When Harry and Meghan hit the Royal Mile
Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle drew hundreds of well-wishers to the centre of Edinburgh yesterday as the royal couple made their first official joint visit to Scotland.
Braving cold and wet conditions, they also met one of the armed forces’ smallest recruits – a Shetland pony.
Corporal Cruachan IV, the mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, is famed for trying to upstage the Queen when she visited Stirling Castle last summer by nibbling on her posy.
But he was on his best behaviour when he met the prince and his bride-to-be during their visit – their fourth joint engagement together – which started with a trip to Edinburgh Castle.
The prince, 33, also showed off his romantic side when asked if he was looking forward to his wedding day to Ms Markle, telling one well-wisher: “I’ve been excited since the day I met her.”
In a rare show of public affection, the fifth in line to the throne used the flying visit on the eve of Valentine’s Day to spark delight with his unexpected declaration of love. Maria Jordan, from Inverkeithing, said Prince Harry smiled as he made the admission during a royal walkabout at Edinburgh Castle yesterday lunchtime.
She said: “I asked if he was excited for the wedding and Harry said ‘I’ve been excited since the day I met her’. It was really nice.”
The couple’s first stop was the Castle esplanade where they were greeted by a sea of red, white and blue flags, with women and men of all ages turning out to wish them well ahead of their wedding on 19 May.
Ms Markle, 36, who wore a Burberry tartan coat, admitted she was still adapting to the British climate on a chilly afternoon. She said to one royal fan: “It’s so exciting – it is so cold though isn’t it?”
The couple began shaking hands, saying hello and thanking the well-wishers for coming to see them.
One male well-wisher gave Ms Markle a bunch of roses and told her “Don’t marry Harry, marry me” as she and Harry greeted crowds.
Fans arrived in Edinburgh from around the world, including Australia, America and England.
Monica Bethune, 28, and Kallie Dabkawski, 27, of Victoria, Australia, called into Edinburgh as a first stop-off point on their trip around Europe.
They said: “We only saw they were coming on the news and we thought, ‘what are the chances?’ It’s so exciting - we’d never get this chance back home.
“We had a royal party when they got engaged. They’re a really cute couple.”
Meghan Chayka, a History student at Edinburgh University from America, said: “We have been so excited to meet them.
“Having the same name as Meghan and being American makes it so much better. In the States we absolutely love the royal family.
“I was up at 4am to watch the wedding with Prince William and Kate and we’ve had parties for the engagement. It will be amazing to have an American in the royal family.”
Daniel Pearn, of Cornwall, was complemented on his coat by the Prince. He said: “I got to see Prince Harry, shook his hand and spoke to him. He said ‘nice coat, keep yourself warm’.”
On a more serious note, Prince Harry said work done by an Edinburgh cafe supporting homeless people “needs to be across the UK as soon as possible”. He and Ms Markle took time to visit Social Bite on the capital’s Rose Street, where co-founder Josh Littlejohn told them about his work to get people off the streets by giving them employment and helping them find their own accommodation.
Harry said: “When are you bringing this down south?
“When you’ve proved it really works, it needs to be across the UK as soon as possible.” Mr Littlejohn said they were willing to share what they had learned with other organisations to tackle the issue elsewhere. He added Social Bite’s focus was on eradicating homelessness in Scotland first.
The royal couple also met Scotland’s First Minister at a reception to celebrate the achievements of young people in Edinburgh – and received an offer of a wedding band.
Nicola Sturgeon was among those welcoming the couple to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. A band from Impact Arts performed at the event and made a tongue-in-cheek pitch to play at the royal wedding. Band member Darren Telford said: “What we said was that a little birdie had told us that Ed Sheeran was going to be playing an upcoming wedding and if he couldn’t make it, we are free if they wanted.”
During the visit the couple also saw 14-year-old gymnast Fraser Lynes show off his skills with a somersault, which he said Harry told him was “very impressive”.
COMMENT “Iaskedifhewas excited for the wedding and Harry said ‘I’ve been excited since the day I met her’. It was really nice”
MARIA JORDAN