When Charles and Diana got engaged and Hong Kong declared a public holiday for royal wedding
Colonial Hong Kong went all out to mark the royal wedding in July 1981, with commemorative stamps, Union Flags, parties and bad trifle
“Lady Di says ‘Yes’”, ran the South China Morning Post headline on February 25, 1981, as the world’s media went into overdrive.
“Prince Charles, heir to the British throne and one of the world’s most eligible bachelors, will marry 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer, the daughter of an earl [...] Buckingham Palace announced today,” the story continued. The statement ended months of speculation that the “dashing 32-year-old prince” would marry Lady Diana, dubbed “Shy Di” by the British press pack.
The seal had been set on the romance the day before, when Diana drove her red Mini-Metro to Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.
As anticipation mounted, subsequent headlines trumpeted: “Charles Names the Day: July 29”, “Lady Di Names Designer”.
“Hong Kong will celebrate a […] holiday on July 29 to observe the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer,” the Post reported on June 11. “Chief Secretary, Sir Jack Cater, called the wedding ‘a momentous and joyful event which merits special recognition [...] in Hong Kong.’”