All profits from sale of scheme’s Harry and Meghan memorabilia will be used to assist local people

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

An organisation that supports homeless people in Windsor is hoping to take advantage of enthusiasm for the imminent royal wedding there by selling commemorative Prince Harry and Meghan Markle merchandise.

The Windsor Homeless Project is marketing items from a £10 pack of postcards to a £5,000 plate, with all profits going to support homeless people in the royal borough.

Other items in the For Richer For Poorer range include a £20 mug, a £15 fridge magnet, a £25 tea towel, a £40 T-shirt and a pack of bunting, also costing £40.



“This May, all eyes will be on the royal borough of Windsor as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry proclaim their love to the world,” the project’s website says.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A mug for £20 is part of the range being sold to raise money for homeless people in Windsor. Photograph: Harry Lee/For Richer, For Poorer

“Every item in this unique commemorative range celebrates the happy union and goes directly towards providing the materials and support to help homeless people in Windsor get back on their feet.”

A plate would cover the cost of getting someone off the streets for a year. “This generous donation buys a full moving-in set including furniture, carpets, curtains, appliances, kitchen utensils and everything else that turns an empty space into a safe home.

“Importantly, it also includes a living wage for the support worker that provides the indispensable guidance and companionship needed to stay on track despite challenges and setbacks.”



Other items will fund toiletry kits, clean clothes, hot meals and mobile phones and credit.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Souvenirs on display in a shop near Windsor Castle. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Reuters

The Windsor Homeless Project has also produced a video featuring local homeless people and those helping them singing All You Need Is Love by the Beatles.

“The royal wedding should be about three things: love, love, love,” says Murphy James of the Windsor Homeless Project, introducing the video.

The leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Simon Dudley, caused a furore in January when he demanded police use legal powers to clear the area of homeless people before the royal wedding.



He wrote to Thames Valley police urging action against “aggressive begging and intimidation” and “bags and detritus” accumulating on the streets.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The bunting is on sale for £40. Photograph: Harry Lee/For Richer, For Poorer

He also said: “A large number of adults that are begging in Windsor are not in fact homeless, and if they are homeless they are choosing to reject all support services ... In the case of homelessness amongst this group, it is therefore a voluntary choice.”



In a series of tweets sent while on a skiing holiday in Wyoming, Dudley said “residents have had enough of this exploitation of residents and 6 million tourists pa [per annum]” and that he wanted police to “focus on dealing with this before the #RoyalWedding”.



His letter said: “The whole situation also presents a beautiful town in a sadly unfavourable light.”



Dudley’s comments were criticised by Theresa May, whose constituency is Maidenhead, as well as homeless charities such as Crisis and Shelter.



Tens of thousands of well-wishers and tourists are expected to go to the picturesque town on the banks of the Thames for the ceremony on 19 May in St George’s chapel, Windsor Castle.