Prince mingles with crowds of well-wishers as his fiancee takes her mother to visit the Queen

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Princes William and Harry greeted well-wishers who gathered in Windsor on a 10-minute walk-around on Friday, the eve of the latter’s wedding to Meghan Markle.

Prince Harry told members of the crowd he was feeling “great”, ignoring questions about whether he had any nerves. Markle told reporters she was feeling “wonderful” as she and her mother, Doria Ragland, arrived to meet the Queen at Windsor Castle.

During the pre-wedding walkabout, which echoed what happened before his brother William’s wedding, Prince Harry was greeted with shouts of “good luck” and thanked one woman who had travelled from Canada for coming so far.

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He waved to the public and chatted to his brother, before heading to talk to a young girl waiting among the crowds outside.

At one point, the groom-to-be was handed a small teddy bear wearing a red sweater, which he gave a quick hug, before moving on to speak to a young boy wearing a red, white and blue crown-style hat.

Meghan O’Shea, aged seven, from Holyport, near Maidenhead, was among those who was chatting with the prince. He noted the “h” in the little girl’s name and she said he remarked: “Is that like the one I’m going to marry? There’s not very many Meghans with an ‘h’ around.” The young girl said of her namesake: “I think she’s very nice.”

Prince Harry stopped to chat to two women who were wearing white baseball caps adorned with both the union flag and US flag, telling them: “I like the hats.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland arrive at the Cliveden House hotel. Photograph: WPA Pool/Getty Images

On the same afternoon, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh met Markle and her mother. Ragland was introduced to the monarch with Prince Harry and her daughter present, Buckingham Palace said.



Markle spoke to reporters as she arrived with her mother at the luxury Cliveden House hotel, following their afternoon tea meeting with the Queen.

Fans, many wearing red, white and blue, were camped outside the castle and have been singing loudly.



It was announced earlier that the Prince of Wales would step in for the father of the bride and walk Meghan down the aisle on Saturday. Kensington Palace said Charles would perform the duty of giving Markle away during the ceremony in St George’s Chapel in the castle – at the request of Markle, according to the palace.

Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, was forced to pull out of performing the duty after undergoing heart surgery just two days before the wedding. Charles previously performed the duty for Alexandra Knatchbull, the daughter of his close friend, the then Lord Brabourne, in 2016.

Prince Harry and Markle will spend their last night as an unmarried couple in separate luxury hotels, only meeting again at the altar.

A large security operation saw police manning the barricades outside the castle, snipers on the roofs of high street buildings and sniffer dogs carrying out checks before Saturday’s ceremony.