The Royal Wedding

May 19, 2018: Today we will go to Windsor England and try to catch a glimpse of one of the most controversial weddings in the long history of the British Royal Family.  Our guests this week are Caitlyn Conley and Pierre Moretti.  Caitlyn is the daughter of our friend Ed Conley whose wife is Andrea.  Caitlyn meticulously researched our strategy to not only get us as close as possible to Meghan & Harry during their “Long Walk” carriage ride following their marriage ceremony at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle but also to get us on The Today Show live coverage.  Not surprisingly she managed to successfully accomplish both feats, and for those of you who know Caitlyn we are sure this would not surprise you.  Caitlyn’s mom Wendy decided to join us in London and surprised Caitlyn by booking a flight and hotel near our apartment.  Caitlyn and Pierre arrived from France on Thursday May 17 and Wendy came in Friday morning.  We decided it would be best to keep Wendy awake for the day after her overnight flight as this is her first time in Europe and she only has four days.  She was a trooper and powered through a tour of Westminster Abbey, a walk down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at The Savoy and dinner on a boat in the Thames.

IMG_8425-2
Outside Westminster Abbey.  No pictures from inside as Jim got nabbed by a clergyman as he was surreptitiously trying to take a picture.
IMG_8465
Regent Street
IMG_8443
You have gotta love the London Tabloids.
IMG_8476
Dinner on the Thames.

IMG_8574

IMG_8576
Diana through the years.
IMG_8579
The John Travolta dance dress.
IMG_0497 (1).jpg
Queen for a day.
IMG_8596
After you my Lord.

She then slept four hours and was up at 05:00 in order to make the 06:40 train to Windsor.  While on the train we were interviewed by Stephen Castle, London reporter for the New York Times and Caitlyn was interviewed by the AP later in the day.

IMG_8489 (2).jpg
On the train and wide awake.

We arrived at our destination at 07:35 and were amazed at how easily we breezed through security and at how sparse the crowds were.  IMG_8496 (1).jpg

IMG_8497 (1)
Easy security checkpoint.
IMG_8500 (1)
Caitlyn being interviewed by the Associated Press.
IMG_8505 (1)
Jim & Piere were super excited to be here.
IMG_8509 (2).jpg
Meanwhile, Sandy was playing.

Thanks to Caitlyn’s research we found an ideal spot on the fence directly across from The Windsor Castle Pub where NBC was broadcasting live.  We settled in with Pimms Turbo Cups which have extra gin and watched the wedding on a large screen backdropped by Windsor Castle.

IMG_8519
Jumbotron showing Camilla’s entrance.
IMG_1242 (1)
Our vantage point on the narrow road.
IMG_1239 (2)
10am with our first Pimm’s turbo.
IMG_8517 (1)
Getting a thumbs up from Sheinelle and crew.

Caitlyn and Wendy  called across the road to Sheinelle of The Today Show and she had her cameras pan us while she asked us where we were from.  We proudly yelled Boston, USA and waved our UK and USA flags.  Jim wore a cheap bowler hat with a Union Jack and Stars and Stripes on top and Sandy had an American flag scarf and the obligatory Royal Fascinator hat perched on her head.  True to form we garnered a lot of attention from photographers.  IMG_8513 (1)One photographer took Jim aside for a five minute photo shoot of his hat from behind.  The big moment finally occurred at 13:30 when Meghan and Harry whizzed by in their carriage only a few feet away from us.

Amazing video footage by Jim.  After the procession we crossed the street to The Windsor Castle Pub and took pictures with Sheinelle.  Jim and Pierre ended up on The Today Show again during an interview.  We only knew about it as Brian called immediately.  He and John were watching the wedding and just happened to see us, even taking pictures of the TV for us.

IMG_0731 (2).jpg
Sandy, Wendy & Caitlyn with Sheinelle.

 

IMG_7840
Jim and Pierre on The Today Show.

We continued our reveling at the outdoor NBC party around the Pub.  Sandy shared a table with three woman who had been college friends and were re-uning in London for this wedding.  Interestingly enough we ran into this same threesome at The Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Harrods over the next few days.

IMG_8624 (2)
Sandy, Caitlyn, three college buds & Wendy.

Late afternoon we explored the little town of Windsor and walked around the Castle and saw the chapel where the wedding had just taken place hours earlier.  IMG_8537 (1)

IMG_8552 (2).jpg
After reading the sign above you can see that we don’t always follow the rules.

We had our only formal meal of the day at a French Cafe, Pierre’s choice, where Wendy nearly crashed from three days of activity, four hours sleep and a few alcoholic beverages.  All in all it was a great day, Caitlyn said that it was “the best day of my life”, Jim and Pierre survived it with a great deal more fun and less hassle than they expected. Sandy felt that it was much easier to get close to Royalty in the UK than it is getting close to runners in The Boston Marathon.

4 responses to “The Royal Wedding”

  1. Kathleen Von Pohle Avatar
    Kathleen Von Pohle

    Fabulous! I do enjoy Royalty. Watched the wedding several times on TV, hoping to see you!
    Ya’ll are such celebrities!
    Best, Kathleen

  2. Victoria Kinnally Avatar
    Victoria Kinnally

    I watched the royal wedding all day on FOX and ABC so I am sorry to have missed you on television. It sounds like the fun continues and I look forward to reading more of your accounts of your retirement dream.

  3. Patricia Argente Avatar
    Patricia Argente

    OMG! Really????? The MM looked right at you all.Clearly she recognized you as fun,kind lovely Americans.
    Carry on!!!

  4. Katiti Kironde Avatar
    Katiti Kironde

    WOW just WOW!!!! I could not be more happy for you and jealous at the same time!!!! You guys are great and we miss you!!!

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Living the retirement dream

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading