Prince Harry’s upcoming marriage to Meghan Markle has triggered a tourism boom at Windsor Castle.
The 33-year-old royal and the former ‘Suits’ actress are poised to tie the knot on May 19 in St George’s Chapel, but news of their engagement and plans to marry at the historic site have already created a spike in visitor numbers.
A source, who was at the venue last week, told the Daily Star Sunday newspaper said: "The queues were huge – much longer than they have been.
"As soon as they got into the castle everyone made a beeline for the chapel."
According to a spokesman for Windsor Council, visitor numbers to some attractions in the town were up 40 percent.
The spokesperson added: "Windsor is high on many people’s ‘must see’ list but the news of the royal wedding is only helping to elevate it even further.
"It will be a while before we can evaluate the full impact of the royal wedding on tourism to Windsor but we do know hotels locally have already taken a lot of bookings in the lead up to and during the weekend of the wedding."
What’s more, prices for hotels in Windsor reached as high as £629 a night in the immediate aftermath of Prince Harry and Meghan’s engagement announcement.
Meanwhile, it was recently reported that Meghan was shortlisted to be the next Bond girl before her relationship with Prince Harry took off.
The 36-year-old beauty has had to leave her Hollywood dreams behind since finding love with the British royal, which meant abandoning her chances of becoming an iconic Bond girl.
A source recently said: "Meghan fits the role of a Bond girl perfectly. She’s glamorous and sexy and a good actress.
"The role more recently has gone to actresses deemed to be rising stars, and Meghan certainly was seen as that before her relationship with Harry became public."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding boosts local tourism
