Royal wedding: Windsor preparing for massive influx of visitors

ByDavid Ono KABC logo
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Royal wedding: Windsor preparing for visitor influx
Massive preparations are underway in the British town of Windsor for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

WINDSOR, ENGLAND -- Massive preparations are underway in the British town of Windsor for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

With just three days left, tourists and royal watchers are showing up in the small, historic town to camp out for a viewing spot or just to soak up the royal atmosphere.

The town is just west of London and is home to Windsor Castle, an official residence of the royal family.

About 32,000 live in Windsor, but the town is expecting crowds of at least 100,000 to line the streets for the nuptials.

Generators, loudspeakers and monitors are already in place along the streets, along with thousands of port-a-potties.

The town itself is a sort of living exhibit of English history. Windsor Castle was built in the 11th century and many of the pubs and businesses around it are hundreds of years old.

At the local pubs, one of the most requested drinks is the Windsor Knot. That's a pale ale made from a combination of British and American hops, honoring the union of British royalty and the American actress, along with some celebratory champagne yeast.

Visitors are flying in from around the world to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.

Donna Werner of Connecticut is already camping out on the street near the castle. She did the same thing for the 2011 wedding of William and Kate.

"You dream of falling in love with a prince or having a prince fall in love with you," Werner said. "This is a true-life fairy tale. A prince has fallen in love with just a common girl. And he's sweeping her away to live in his castle."