Cardiff Castle dubbed ‘Britain’s weirdest’ ahead of royal visit
CARDIFF will again be the focus of media attention today thanks to a visit by one of the world’s most famous couples.
Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle are visiting the capital for a day “showcasing Welsh culture and heritage”.
But among the stranger stories appearing ahead of the visit is one by a US magazine, which has decided that Cardiff has “Britain’s weirdest castle”.
Travel + Leisure magazine, which has 2.8 million likes on Facebook, described the castle as “fairy-tale”, “whimsical” and “bizarre” and says there’s “little that’s either royal or Welsh” about it.
To be fair, it also say it’s “Wales’ most captivating castle” and says Megan and Harry “are in for a grand day out”.
The castle is the royal couple’s first stop on their visit.
They will hear performances from musicians and poets, meet sportsmen and women and see how organisations are working to promote Welsh language and cultural identity.
Members of the public are invited to come and meet the couple at the castle but it is understood space for observers will be limited.
The castle gates open at 9am with no entry fee but with spaces allocated on a first come first served basis. The royal visit will then start at about 1.30pm.
Then the couple, who are due to get married in May, will travel to the Star Hub community and leisure centre in Tremorfa to see how sport is being used to engage young people and aid social development.
Describing the castle, in an article entitled “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are visiting Britain’s weirdest castle”, the magazine says: “Meghan might feel like she’s back on a film set – and she will be; the BBC have filmed both Doctor Who and Sherlock here.”
According to the article, the “weirdest section” of the castle is the clock tower which “dominates the castle, and Cardiff itself”.
It adds that “whimsical Victoriana, endless animal carvings, and a lavish interior design make Cardiff Castle as strange as it is captivating”, and says: “Below the tower is the busy center of Cardiff, a bustling city whose exquisite Victorian and Edwardian shopping arcades contain tea houses, interior stylists, vintage tailors and boutique food shops (and The New York Deli, in case Meghan needs a hoagie, bagel or a hot dog).
“What will Meghan think of one of Britain’s grandest and oddest buildings? There may be little that’s either Royal or Welsh about Wales’ most captivating castle, but Megan and Harry are in for a grand day out.”
Cardiff Castle was originally a Roman fort probably established at the end of the 50s AD. After the Norman conquest, the castle’s keep was built, re-using the site of the Roman fort.
The castle passed through the hands of several noble families until 1766 when it passed by marriage to the Bute family.
From 1866 the third Marquess, John Crichton-Stuart, employed the architect William Burges to transform the castle lodgings into the castle we know today.