People are paying insane money to rent an Airbnb near Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding

With just about a month to go until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot, there’s still time to book a flight to the United Kingdom and stake out a spot along the royal parade route. Seriously, don’t be embarrassed for wanting to witness this IRL fairy tale in person, because according to the BBC, you are not alone. In fact, people are flocking to England for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, and you, too, can take advantage of Kensington Palace’s invitation for the public to come celebrate with the royal fam. The prince and princess need someone to wave to from their horse drawn carriage, right?
If you want to be in town for the royal wedding, which is on Saturday, May 19th, you’re going to need some cash. Unlike Prince William and Kate Middleton, who got married at Westminster Abbey in the middle of London, Harry and Meghan have opted to say their vows outside of the big city at Windsor Castle. Already, Airbnbs overlooking the wedding route — or just within walking distance — are going for about $3,299 a night for a full house with room for five people to crash. You can’t blame the people of Windsor for wanting to cash in on the public’s obsession with the royal family.
You can also get a private room in a shared house for anywhere from $600 to $800 (which is also rent for an entire month in some places, but hey, we’re not here to judge how you spend your money). But this is Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, right? They just might be worth it. They are really nice places and one even comes with a “champagne hamper,” to kick off the royal festivities. We don’t know what that is really, but it sounds like a basket with cold bubbly, which we’re all about.
Windsor residents are renting out their homes over the royal wedding weekend for £3,000 a night: One two-bedroom property listed on AirBnB costs £3,195 for the night. The host is just one of many homeowners capitalising on public interest: independent: https://t.co/prPteOLsWm
— PML Group (@PML_Group) April 16, 2018
British officials expect tourism for the wedding to bring in a ton of dough for Windsor and surrounding towns, where people are booking homes that aren’t even on the parade route. Andrew Lee, manager of the Harte and Garter hotel opposite Windsor Castle, told Reuters last month, “It’s going to be a massive boost for the economy, it’s going to be great to see so many people here for the wedding and actually to host the wedding itself.”
Then again, there are some naysaying experts who told CNN Money that they don’t expect a huge boost in tourism for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, given that tourism is pretty consistent all the time in London and its surrounding areas. So, if you’re headed to London in May, don’t expect it to be any more crowded than it normally is. There’ll just be a lot more wedding merch at the souvenir shops to stock up on.
Here's who's on the royal wedding invite list., plus who's been left off… pic.twitter.com/LaiTZQimaE
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 11, 2018
Obviously, not all of these people are actually invited to the wedding.
There are about 600 guests that are actually attending the wedding, but Kensington Palace did invite over 2,000 non-royals onto the grounds on the wedding day, carefully selected by representatives of the palace. There are 1,200 members of the public, 200 people from charities, 610 Windsor Castle community members, 530 people from the royal households, and 100 local kids who will be outside of the castle to watch the arrival and the departure of the bride, groom, and all the great hats that attendees will be sporting. The palace said in a statement, “This wedding, like all weddings, will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters and values of the bride and groom.”
OMG … I JUST GOT AN INVITE TO THE GROUNDS OF WINDSOR CASTLE FOR THE ROYAL WEDDING … 😱😱😱
— Laura Rachael 🎀🎀 (@LauraRGallagher) April 5, 2018
According to a statement from Kensington Palace, “The newlyweds will leave Windsor Castle in a carriage and travel along High Street through the town of Windsor, before returning to the castle by the Long Walk.” The statement continued, “They hope this short journey will provide an opportunity for more people to come together around Windsor and to enjoy the atmosphere of this special day.” So if you do go to the U.K. for the wedding weekend, you can post up along the parade route to get a glimpse. Who needs to be admitted to the grounds anyway?
#HarryandMeghan #RoyalWedding the route pic.twitter.com/LUUCBfWdTo
— Marlene Koenig 🇺🇸 (@royalmusing) February 12, 2018
The wedding takes place at noon in the U.K., which means that Americans who can’t make it across the pond will have to set their alarms for 6 a.m. in the morning. However, if you want to watch the best part, the arrivals of all the guests and bridal parties, you’re going to have to wake up (or stay up) around 3 a.m., much like everyone did for Will and Kate’s nuptials. Obviously, Twitter will be lit if you need real-time snark about the guests’ outfits. The wedding itself will be televised all over the world, but details about the live stream in the States haven’t been announced yet, according to The New York Times.
So you don’t have to fly to Europe and book an expensive house in Windsor to see Harry and Meghan get married. Although, it’s a pretty decent excuse to get out of town for a while, if we do say so ourselves.