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Prince Harry and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are expected to be British guests at the $600 million wedding of the son of Asia’s richest man.
Last weekend, Mr Ambani and Mr Merchant’s wedding reception culminated in three days of extravagant festivities, attracting a host of A-list celebrities and politicians to Mumbai.
The glitzy event has attracted some of the biggest names in showbiz and politics, from Kim Kardashian to Tony Blair, but now the spotlight will turn to Britain.
The happy couple tied the knot over the weekend of July 12th, 13th and 14th but plan to continue their wedding ceremonies over the coming months, with celebrations set to resume at the historic Stoke Park Country Club, near Slough. Sun report.
The seven-star hotel was purchased by the Ambani family in 2021 for £57 million and is set to be a grand continuation of their wedding.
The location has also featured in films, most famously in Bridget Jones’s Diary, where Hugh Grant’s character falls into the water while boating, and in the thriller Layer Cake, starring Daniel Craig.
Some guests, including Boris and Carrie Johnson, who attended the Mumbai wedding and are believed to have received an attendance fee, may be seen again at the hotel.
They may also be joined by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who are rumoured to be on the British guest list.
Around 850 members of the Grade II-listed golf club have been warned not to enter as the family has booked the hotel in bulk until September to host events while renovations are underway.
However, the Ambanis have since reportedly clashed with local councils over questions about whether they were abiding by the terms of their property leases. Financial Times report.
The lease clearly stipulates that the site must be used as commercial property and not privately owned, making the move to close the hotel to the public but open it to families controversial.
It is likely to be one of the biggest weddings in British history, but it would be a surprise if it surpassed the Mumbai ceremony.
The duo, Anat Ambani and Radhika Merchant, are estimated to have spent $600 million on the event, which is scheduled to last for the next two months.
Since their December 2023 engagement, there has been a lot of speculation surrounding the size of the couple’s wedding.
Amavi is the son of India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika Merchant is an heir to a pharmaceutical dynasty, and the couple, who have no shortage of money, have been organising increasingly lavish events for the official celebrations.
Their pre-wedding party consisted of a three-day celebration attended by 1,200 guests, including former world leaders and tech moguls, and featured a performance by Rihanna, after which they departed for a European cruise with performances by the Backstreet Boys and Katy Perry.
The celebrations merged with events from last weekend, when the likes of Justin Bieber took to the stage to perform at Mumbai’s traditional Sangeet Night.
The couple got married in a traditional Hindu ceremony on Friday, followed by a ‘Shubh Ashirwad’ ceremony on Saturday, where the couple received blessings from guests and elders, and finally concluded with a reception called ‘Mangal Utsav’.
Many celebrities attended the weekend, including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, John Cena and Tony Blair, who walked down a red carpet into the wedding venue, which can accommodate 16,000 people.
Police sealed off the road at the Jio World Convention Centre as photographers in traditional attire walked past, showing off stunning custom-made saris, lehengas and kurtas.
The Ambani family rented 100 private jets to ferry guests from all over the world, while all the five-star hotels in the area were booked.
Kim and Khloe Kardashian didn’t attend the red carpet, but they documented their attendance for their millions of followers on social media.
The sisters attended both events on Friday and Saturday, wearing two eye-catching outfits: On Friday, Kim wore a red lehenga while Khloe opted for a white and gold look, and on Saturday, Kim went for a more neutral color scheme while Khloe wore a bright pink lehenga.
Kim’s red outfit caught the attention of some people, as it is not traditionally common for guests to wear red at Indian weddings.
Despite the over-the-top efforts of their guests, the couple remained the star of the wedding weekend, which is rumored to have cost $132 million on the wedding alone.
The groom first arrived on the red carpet in a gold sherwani and sneakers, which he later changed into for the ceremony.
The bride then emerged in a dazzling, hand-embroidered red-and-white ensemble that featured a 16-foot veil adorned with gemstones and sequins. She told Vogue that she completed her wedding outfit with the same family jewels that her sister and aunt wore to their weddings.
Giant animal sculptures and floral displays were placed around the venue, and visitors walked through a miniature version of the Indian holy city of Varanasi.
The bride entered on a motorized wooden boat, after which the couple exchanged cattle beneath a large white-domed altar.
Afterwards, guests can also enjoy the lavish décor and visit the lassi and antique shops located within the venue.
Footage shared on social media later in the evening showed stunning performances by Indian singer Daler Mehendi and Afrobeat artiste Rema.
Guests also BaratA lively wedding procession for the groom featuring live music and dancing. Videos of Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh dancing to popular Bollywood songs quickly went viral on social media.
The room’s main character, Mukesh Ambani, 66, is currently the ninth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $116 billion, according to Forbes magazine. He is also the richest person in Asia.
The family elders have begun to hand over the reins to their two sons and daughters: Akash Ambani, the eldest, is now chairman of the company’s telecoms business Reliance Jio, and Isha runs the retail business, while Anant, the groom, the youngest, has joined the company’s new energy business.
Anant, 29, has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and oversees the conglomerate’s renewable and green energy expansion, according to Reliance Industries’ website.
According to Vogue magazine, the bride, Radhika Merchant, 29, is the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoon Viren Merchant and serves as marketing director for his company Encore Healthcare.
She told the magazine that the pair were introduced through mutual friends in 2017. “There was something special between us from that first meeting and we started dating very quickly,” she said.