Union flags are hanging from dozens of poles on Castle Hill, the bunting is strung up, Harry and Meghan T-shirts and tea towels are on sale, shop windows are sporting congratulatory messages and the pavements are choked with tourists.

But in Windsor’s doorways and bus shelters, flattened cardboard boxes and grubby sleeping bags are evidence of another side to the royal town where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry this month.



Four months after Simon Dudley, the council leader, attracted national attention with his demand that police use legal powers to clear rough sleepers off the streets before the royal wedding, little has changed for the town’s homeless residents.



“It did get momentarily better while the media were here, but it was all show,” said Keith Whitfield, 45, who sleeps in the corner of a bus shelter opposite the royal castle. He has been homeless since a relationship ended seven years ago and has sporadically been offered bed and breakfast accommodation in Southall, a 40-minute train ride away.



A homeless person in Windsor. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Dudley’s demand, made in a letter to Thames Valley police, was reinforced in a series of tweets sent while on a skiing holiday in Wyoming. The letter urged police to take action against “aggressive begging and intimidation” and “bags and detritus” accumulating on the streets. “The whole situation also presents a beautiful town in a sadly unfavourable light,” he wrote.



On Twitter, he referred to “an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy in Windsor” and said he wanted police to “focus on dealing with this before the #RoyalWedding”.



Dudley was criticised by national and local homeless charities. Theresa May, whose constituency falls in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM), publicly took issue with his comments. The tiny opposition group on the Conservative-dominated council tabled a motion of no confidence, saying Dudley had brought the council into disrepute.



But four months on, there has been no retraction nor any apology from Dudley. This week, the council declined to answer specific questions from the Guardian on what action had been taken since the furore to help rough sleepers and what plans had been made for the royal wedding weekend.



Lynne Jones, the opposition leader, said council officials were working on a homelessness strategy, but it was not expected until the autumn.



“In the past this wasn’t given much of a priority. But there has been a change of attitude as a result of the shockwaves over Dudley’s comments. Many people in the local community were outraged and demanded action to help the homeless, and the council has acknowledged that,” she said.



Bunting near the castle. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

According to Murphy James of the Windsor Homeless Project, the number of rough sleepers in the town had remained steady over recent months. The project provides support and advice, as well as hot meals, showers and laundry facilities, to about 40 people, with about 20 visiting its premises in a town centre church on a typical day.



He was sceptical about the forthcoming homelessness strategy, saying it would count for little unless its authors listened to “people dealing with the situation on a daily basis”.



But with the spotlight on Windsor for the wedding, it was a fresh opportunity to highlight the issues, he said. “Homelessness has got nothing to do with the royal wedding, but the council leader linked them. Now it’s an opportunity to shine a light on the issue, which is not a bad thing.”



In the run-up to the occasion, he expected people sleeping on the streets to be found temporary accommodation, “but the key thing is whether that is being maintained a month later”.



There were plans to remove the possessions of rough sleepers into storage for the duration of the wedding celebrations, “but there is no suggestion of people forcibly being taken off the streets”, he said.



Meanwhile, the project has sought to take advantage of the hordes of well-wishers. It has teamed up with thortful, a philanthropic greetings card company, to produce a limited edition of two celebration cards to be sold on the day by homeless people in the town. Money raised will go directly into their pockets.



A shop in Windsor displays royal wedding memorabilia. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

“The fact that our clients will be adding to the carnival atmosphere and interacting with visitors to our wonderful town, rather than appearing ‘in a sadly unfavourable light’, is just brilliant,” said James.

The project has also produced a range of alternative wedding merchandise, including mugs, tea towels and bunting, to raise money to support homeless people.



But there was not much excitement among those living on the streets. Matt, 39, who has been homeless on and off since he was a teenager, said he expected to be asked to “clear out of town for the day. They’ll say it’s security.”



He added: “I’ve got respect for the royals, but when it comes to homelessness they haven’t done much for us.”



Whitfield said the police and council would “have something up their sleeves. They might put us in a B&B for a couple of days. I say good luck to the couple, but us poor peasants will just be swept under the carpet as usual.”



In a statement, a spokesperson for RBWM said: “Our strategies and policies are built and designed around the needs of our residents. This ensures that we are providing support to those who need it most.

“As such, our strategy to prevent and reduce homelessness among our residents is a wraparound policy that offers a pathway of support including temporary emergency housing, investing in a year-round night shelter and independent living facility and providing prevention and mediation services for those at risk of losing a tenancy and temporary accommodation.

“This policy is in place year round and is offered to residents as part of our statutory role as a local authority.”