No sign of nerves! Happy Harry’s surprise walkabout
CLUTCHING a teddy bear handed to him by a well-wisher, a beaming Prince Harry thrilled crowds camped outside Windsor Castle with a surprise walkabout last night.
Only hours before tying the knot with Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, the bridegroom and his best man Prince William stepped out to speak to some of the thousands lining the streets.
Harry, looking relaxed and in fine spirits ahead of the big day, raised even more smiles by joking that he would soon be off to the pub. To cheers and screams of excitement, the princes emerged from the King Henry VIII Gate at 5.47pm to spend ten minutes shaking hands and accepting congratulations on Harry’s impending marriage.
Harry, in a smart grey blazer, tailored navy chinos and an open-necked shirt, was handed the small teddy bear clad in a red sweater and gave it a quick hug. Asked if he was looking forward to today by Ritu Dutt, 48, from south-west London, he replied: ‘I’m really excited … I can’t wait.’
Harry did not answer when members of the public asked him if he was nervous, but told several he was feeling ‘great’. He even rushed to comfort one young well-wisher, 11-year-old Enes Bozkurt, who had been crushed in the throng.
She said: ‘He said, “Are you OK?” because I got crushed by all the photographers. He asked my name so I told him and he said, “How long have you been waiting out to meet us?”
‘He said I’d get front row seats and William shook my hand. One second I was crushed and the next Harry was in front of my face. I pretty much couldn’t breathe for a second.’
Her mother Leigh Bozkurt, 47, from Bracknell, Berkshire, said: ‘I took my older son Cameron out of school early to come and... stood for two hours with the hope of seeing someone. Poor Enes got crushed but it worked out in our favour.’
Stephen Short, 53, a gardener from Aberystwyth, West Wales, who has been camped
out in Windsor since Thursday, said Harry seemed ‘genuinely pleased to see everyone’.
He said: ‘I wished him luck and he said thank you very much. He asked if I was camping out. When I told him I was, he said, “Good luck”. He looked happy and was really excited and genuinely pleased to see everyone. He was lovely, he spent a lot of time talking to the children and asking questions.’
Jasmine Kingsley-Cole, 20, a student from Lymington, Hampshire, said: ‘Harry came over and asked where I was from. Two ladies next to me then said they were from Canada and Harry said, “Toronto is amazing”.
‘William shook my hand and asked what I was queuing for. I just said we didn’t know what we were waiting for but never expected both him and William to come out.’
Harry also managed to spot a familiar face in the sea of people, racing over to greet his friend Dean Stott, who has just broken the world record for cycling the Pan American Highway while raising money for the prince’s mental health charity Heads Together.
Mr Stott said: ‘I’m still a little bit tired. It’s the first time I’ve seen him. I messaged to let him know I had broken the world record. He said I was looking skinny.’ He has lost nearly two stone during his expedition, which saw him pedal through the night in order to get back in time for the wedding.
He said of his encounter with Harry: ‘If he’s nervous, he’s hiding it very well.’ Mr Stott added: ‘I’m ecstatic he’s found his soulmate and someone he can share his passions with, especially the charity interests.’
Harry, 33, who had earlier introduced Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip over tea with Meghan, also paused to chat to seven-year-old Meghan O’Shea, from Windsor, who was visiting the town centre after school. Meghan said: ‘He asked me my name and said, “Is that like the one I’m going to marry? There are not many Meghans with an H”.’
Also in the crowd was New Yorker Janena Benjamin, who congratulated William on the arrival of Prince Louis, who was born on April 23, to which the royal father of three joked: ‘We are looking for a babysitter if you are all free!’