Although Saturday’s open house at the residence of British ambassador John Marshall was not billed as a royal wedding viewing event, it soon became clear that for many guests the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was one of the main draws. A significant number of female guests in particular were attired as though attending a wedding, and the room in which embassy staff had erected a television to screen the wedding from Windsor was packed to capacity and beyond well before the arrival of the bride.
But those guests who preferred to bask in the sunshine rather than watch the wedding indoors were treated to displays of Scottish country dancing, music from the St. George's International School Jazz combo and art work from British artists Dylan Harris, Jane Barclay, Alex McKell and Mea Bateman. They enjoyed scones and shortbread or purchased hand-painted wedding souvenir mugs courtesy of the British Ladies’ Club, and chatted with representatives of BRILL, the British-Luxembourg Society and the British Chamber of Commerce. The ambassador himself gave guided tours of the residence and guests also got a chance to view an exhibition commemorating 100 years of the RAF and its connections with Luxembourg.
And even after the wedding broadcast had finished, guests still kept turning up at the residence to enjoy the weather and stroll around the grounds and take in the splendid view from the garden across the Petrusse.