A ROYAL CALM BEFORE THE CAKE

W I N D S O R • Prince Harry and his best-man brother Prince William emerged from Windsor Castle Friday to greet some of the thousands of well-wishers who came to the town west of London for the royal wedding.

The 33-year-old groom and his 35-year-old brother shook hands and chatted with some of the royal fans from around the world who gathered ahead of Saturday’s wedding at Windsor Castle.

A smiling Harry gave a thumb’s up and answered “Great, thank you” when asked how he was feeling. He also accepted a teddy bear from one well-wisher as he talked with people from Britain, the United States, Canada and elsewhere.

The prince is marrying American actress Meghan Markle on Saturday in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Chapel in front of 600 guests and a huge global television audience.

Markle and her mother Doria Ragland spent the night before the wedding at exclusive Cliveden House Hotel. Arriving at the hotel at 8 p.m. Friday, they looked happy and relaxed after Ragland’s first meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle.

Buckingham Palace announced earlier on Friday that Prince Philip, who recently had hip surgery, would attend the wedding.

The 96-year-old has largely retired from public duties and it had not been clear whether he would be well enough.

The guest list was winnowed to 600, but outside the chapel a 100,000-strong crowd was expected to watch on big screens and millions more were likely watching on television.

Markle’s mother was the only member of her immediate family in attendance. This week her father, Thomas Markle — who had been due to accompany her through the chapel — pulled out at the last minute, saying his cardiologists had advised him to stay away, prompting the Prince of Wales to step in to walk Meghan up the aisle. Thomas Markle Jr. and Samantha Grant, Meghan’s halfbrother and sister, have both made waves in the past few days giving countless interviews to gossip sites and tabloids — the bitterness they initially seemed to feel towards their younger, famous sister, turning to an outpouring of sentimentality, and last-ditch pleas to be invited. “It’s not too late to send me an invite, along with your entire family,” Thomas Markle Jr. wrote.

Markle has talked often of her deep love and admiration for the woman who raised her. Indeed, she has always spoken graciously about both parents, who separated in 1987 after a 10-year relationship. But while she wished Thomas Markle well, it was clear that their bond cannot come close to that with her “amazing” mother.

“We can just have so much fun together, and yet, I’ll still find so much solace in her support,” she has said of her mother, a “free-spirited clinical therapist,” who teaches yoga and lives in Los Angeles.