University of Arkansas Office of Study Abroad: A Royal Weekend Pt. 1 #HogsAbroad in England

This weekend was nothing short of a dream.

Back in November, at a very nice luncheon with important people, the realization of being in England during a royal wedding set in as someone asked me if I’d be going. As my mind went crazy with thoughts of being in the general vicinity of royalty, I tried to keep my cool given the professional environment I was in – but of course I would go! When else would I get a chance like this again? Ever since I fell in love with England, the Royal family has always been a top fascination of mine.

When the time came to get the train tickets to Windsor, I checked the app to reserve my seating but the only message I could see was “currently unavailable”. I figured most everybody had booked their train ride already and that all coaches were simply full. Not to become too devastated I moved onto the idea of just going to the public viewing of the wedding on Brighton Beach – where a large screen would be set up and people in costumes would view the ceremony live.

It wasn’t until the day before the wedding that I realized my mistake – I had the app search setting for “coaches” and not “trains”. So it was then – midnight on the eve of the wedding that a friend Kyra and I reserved tickets to Windsor! To my pleasant surprise, the hour and a half train ride was not too full after all. Once we stepped off the train and admired the beautiful station of Windsor and Eton Riverside, we were handed free Union Jack flags to wave around in celebration. We enjoyed cream tea before waiting on the streets for the ceremony to begin.

The ceremony was broadcasted live on large screens as well as the audio throughout the town. We listened to what was going on while anxiously waiting for the moment the carriage would make its way through, but it all happened so fast! I caught a few pictures of the newlyweds on my Canon while simultaneously filming on my iPhone, but as the carriage strolled by I forgot to use either of my devices as I watched the royals go by. It was Harry’s red hair and Meghan’s white veil that brought me back to reality as I managed to get some pictures of the back of the carriage (see pictures below). Although that moment came and went so quickly (Kyra: “wait… they passed already?!”) we loved the atmosphere of celebration and are grateful we got to participate.

On the train back I sparked up a conversation with a man sitting next to me called Marcus. Marcus was from London so I asked him if he has attended other royal weddings. He hadn’t – just Harry and Meghan’s because he especially liked them. He talked about how he liked that they were different. He compared them with William and Cate, who he doesn’t care for much, and also mentioned that without Meghan, Harry isn’t as important (just a prince nbd – I didn’t really understand what he meant by this). We also talked about our hometowns and current events – these were my favorite moments! I love hearing other perspectives no matter how different from my own.

After a long day of royal celebrations, we arrived back in Brighton in the late afternoon to begin yet another fun venture: a camping/climbing trip in Dorset. With some delays per usual, we began our road trip to the South East. It was here in Swanage I first camped and climbed in England and I was happy to do it again. Check out the next post for more details on my “Royal Weekend” adventures.

Xx