S. Africa airline to offer cows for royal wedding

JOHANNESBURG: South African discount airline kulula.com said on Sunday it wants to give Kate Middleton's family a gift of cows ahead of her nuptials with Prince William, following the African tradition of "lobola".

"Wills has been a big fan of South Africa and we're big fans of him and his bride-to-be. With all there is to arrange (not to mention all that polo to play) he probably hasn't considered fully the benefits of the lobola tradition," spokeswoman Nadine Damen said in a statement.

"We're more than happy... to be sending him the finest cows we can get our hands on in order to make their happy day even more special."

Lobola, a southern African wedding custom, requires the groom to make a symbolic payment to the family of the bride, traditionally in cattle.

The airline said it would source a herd of cows locally in Britain and deliver them to Buckingham Palace, pending acceptance by Middleton's family.

William has made frequent visits to southern Africa as royal patron of the Tusk Trust, which runs projects to protect endangered species and help alleviate poverty in rural communities.

Kulula.com said it would try to persuade him to come back to South Africa on his honeymoon by running a special discount on flights.(AFP)