Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Reprezent 107.3FM on January 9, 2018 in London. Photo / Getty
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Reprezent 107.3FM on January 9, 2018 in London. Photo / Getty
The royal hamlet of Windsor is gearing up for a massive influx of visitors on May 19 when Prince Harry marries his glamorous American fiancée, Meghan Markle, at St George's Chapel inside the Windsor Castle grounds.
The township, west of London on the Thames, will be besieged by thousands of tourists, media and security personnel as the society wedding of the year gets under way.
Businesses are hiring extra staff, extending their opening hours, designing special royal menus and ordering in Harry and Meghan-themed souvenirs ahead of the arrival of thousands of excited royal watchers.
View across the rose garden on the east lawn of Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, 1952. Photo / Getty
Hotels up to 50km away are already booked out for the days preceding the wedding, and some hotels with rooms available at Heathrow Airport, 20km away, have more than doubled their prices.
While thousands of people are likely to descend on Windsor hoping for a glimpse of the happy couple, their numbers will be dwarfed by the hundreds of millions more who will watch it live on TV.
Naziq Hussain, the manager of Esquires Coffee on the High Street, is hiring extra staff and will open before dawn to cater for dedicated royal enthusiasts.
"People will be sleeping overnight like … for the Queen's birthday,'' he said, referring to the
thousands of people who turned out to wish Queen Elizabeth a happy 90th birthday in 2016.
"We are going to do some royal cakes — Eton Mess, Victoria Sponge — and we will do a high tea in honour of the royal wedding.
"Everybody is really looking forward to it. Windsor is a very small town and everyone is very excited.
"We are all really proud of the royal family, it's wonderful what they do for Windsor, they're really hard working and the businesses here survive just because of the royal family.''
Founded by William the Conqueror in 1070, the 1000-year-old Windsor Castle has been the home of 39 monarchs including Queen Elizabeth II, who still uses it as her private weekend residence.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Christmas Day Church service. Photo / Getty
The world's oldest and largest occupied castle dominates the township of Windsor, with souvenir shops, cafes and pubs lining the High Street and laneways right around the castle's edge.
Locals know when the Queen and Prince Philip are in residence because the royal standard flies atop the round tower which stands over the town. The rest of the week, the British Union Jack flies instead.
Phillip Bicknell, lead councillor for Windsor in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, said the town was very used to major ceremonial events, and already attracted seven million visitors a year.
"The people who live in Windsor are very proud … and very much like living in the same town as the Sovereign,'' he told News Corp.
Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle sign autographs and shake hands with children as they arrive to a walkabout at Cardiff Castle. Photo / Getty
"We are used to having lots of foreigners visit and we welcome them with open arms.
"The retailers and the businesses are geared up for major events like this. "I'm sure Harry and Meghan will be pleased to be among the crowds and the flag-waving.'' Cr Bicknell said the royal couple represented the "new generation'' and would be warmly welcomed by the visitors to Windsor.
"What a combination — an American and a Brit,'' he said.
"We are expecting a big contingent of Americans coming to see the pageantry. There aren't many places in the world that do pageantry like we do.''
Malkit Aujla has run the A.P Singh souvenir shop for 17 years, and has stocked up on Harry and Meghan coffee mugs, magnets, key rings, post cards, bookmarks, spoons and notebooks.
"They are going but not that fast,'' he said.
Asked which royal face was the bestseller, Mr Aujla said: "The Queen, still. William and Kate are very popular, the grandkids (Prince George and Princess Charlotte).''
HRH Queen Elizabeth II attends the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Photo / Getty
He said Princess Diana, who had been dead for 20 years, was "popular still, people still ask for Diana.''
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla?
"Not so much.''
Mr Aujla said he had seen a number of major events at Windsor, including Charles and Camilla's wedding in 2005, and Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee in 2002.
"That was very good, there were a lot of tourists here,'' he recalled, saying he expected the same for Harry and Meghan's wedding. "We will have more staff, there will be a lot of tourists on the day. Plus, the weather will be very nice.
"People will start coming in the very early morning to get a place.''
In the historic Carpenters Arms pub, across from the Windsor Castle gate, assistant manager Colin Mackay is gearing up for media and English royal watchers to use his bar and dining room as a base.
Based in an area of Windsor known as Guildhall Island, they'll likely be closed off from the rest of the town due to security arrangements.
Mr Mackay said he'd had inquiries from "quite a lot of local people and further afield, so they can be in and out. Like the Queen's jubilee.''
The charming old pub has been continuously operating as a public house since the 16th century.
"It's rumoured the old cellar was a tunnel to the castle,'' Mr Mackay said. He said the pub would open early, and put on champagne breakfasts for those wanting to toast the royal couple.
"It will be huge. The Queen's birthday was absolutely massive,'' he said. "All the royal enthusiasts will be here in their Union Jack waistcoats."
