As the crowd screamed for Meghan it was as if the people’s princess was reborn
ALONG Windsor’s Long Walk the 50-deep crowds had been sitting on deckchairs sipping warm Bucks Fizz and G&T from cans for hours.
But as 11.45am and the promised first glimpse of Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Ragland approached, the crowd leapt and lunged into action.
Hot bodies moulded to the iron barriers and necks craned for even a fleeting view of the once-ordinary American girl being whisked to her British prince – and into history books.
It was the moment that the union of Meghan and Harry – of Hollywood and royalty, Britain and the USA – became real. And the moment the nation welcomed its new duchess into its arms for the first time.
The jostling crowds created scenes we haven’t seen since Princess Diana used to go on her famous walkabouts when Meghan’s groom was just a boy.
It was as though another people’s princess was in the making.
The crowd had cheered for James Corden, the Beckhams and the Clooneys when they rocked up on the big screen, even Sarah Ferguson...but this was deafening.
Hugs
In a blink, the car was right there, and we all swelled towards it like one giant, very un-british, embrace.
Through the glass, Meghan’s tiny usually-composed face looked unusually shy as she gave a small wave, but those wide eyes conveyed a simple and silent “thank you”.
Thank you for accepting me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being on my side.
In that moment I think she would have given us one of her famous American hugs if she could.
After the week she’d had, the warm reception, albeit from strangers, must have been very welcome.
In the last few days she’s had to cope with her father’s painfully flip-flopping decision not to travel to England to walk her down the aisle, reportedly tearful at times.
Yesterday, as she flashed by, she was no doubt steeling herself for a lonely beginning to her fairytale wedding – the spotlight on a solo walk into St George’s Chapel before meeting Harry’s father, not her own, to take her the rest of the way.
Meghan is clearly a confident woman, three years older than Harry, who’s weathered a divorce and the difficult climb into a critical acting world. She’s no stranger to slurs, speaking of racism throughout her life, not least since her love for Harry became public.
But even a former actress seemingly at ease with public attention would have been daunted by the thousands who turned out to applaud her yesterday. Plastic Prosecco glasses and Meghan-and-harry cardboard cutouts were trampled in the stampede towards her.
I was so strait-jacketed by the crowds, I could barely hold up my phone for a blurry snap. Most of us had been here since 4, 5, 6am.
But while we waited to see the most modern of royal weddings, we found ourselves united, too.
And perhaps that is what this very modern marriage stands for.
Kids chatted to OAPS, Yanks to Brits.
I was welcomed into the camp of four friends from Ohio sharing their picnic with a mum from Eastbourne and her kids who provided a who’s-who running commentary on the lesser-known royals.
Katie Coates, 35, a nurse and diehard Suits fan who had travelled so far to show her support for Meghan, said: “They’ve been teaching us about the Union Jack and why the British drink tea.
“Everyone has been so nice! We have this image of the Brits as not so warm – it’s not true!”.
That stereotype was completely smashed later when we all jumped up to sway to the stunning gospel rendition of Stand By Me during the ceremony. It was all very un-british – just like Meghan.
She comes to the role of royal ready to roll her sleeves up. “I’ve never