Striking Side-Stories Yet

By Chidirim Ndeche
15 May 2018   |   10:00 am
The highly-anticipated marriage between Britain's Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle in Windsor on Saturday has generated a slew of quirky side-stories and offbeat tributes. Here are some of the most striking: Princely pleasure "Artisan" condom manufacturer Crown Jewels has launched a "sumptuous new" product to celebrate the occasion, "tailored to a regal fit" and…

The highly-anticipated marriage between Britain’s Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle in Windsor on Saturday has generated a slew of quirky side-stories and offbeat tributes.

Here are some of the most striking:

Princely pleasure

“Artisan” condom manufacturer Crown Jewels has launched a “sumptuous new” product to celebrate the occasion, “tailored to a regal fit” and promising “discerning love-makers a royal union of pleasure and style.”

A box of Crown Jewels condoms limited edition unofficial Royal Wedding souvenir box celebrating the upcoming nuptuals of Britain’s Prince Harry and his finacee US actress Meghan Markle, photographed in London on May 10, 2018. Photo: AFP / Daniel Sorabji

The product comes in “a handsome souvenir case”, which plays a “musical arrangement of God Save the Queen and The Star Spangled Banner” upon opening, and is decorated with a pop-up picture of the happy couple and the inscription “your prince will come”.

Driving with Meghan and Harry

The Mini brand has designed a special version of its distinctive car, boasting a roof motif combining the British and US flags and the inscriptions “Meghan loves Harry” and “love is all you need” on the glove box.

Mini Hatchback. Photo: Car Magazine

The one-off “MINI Hatch” will be donated to one of the couple’s chosen charities for auction.

Double-booked

May 19 is not only a special day for royal-wedding watchers, but also for scores of other British couples getting hitched.

“I’d love to say ‘I do’ at the same time as Meghan and Harry,” Lucy Parkinson, 26, who will marry Andrew Dixon, 30, on May 19, told HarpersBazaar.com.

The bride-to-be said she “can’t wait” to see Meghan’s dress, but accepted she “can’t even begin to compete” in the fashion stakes, with the former “Suits” actress able to call upon the industry’s top names.

Souvenirs featuring Britain’s Prince Harry and his fiance US actress Meghan Markle are pictured in a gift shop in Windsor, west of London. Photo: AFP / Tolga Akmen

A royal holiday

If you want to know everything about the royal family and weddings, and have a spare £2,500 pounds ($3,400/2,800 euros), then you can take an eight-day tour that visits the most symbolic sites of the British monarchy, meets with royal experts and parties on D-Day.

A royal prayer

The Anglican church has composed a nine-line prayer for the couple, which begins: “God of love, send your blessing upon Harry and Meghan, and all who are joined in marriage, that… they may both live and grow in your love”.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Anglican leader, will officiate the ceremony.

Britain’s Prince Harry (R) and his fiancee US actress Meghan Markle, arrive to attend a reception with delegates from the Commonwealth Youth Forum in central London on April 18, 2018, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM). Photo: AFP / Pool / Yui Mok

A film, already

US channel Lifetime on Sunday aired the film When Harry met Meghan: A Royal Romance — the title inspired by 1989 cult comedy When Harry met Sally.

The feel-good film dramatises the developing love story, and at one point sees Harry, realising he wants to marry a divorced American woman, shouting: “She makes me happy so to hell with traditions!”

Meghan is played by Netflix regular Parisa Fitz-Henley and Harry by Murray Fraser, who appeared in the series Victoria, about the eponymous queen.

Kitchen staff work in the Royal Kitchen at Windsor Castle in Windsor on May 10, 2018 as they begin preparations for the wedding banquet for the marriage ceremony of Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Photo: AFP / Pool / David Parker

Saucy tribute

Sushi restaurant chain itsu is marking the event with the “When Harry met Meghan” lunchbox, which comprises salmon, yellowfin tuna nigiri, avocado, shredded carrot, green bean and fresh mint maki, white ginger and soy sauce.

A London patisserie has devised other gastronomic tributes, including cupcakes, a US staple, topped with glazing in the colours of the American and British flags.

For those looking for something harder, a British brewer has created a celebratory beer, combining British and American hops with a sprinkling of champagne yeast.

Bottles of the new Harry & Meghan’s Windsor Knot ale, a limited edition craft beer brewed to mark the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, are arranged on display for sale at a farm shop in Windsor, England. Photo: AFP / Daniel Leal-Olivas

Bridal advice

“Shout at the kids, shun the dentist, swear at the useless England soccer team, drink gin before lunch” are among some of the tips on how Californian Meghan can integrate seamlessly into British life, according to Dominic Green, a British contributor to US publication The Weekly Standard.

“You can keep your accent. We like Americans,” he said. “We were embarrassed for Madonna when she pretended to be English.”

Memorabilia celebrating the forthcoming wedding between Britain’s Prince Harry and his US fiancee Meghan Markle are pictured for sale in a gift shop in Windsor, west of London. Photo: AFP / Daniel Leal-Olivas

A woman walks past a display of royal wedding merchandise at Ye Olde Kings Head gift shop in Santa Monica, California on May 14, 2018, where royal wedding merchandise with pictures of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been selling briskly, according to store manager Dympna Madeley, originally from Luton, who moved to California 23 years ago. The couple, Harry and Meghan, are due to be married on May 19th at Windsor Castle in England. Photo: AFP / Frederic J. Brown

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