Crowds lined the streets of Windsor to catch a glimpse of the Royal couple. Photo / Corazon Miller
Crowds lined the streets of Windsor to catch a glimpse of the Royal couple. Photo / Corazon Miller
For the thousands standing in the crowds outside Windsor Castle the moment Prince Harry and Meghan Markle flew past in their royal carriage was a fairytale ending to the modern-day love story.
Cheers erupted and flags were waving and camera shutters went crazy as the newlyweds flew quickly past in their horse-drawn carriage around the royal borough of Windsor, on Saturday afternoon. The Markle family dramas of the week gone past, a distant memory in most people's minds, as the focus shifted back to the royal wedding celebrations.
For one Kiwi woman who spent almost as much time in the air, as she did on the ground in the United Kingdom, on her whirlwind trip to witness the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex it was a "euphoric" day.
Elaine Sutherland at Windsor for the Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan. Photo / Corazon Miller
Elaine Sutherland, who lives in Cairns, had spent almost 32 hours and $2000 getting to London – just for the wedding day. "I'm just so excited, it's amazing," she told the Herald on Sunday. "The weather is just perfect, it's a fantastic day to get married.
"Good on ya Harry." Sutherland, originally from Waima, Hokianga, secured herself a spot along the Long Walk and got a glimpse of the newlyweds as they sped past on the way to their private wedding reception.
Sutherland said, aside from her husband, and her employers, no-one knew of her solo trip to Windsor.
"My mother will be tripping over her Weet-bix, as she reads the New Zealand Herald back home," she said.
As soon as the couple returned to the castle, the crowds dissipated fairly quickly from the main streets, with many planning to go celebrate with a glass of wine and bite to eat.
Mother and daughter duo, Emma, 30, and Susan Platts, 53, stood in the warm sun for eight hours, to catch a seconds-long glimpse of the newlywed royals. They said it was worth the wait. Emma said the whole event was really well organised, police were "fantastic" and it was a thrill to witness her "favourite royal" on his wedding day. Her mother said Meghan Markle looked "stunning".
"Plain and simple but classic."
Ibe and her husband were visiting Windsor from Costa Rica, while on a trip to London to visit their daughter. Ibe said she loved the royals and said it was "exciting" to be a part of the celebrations in the royal borough. "I loved [Meghan Markle's dress]. Less is more," she said. They planned to celebrate the rest of the weekend, alongside hundreds of others who would be staying in the royal borough for the weekend.
Not all were in town to celebrate.
Liz Hind, 41, owns a pub about an hour's drive from Windsor and had come to raise awareness of the city's homeless population.
"We came last night to protest, so people remember them [the homeless], when all the cameras are focused on a pretty frock."
While she was not a royal fan, Hind said it wasn't a protest aimed at the royals. Despite the huge crowds, and the small number of protesters, the whole day moved fairly smoothly, with officials keeping people moving through the streets as needed. There was security screening at most main entrances to the town centre and by late morning many people were being prevented from entering the streets in the main part of town, or exiting the town through the gates to the Long Walk.
Traffic was heavy on the rail networks, though no major issues were reported, and most were in good cheer travelling to and from Windsor.
Patricia Daily, 60, from North Carolina was one of those who had braved the overnight cold to secure a good spot along the Long Walk. Photo / Corazon Miller
Earlier in the day, on one of the first trains out from Clapham Junction, in south London, sisters Irene Lennon, 66, from Edinburgh, and her sister Audrey Wilde, 72, from Newcastle, led travellers in a rendition of "'Tis Harry I'm Planning' to Marry."
"When you turn to the subject of Harry, that's a horse from a different safari. He can box like a fox, he's as dumb as an ox," the pair sang as onlookers applauded the royal fans.
Lennon said they had gotten the early train to nab the perfect spot for the wedding.
"We are here for Harry's wedding, because everyone is invited. It means so much to us to be at the wedding, he is just such a lovely guy."
The sister duo were in high spirits and said they had been "partying for days" planned to party well into the afternoon.
Others on the streets of Windsor had taken the train the day before and spent the night camped out to secure a front row seat to the festivities.
Patricia Daily, 60, from Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States, was one of those who had braved the overnight cold to ensure she had a good view of the royal procession.
"It was bloody cold, but it was fun," she said. "You kind of bond with the people around you and you look out for each other."
Daily said she shared champagne with a British woman who was sleeping next to her overnight and they shared their experiences of the past royal events they'd been to.
It was her third royal wedding, having been in London for the marriage of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in July 1986 and also for Prince Charles' marriage to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
"I think Prince Harry's and Meghan Markle's wedding is the last royal I'll ever see in my lifetime, so it was important to come."
Not everyone camped out on the streets had travelled as far to get there. Samantha Scott was a Windsor local who had spent the night outside.
Joseph Smart, 5, and his grandmother Mary McLoughlin had a long day, after getting up at 1am to make the drive to Windsor. Photo / Corazon Miller
"We decided to camp out so we could get a good spot, originally we thought just thought we'd come and see the procession, but we thought no, we'd go for it.
Despite a cold, sleepless night she said it had been really fun.
"The police have been great, a great sense of humour, and our neighbours too."
But she said as soon as the 25-minute procession was over, she planned to head straight home to watch a replay of the wedding.
And for one young fan a bit of "luck" saw him see his favourite prince, when his mother booked a Windsor hotel for a random weekend in May. Sarah Smart, 44, booked the hotel for herself, her young son and mother, when news of the engagement broke. She was just hoping for the best, and felt "pretty lucky" when she found it had landed on the same date she'd booked the hotel for.
Her son Joseph Smart, 5, said he was "very tired" after having gotten up at 1am for the drive to Windsor from the English West Midlands on Saturday morning. He planned to bring photos and decorations from his big day out to share with his mates at his school's royal wedding party on Monday for a bit of show and tell.
