Crowds get sneak peek of the big day at Windsor rehearsal
THOUSANDS of people crammed into the centre of Windsor yesterday just to watch the rehearsal for the royal wedding.
Windsor prepares for the Royal Wedding with full rehearsal
The full military rehearsal involved 250 members of the Armed Forces with connections to Harry's service history.
Events began with a trial run of the 25-minute procession in which the royal couple will travel from St George's Chapel to the gates of Windsor Castle.
The elongated route began from Castle Hill through the High Street and on to the Long Walk and back into Windsor Castle.
Police closed roads ahead of the parade and armed officers patrolled the route, together with ambulance crews and wedding "ambassadors" who volunteered to give directions to the public.
An Ascot Landau carriage - similar to the one which Harry and Meghan will travel in - was drawn by the same four Windsor grey horses to be used on Saturday.
There are five identical carriages, all kept in the Royal Mews and named after Royal Ascot, where they are used during the Queen's procession each year.
It was escorted down the Long Walk by more than 20 Household Cavalrymen in full regimental uniform carrying ceremonial weapons.
Success Following at the rear came two Range Rovers loaded with police officers from the Diplomatic Protection Group.
Earlier a military band marched through the town, followed by members of Army and Navy regiments including Gurkhas, the Irish Guards and the Army Air Corps.
Afterwards Lance Corporal of Horse Adam Blackmore-Heal said the rehearsal had been a success following meticulous preparations which began in February.
He said: "The rehearsal looked good from where we were.
"Saturday should be a good day.
"We are hoping to show ourselves off and the royal family off in a way which will make us feel proud.
"We just want to make the whole country feel proud really."
Dozens of "super fans" had been camped out on the pavements since Monday to grab the best spots for viewing tomorrow's procession.
More than 60,000 visitors will cram into Windsor ahead of the wedding, including tourists from as far afield as the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Kassie Courson, from Macomb, Illinois, who is visiting with her husband Ron, said: "Even though it's only a rehearsal, it's wonderful.
"It's really whetted our appetite for the real thing. We love everything royal and we're just delighted to be here. We wouldn't have missed it for anything."
"My heart goes out to Meghan. It is such a good time in your life when you are getting married and to not have all your loved ones there is difficult."
Lynda Moore, 70, from Ontario, Canada, added: "It's just so great. We all love the royal family in Canada. Queen Elizabeth is our monarch too. I think Prince Harry is a lovely young man and Meghan is very beautiful."
Suneel Dhand, 37, had travelled to his home town, Datchet, near Windsor, from Boston, USA, where he now works as a doctor, to see the wedding.
"I really wanted to be part of it. Windsor High Street is where we do our banking so we feel part of it. Our bank is across the road from the castle."
Windsor resident Gillian Frost, 38, added: "I've got two little girls who love the idea that Meghan Markle is going to become a princess.
"We live in Windsor so the wedding and all the preparations have become part of our lives. But even if we lived miles away we would come here to be part of it."
The crowds were finally rewarded as Meghan, looking more relaxed than her husband-to-be, was driven up Windsor's Long Walk towards the castle gates smiling and waving as the couple went.
Harry appeared more strained by the will-he-won't-he saga surrounding the wedding appearance of Meghan's father Thomas Markle.
But the couple, who were joined by Prince William and his wife Kate, and had tea with the Queen after the trial run, could not have been unmoved by their reception in Berkshire.
As the crowds enjoyed the preparations, Thames Valley Police and the Metropolitan Police used the dress rehearsal to assess any potential security threat, bottlenecks and crowd surges.
Before yesterday's exercise began, armed police and specially trained sniffer dogs patrolled the streets and squadrons of uniformed officers with machine guns toured the town in rotation.
Their colleagues checked drains, bins and any other potential hiding places for bombs as Windsor was turned into a fortress.
Reinforced crash barriers are in place to prevent a Westminsterstyle vehicle terror attack and undercover SAS and SBS soldiers will mingle with the crowds.