Wendi Nutt has brought a big box of fascinators to see her mother. This week, the theme for the regular Friday afternoon party at the Uniting aged care home in Leichhardt is the royal wedding.
The band is up front singing Dolly Parton covers and the good, floral china is out. A mannequin in a tiara holds a white bouquet. Nutt, a local milliner, passes around the hats. The staff are loudly explaining that the cocktail today is Pimms, if people want to try it, with scones. They’re getting their partying done early.
In Surry Hills, Satya Marar is waiting for the weekend. He has a table booked for Saturday night, in the corner with a TV. Marar, 26, is organising a gathering of young Sydney monarchists in Harpoon Harry’s, a trendy neon-lit bar, to watch the royal wedding.
“We’ll have some nibbles, have some drinks,” he says, adding: “With the new baby being born and this new wedding there’s a lot to celebrate. We’re going from strength to strength.
“We’ve booked out an area, and we’ll watch it on a screen there. I think some people will be dressing up.”
In Melbourne, Meghan and Harry’s nuptials will be the debut event for the young monarchists’ Victorian branch. The organiser, Claire Evans, 19, says all she had to do was book a table.
Who is Meghan Markle?
Meghan Markle is an American actor, best known for her role in the hit series Suits. She has described herself as “an actress, a writer, the editor-in-chief of my lifestyle brand the Tig, a pretty good cook, and a firm believer in handwritten notes”. She has also campaigned for humanitarian causes.
The 36-year-old grew up in Los Angeles. She studied at a girls’ Roman Catholic college there before attending Northwestern University. Recently she has lived in Toronto. She is the daughter of a clinical therapist and a TV lighting designer. Markle has written about her mixed heritage, describing herself as “a strong, confident mixed-race woman”. She was married once before, to film producer Trevor Engelson, but the pair were divorced in 2013.
Since news of her relationship with Prince Harry broke in 2016, she has closed her blog and given an interview in which she described the couple as “really happy and in love”. She said: “Nothing about me changed. I’ve never defined myself by my relationship.” She will become a duchess or princess when the couple wed.
“The actual pub is putting it on their screens. It’s sort of our event but it’s also sort of a joint event … Everyone loves a wedding. It signals a great change within the royal family, it shows they can adapt and are becoming more modern.”
In Sydney, Susan, 54, and Lauren, 34, are aunt and niece from Bondi Junction and Parramatta, a republican and a “royal agnostic”. They are hosting a small party for family and friends, fuelled in many ways by irony.
“We wear crowns, we bake Victoria sponges, we bring out the collected merchandise and discuss who scored the best royal-themed crockery from my grandmother’s house,” Lauren says.
“There’s a dagginess to it. There is a lot that is tongue-in-cheek. But I do feel like the popularity of The Crown, and now Suits, has added a certain degree of credibility somehow.”
The connection, for both, is mostly familial. “My mum and her twin sister share a birthday with the Queen,” Susan says. “Our fascination with royal events dates back to the coronation parade to which they won a lottery to watch. They are a deeply intriguing family with a really interesting history.”
Lauren adds: “I certainly wouldn’t say I’m a monarchist – as a reason for being interested. My interest in them is more about their history and dynamics.”
Elizabeth Alexandrou will also, in a oblique way, be celebrating.
The Melbourne-based seamstress is part of an attempt, organised by the textiles store Spotlight, to recreate Markle’s wedding dress in 12 hours, overnight. She’s been shipping in pattern books all week, found a studio with a suitably glaring lamp set up, and tried to adjust her sleep patterns to become nocturnal.
“We’ve talked about all the different options it will be and how we’ll work together,” she says. “But until we see her step out of the car or the carriage, it’s such an unknown – could be anything.
“If she has a full skirt with a massive train ... or a full skirt with a total lace overlay and a chiffon … We’ve just got rolls of fabric on standby.
“To be interested in fashion is to watch what the royals wear. I don’t expect we’ll be able to create it exactly, but certainly we can recreate the style and the look with Australian fabrics and get a long way towards her beautiful wedding dress. It’s about inspiring and empowering customers to say, ‘I can do this’.”
Alexandrou says her plan to rejig her circadian rhythms failed after daylight saving threw her off.
“I think I’m just going to have to run on adrenaline and sugar. The funny thing is I don’t really drink coffee, so that might be a bit of a worry.
“We might take one look at it and think, ‘Oh my god, we’re never going to do this.’ But if it’s like Kate’s dress, I think we’ll be fine.”
