Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had a fairytale wedding in 2018, but some of the people involved in the big day were not as happy as the royal couple. Idris Elba recently shared that the day was stressful for him, and for good reason.
The actor is a close friend of Harry and Meghan and the couple asked him to DJ the wedding reception. The guest list might have contributed to the stress; attendees included the Queen, Oprah Winfrey, and Elton John.
Idris Elba’s DJ Gig ‘Was A Big, Big Deal’
When asked which of his gigs has been the most stressful, Elba shared his feelings about his DJ duty with the Daily Mail, saying, “The [royal] wedding, no doubt. This wasn’t like my cousin’s wedding… This wasn’t at the community hall – the reception, this was a big, big deal.”
He also said he really wanted to make things perfect for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex: “They’re good friends and I wanted to make sure they had a great time, so there was a lot of pressure.”
The Thor star has other ties to the royal family, as well. In 2016, he received an OBE for his services to drama. OBE stands for Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and is given to an individual for a major local role in any activity such as business, charity or the public sector by Queen Elizabeth.
Markle took some of the stress off the Luther star by sending him a playlist beforehand with songs that she and Prince Harry wanted to hear at the reception. Elba didn’t share what was on the playlist, but it’s a safe bet that there was some house and electronic music on deck; Harry has previously declared his love for the genre.
We do, however, know what song the couple had their first dance to: Whitney Houston’s 1987 hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
The Star-Studded Reception
Elba wasn’t the only famous face who had a hand in making the couple’s wedding day perfect. Actor and host of The Late Late Show James Corden joined in the entertainment, appearing at the reception dressed as Henry VIII.
Wedding guest George Clooney even helped out, hopping behind the bar to make drinks for the guests.
Even though the actor was nervous, reception guests loved the songs he chose. “It was a huge dance party, everyone was letting loose and had a blast,” a source told People at the time. “Just a fun night and not stuffy at all.”
A year after the royal wedding, Elba and model Sabrina Dhowre tied the knot. Dhowre was the actor’s plus-one to the wedding. Wonder who they had as their DJ?