The Harry-Meghan wedding was a landmark for racial diversity

What you need to know:

  • The statistics of the wedding of Prince Harry and the biracial American ex-movie star are well known.

  • It was watched by 18 million viewers in Britain and more than two billion worldwide
  • 14 American television channels broadcast it simultaneously; and 3.4 million messages were tweeted.

It might be overstating things to suggest that the black bishop, Michael Curry, stole the show at the royal wedding – the bride, Meghan Markle, was just too gorgeous to be upstaged – but certainly the first African-American to be primate of the Episcopal Church had everybody moved or smiling with his impassioned sermon.

Over 13 super-charged minutes, Bishop Curry spoke the word “love” 65 times and “beloved” twice, quoting Martin Luther King as saying, “We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love.”

APRIL FOOLS'

Football and media star David Beckham grinned and members of the royal family, used to straight-laced addresses from solemn English clerics, looked a trifle bemused, though no more bemused perhaps than the bishop himself, who said that when he received the invitation to preach, he thought it was an April Fools' joke.

The statistics of the wedding of Prince Harry and the biracial American ex-movie star are well known: Watched by 18 million viewers in Britain and more than two billion worldwide; 8,500 journalists and technical staff covering the event in London; 14 American television channels broadcasting simultaneously; 3.4 million messages tweeted during the ceremony, including a flurry of 40,000 per minute during Bishop Curry’s address.

One report carried the following paragraph: “In Kenya … red roses picked from the Rift Valley town of Naivasha were handed out by tourism officials. A restaurant in Karen, a Nairobi suburb home to some of Kenya’s oldest white families, was bedecked in union flags and patrons were served high tea and scones, Pimms and champagne.”

Widely reported was the $10,000 package offered by the Windsor Golf and Country Club in Nairobi which included facilities to watch the wedding in style, a two-night stay at the Windsor hotel and a helicopter flight to Mount Kenya.

AMERICAN ROYALTY

One of the organisers, Wanjiku Kamau, told CNN: “We just want to bring people together to see the royal wedding and give them the royal experience.”

Not everybody agreed, with some messages on social media saying the affair demonstrated “rampant inequality” in Kenya.

Later reports said the offer was fully taken up.

In a wider sense, the wedding could be seen as a landmark for diversity. Prominent among the guests was Oprah Winfrey, the American television personality who has long been seen, especially within the black community, as American royalty.

Meghan’s African-American mother was widely praised for her quietly dignified demeanour.

TRANSFORM MONARCH

Notably present also was Idris Elba, a black English actor, producer, musician and DJ, who played Nelson Mandela in the biographical movie, “A Long Walk to Freedom,” and who has homes in New York and Los Angeles. The black American journalist, Barrett Holmes Pitner, a commentator on race and culture, said the presence of Winfrey and Elba forged a connection with Britain that black Americans never previously had. The same went for Bishop Curry.

Pitner wrote that the bishop’s presence “represented a significant leap for British royal tradition, and regardless of whether you were inspired by his sermon, it was clear that it could help transform the monarchy for the better.”

As for Meghan, he argued that “the new Duchess of Sussex has, in a relatively short period of time, made the British monarchy more accessible and diverse, and she has shown that diversity and progress can make established institutions stronger.”

STRENGTHEN BONDS

Prince Harry, the new Duke of Sussex, is more accessible and less formal than older members of the royal family and is a personal friend of ex-President Barack Obama and his family, making him easier for non-Britons to relate to.

Referring to Brexit for Britons and Donald Trump for Americans, Pitner suggested that many people still see diversity as a threat to their culture. He concluded: “The royal wedding showed us that love across race and nationality can update traditions, strengthen bonds and forge a community in which more people feel included and appreciated.”

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When a widow died and arrived at the pearly gates, she said she would like to see her husband, John Smith. St Peter said that was a very common name and sometimes it was quicker to locate a holy soul by checking his last words. The widow said her husband told her with his dying breath that if she went with another man after he died, he would turn in his grave. “Oh,” said Peter, “that’s easy. You mean Spinning John Smith.”

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The text from Fred to his neighbour, Richard, said: “I can’t bear the guilt any longer, so I need to tell you that when you were not around, I’ve been sharing your wife day and night. I hope you will forgive me.” Enraged, Richard grabbed his gun and went and shot Fred dead. Back home, he noticed a second Text message from Fred. It said: “Sorry about the typo in my last text. I suppose you will have noticed that the damned Auto-Correct changed “Wi-fi” to “wife”. Technology, huh? It’ll be the death of us all.”