Royal wedding: Windsor hotels already sold out after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce marriage date in May

Martin Coulter2 November 2018

Hotel rooms across Windsor have already been snapped up by royal enthusiasts just hours after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed the date of their wedding.

Kensington Palace announced on Friday the couple's union will take place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on Saturday, May 19 next year.

Almost immediately, rooms everywhere from budget inns to luxury hotels saw royalist tourists purchasing whatever was on offer.

A quick search on price comparison sites such as TripAdvisor and Expedia shows almost all hotels are sold out, with most others saying there is "only one room left".

The Castle Hotel in Windsor, Berkshire, has sold out of rooms for the royal weekend
PA Archive/PA Images

Places without a room to spare on the weekend include Gothic country house Oakley Court, the Castle Hotel in Berkshire, and the Windsor Holiday Inn.

Prince Harry and Ms Markle have gone against tradition by choosing a Saturday to wed, avoiding the issue of whether the royal celebration should be made into a Bank Holiday.

Royal weddings usually take place on a weekday. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge previously wed on a Friday and the Queen married on a Thursday.

The May wedding will also have been picked to give the Duchess of Cambridge time to recover after the birth of her third child, which is due in April.

Ms Markle, who is to become a British citizen, is being both baptised and confirmed ahead of the religious ceremony.

 Prince Harry reportedly told one friend Ms Markle was his 'dream woman'

The Queen will be there, as will the rest of the royal family, along with Ms Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte look set take on the roles of pageboy and bridesmaid.

The couple, who have enjoyed a 16-month whirlwind romance after being introduced by mutual friends in London, revealed they were engaged on November 27.

After the wedding, they will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.

Two years before they began dating, Prince Harry told a friend on a night out that Ms Markle was his "ideal woman".

In their first interview after revealing their engagement they gave the world a glimpse of their life as a couple.

She and Prince Harry will be seen in public with other royals when they attend the traditional Christmas Day church service on the Queen’s private estate in Norfolk.

They will attend the morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church on December 25.

The move is a break with tradition as the invitation to spend Christmas with the royal family is not usually extended to partners until they are married.

It was previously reported that Prince Harry had asked the Queen to make an exception in order for Ms Markle to join the family for Christmas.

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