Durban - It’s official. Prince Harry loves KwaZulu-Natal. The British royal was confirmed to be in the province again on Saturday as a guest of honour at his cousin George McCorquodale’s wedding to his Ladysmith love, Bianca Moore.
The wedding took place at the exclusive Netherwood farm in the Midlands. McCorquodale’s parents are Neil and Lady Sarah McCorquodale (nee Spencer), Princess Diana’s eldest sister.
It is believed that the couple met while working at Clifton Preparatory School in Nottingham Road.
On their wedding website, under the “love story” section, it says: “We met in 2011, George, a naughty boy from England, Bianca, an innocent angel from Ladysmith. A match made in heaven! Destined to meet under the Clifton School bell. Now returning to get married in the area where all the love began.”
The website said the occasion was an “adult-only” function and that no personal photos or cellphone photography would be allowed.
The website directed guests to the couple’s gift registry through UK website Wedding Presents Direct, with a selection of gifts ranging from towels to cook books. The price of the gifts ranged from £6 (R107) to £429.
Moore’s father, Gavin Moore, confirmed earlier this week that Harry would be at the wedding. He did not want to give details as he said he had been given “strict instructions” by the couple not to speak to the media.
The Daily Mail reported that McCorquodale and Harry shared a close bond because, as children, McCorquodale and his sisters, Emily and Celia, were notably close to Diana and her sons, joining the princess and the boys for family holidays on Necker, Sir Richard Branson’s private island.
Harry was recently in Durban attending the International Aids Conference and, according to a statement on the royal family’s official website, he will spend the next few weeks working on front-line conservation projects in southern Africa.
“Following the summer he spent in the region last year, Prince Harry has once again worked with experts to design a programme that will enable him to support important wildlife conservation initiatives that focus on protecting southern Africa’s wildlife and local communities,” the statement read.
One of the projects he will work with is African Parks’ “500 elephants” initiative, which will see one of the largest and most significant elephant translocations in conservation history.
The elephants will be moved to a wildlife reserve in central Malawi from two parks in the southern part of that country.
The elephants are being moved to reduce pressure on the habitat and alleviate human wildlife conflict, while helping to repopulate the local herd.
In the future, the reserve may also help restore elephant populations in other parts of Africa, where numbers have significantly declined due to poaching.
The statement said the work would enhance Harry’s first-hand experience of initiatives that support some of Africa’s most pressing conservation challenges.
Sunday Tribune