Michael Curry, the first African-American head of the US Episcopal Church, will preach at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding this Saturday in Windsor.
His role was announced relatively late on in the wedding preparations and was made after discussions with the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, despite his never having met the couple. Curry is Welby's American counterpart as the Episcopal Church is the Church of England's sister body in the US.
While Curry is a relatively unknown quality in Britain, you can read all about him and what he stands for here:
Michael Curry: Who is the Royal wedding preacher who backs gay marriage and opposes Trump?
But after Saturday afternoon, Curry will no longer be unknown. The wedding will be watched by millions around the world and presents the largest audience any preacher has had since Richard Chartres, then bishop of London, preached to around two billion people at the wedding Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.
It is possible, likely even, that Curry's energetic personality, his charismatic preaching, and his sonorous voice will mean he is the unexpected star to emerge from the wedding.
Here are five reasons the British public will love Michael Curry.
1. As an African-American Curry represents a break from tradition at a Royal wedding. Such high profile opportunities are normally only given to senior clergy within the Church of England. But Curry represents something different and it is likely he will be granted a flavour of the same welcome and affection the British public gave Meghan Markle on her arrival into the Royal family.
2. That voice. For those who haven't heard Michael Curry speak it is a combination between Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones. When Richard Chartres's orotund tones boomed out his opening lines in 2011, the world's attention was captured. Expect the same but on an even greater scale with Curry.
3. Curry is renowned for his charismatic preaching. He combines the energy and conviction of black-majority Pentecostal preachers with the weight and gravitas of an academic. His infamous weakness, like so many preachers, is sticking to time. If he can keep to script, you can look forward to an enthralling 10 minutes.
4. Despite being unknown to most Brits, he shares a common passion with most of them: a strong dislike of Donald Trump. Curry has barely disguised his opposition to the US president and just days after the Royal wedding he will play a leading part in a march on the White House, condemning the America First slogan as 'heresy'.
5. Finally, Curry is a passionate supporter of gay marriage. Unlike the Church of England, the US Episcopal Church offiically sanctioned same-sex marriage in 2015 and has been an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights. Given that its conservative stance on sexuality is a regular point of criticism for the CofE, Curry's stance is only likely to ingratiate him even more with the British public.
