Tauranga locals excited by royal wedding bells

"I might even ask for an invite," Yvette Lamare laughed as she spoke about the latest royal engagement.

"It's absolutely brilliant ... If Prince Harry is happy then that's all that matters," Lamare, who considered herself a royalist, said.

In a statement issued on Monday, November 27, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed their much-anticipated engagement.

It read: "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle."

It also said the pair became engaged in London earlier this month.

"Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty the Queen and other close members of his family. Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms Markle's parents," the statement said.

Lamare said she was excited about the engagement because she had watched Prince Harry and his brother Prince William grow up.

"Princess Diana's two boys are very similar in age to my two daughters."

Lamare had "loved" Princess Diana and kept papers from 1997 reporting her death as keepsakes.

The royal enthusiast said she would be watching the may wedding "for sure".

Local royalist Yvette Lamare is excited by the royal engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Photo/Andrew Warner

Rebecca Grigson was the owner of the English Pantry in Mount Maunganui and said the royal engagement was "mega exciting".

The self-confessed "patriotic Brit" was at St Paul's Cathedral in London for the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981 and was looking forward to watching the next royal wedding.

"I'm really into the royals and I'm very patriotic, I just love it."

Grigson was from Winchester in England but had lived in Tauranga for six years.

She had even heard of English betting agencies taking bets on the couple including future baby names.

"You either love or hate the royals but it gives us Brits a bit of excitement."