- Prince Harry has invited his friends to watch his wedding at Kensington Palace
- Supporters of Sentebale charity, founded by the Prince, received email invites
- The ‘viewing party’ comes after the Royal couple strictly limited wedding invites
They’re calling it The Big Match – the wedding of the year on FA Cup final day. And now it’s getting the big-screen treatment.
When Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle on May 19 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, dozens of charitable donors and supporters – many from the US – will watch on giant TV screens at the couple’s Kensington Palace home.
Supporters of Sentebale, the charity founded by Prince Harry in 2006 to help vulnerable children in Lesotho and Botswana, have received emails alerting them to the exclusive celebration, which will feature a reception and a ‘viewing party’, an American term for a big-screen gathering popular for events such as the Oscars.
Prince Harry has sent emails to friends and charity workers to invite them to Kensington Palace to watch the Royal wedding on big screens
The Kensington Palace event is perhaps a nod to the former Suits actress’s Hollywood background.
A Royal source said: ‘Harry and Meghan are strictly limited to the numbers they can invite to the actual wedding so we understand this is a way of saying thank you to donors.’
St George’s Chapel seats about 800 people, compared with the 1,900 guests who were able to attend Prince William’s 2011 marriage to Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.
The charity workers and friends of the Royal couple will attend a ‘viewing party’ where they will be able to watch the wedding on a big-screen
The source added: ‘If you can’t be at the wedding, you can watch it in a palace, which is the next best thing.
‘A viewing party is a way of having an exclusive gathering, celebrating and feeling special – even if you are not actually at the main event.
‘Guests will be able to watch events unfold on giant screens, while mingling with an exclusive crowd.
‘They can say they went to Kensington Palace for the wedding. To Americans, that’s a big deal.’
A spokesman for Kensington Palace declined to comment.