One of the few fun things about being an American in 2017 is that, given the time difference, we finally wake up to whatever good news Kensington Palace decides to tweet about. News broke this morning that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding date will be Sunday, May 19, 2018. Previously, there was less concrete news that the wedding would take place in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in May - now, the date has been confirmed. Additionally, many Americans may be wondering whether they can attend the royal wedding. Heading to London for the weekend.
For those considering flying to London that weekend, American or not, I have a word of warning: it's going to be a scene . According to Expedia statistics, after the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, flight bookings increased by 266% and hotel bookings increased by 211%. As it turns out, the US is the culprit - they booked three times more than British citizens. The area outside Westminster Abbey was packed with not only 1,900 guests and security but also nearly a million spectators. The hubbub extends far beyond the city limits too - it's estimated there were around 5,000 street parties taking place across the UK on the day of the wedding.
In short: If you're looking into this, make sure you're someone who can handle chaos and is someone who plans ahead.
If you're interested in traveling to the royal wedding, your best bet is to try to book flights and accommodation now. Your best bet is probably to book a trip Wednesday to Wednesday or Tuesday to Tuesday; these two days usually have the cheapest airfares, which will give you a chance to get settled before and after the crowds start arriving in the city. Round-trip flights from New York to London are currently as low as $330 from Wednesday, May 16 to Wednesday, May 23, and round-trip flights from Los Angeles for the same dates are as low as $440. (You can enter your city on Google Flights to get the best airfares.)
Granted, these prices are set within hours of the wedding date being announced - so if you're planning on doing this, you should buy these tickets as soon as possible.
As for accommodation, you'll want to decide exactly what type of travel you want on either side of your wedding. The royal wedding will take place at St. George's Chapel, about 40 minutes' drive from London (of course, the wedding day is likely to be much longer than it actually is). If you want to stay close to the wedding venue, hotels in Windsor range in price from $35 for an inn to $956 for luxury accommodation per night over the royal wedding weekend; again, that may be the case now that the dates have been announced Variety. Assuming you want to stay in London at the beginning or end of your trip, you'll want to consider hotel prices starting from $29 all the way up to $1534 for luxury accommodation on the weekdays before and after your wedding.
Essentially, to make this trip as cheap as possible, your best bet is to book your trip as early as possible, stick to a hotel if you can, and utilize public transportation whenever possible. Assuming a trip from New York from Wednesday to Wednesday would probably cost $330 in flights, three nights in London is about $120, two nights in Windsor is about $70, and if you book now, another three nights in London is $120 on a peak-hour ride connecting London Waterloo Station and Windsor and Eton-on-the-Southern Railway, one-way fare is around £10.20 (approximately US$13.50) to save on travel costs between locations.
Essentially: If you book now, you can get in and out of this once-in-a-lifetime royal wedding event for under $1,000; just don't forget to take time off before you hit those buttons!
