I know this will probably sound daft, coming from a romance author, but the thing I am most looking forward to about the royal wedding is not the bride and groom or the happily ever after. It’s the venue. Windsor Castle has always been one of my favourite places. I’ve been visiting it since I was little because we never used to live very far away. When you drive down the M4, that first sight of it from the road always sets my nerdy history juices going. Inside, it’s even better. Old and impressive, stunningly beautiful and echoing with the ghostly sounds of a thousand years of history. I am delighted Prince Harry and Meghan decided to choose it for the wedding.
The Royal Wedding spurred me to go visit again this month. I wanted to see the preparations as well as visit my lovely, sturdy Norman old friend. It had probably been a decade since I last went and while some things change, most aspects of this glorious old castle remain reassuringly the same. I had a lovely day. I even filmed a few videos for Facebook which I’ll be posting over the wedding weekend on my page as well as the Harlequin Historical Authors Page. I confess, I might have bought one or two things too to give away too.
Already Windsor is starting to look like a huge celebration is about to take place. Everything has been spruced up. The gardens are looking delightful. The gift shops are filled with Harry and Meghan merchandise and the ancient doorways are festooned with bridal flowers ready for the big day.
Unfortunately, St Georges’ Chapel was already shut in preparation for the nuptials but I was lucky enough to get inside St Georges’ Hall just a few days before it was closed to the public. That impressive banqueting chamber will host the royal wedding reception for Meghan and Harry’s 160 invited guests. They have a strict no photographs rule inside the castle- but because I’m a rebel, I managed to snap an illicit picture of one of the doorknobs! In fairness, it is a very impressive doorknob and it was the best I could do without risking arrest.
I left feeling very envious of the new royal bride and her prince. She gets to have a fairy-tale wedding in a real fairy-tale castle. How many brides can say that?
Looking forward to the Royal Wedding? Make sure you check out Mills & Boon’s downloadable Royal Wedding party packs for everything that you need for the big day!
