In celebration of the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle on 19th May, the Windsor Castle pub, a traditional country inn – renowned for the quality of its real ale – in Marple Bridge, Stockport, will be hosting a royal weekend of events from Saturday 19th May – Sunday 20th May.
Aptly, the pub shares its name with the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world… Windsor Castle; a Royal home and fortress for over 900 years and the place where Prince Harry was christened. The Queen uses the Castle both as a private home, where she usually spends the weekend, and as an official Royal residence at which she undertakes certain formal duties.
Indeed, there’s no finer establishment for a Royal wedding than Windsor castle but you needn’t worry about travelling down south, Royal wedding fever has hit Stockport and our very own Windsor Castle is opening its doors to the public. All are invited to celebrate and join in the fun at the Windsor Castle situated on the junction between Compstall and Marple Bridge. The Robinsons pub has been majestically decorated, inside and out, to get everyone into the party spirit – with Royal wedding memorabilia, British bunting, and flags in the national colours of red, white, and blue – to honour the occasion and it promises to be a weekend to remember for the local community.
Joanne Farrell, licensee at the Windsor Castle, explains: “Everybody is welcome at the Windsor! We have such an exciting weekend planned and can’t wait to celebrate with old faces and new. We have ITV News who will be filming the event at the pub from early doors, so it’s definitely not a weekend to be missed.”
A perfect alignment of extra tourists visiting Britain, the FA Cup final (which takes place on the same day as the Royal wedding), extended opening hours and, hopefully, some decent weather should make Saturday 19th – or ‘Super Saturday’ – one of the busiest days of the year for British pubs.
And, with broadcast coverage of the Royal Wedding starting from as early 9.30am, patriotic punters are expected to head to their locals earlier than normal to grab a front row seat to celebrate the Royal Wedding and the FA Cup Final.
On ‘the big day’, Saturday 19th, the Windsor Castle will open its doors at 9.30am to welcome ITV and customers to watch the Royal wedding on the big screen from the comfort of the pub; Robinsons dray will also be in attendance and collecting for Help for Heroes charity. The wedding will be followed by a delicious spread of afternoon tea for all to indulge in. The party will continue throughout the day, with Indian Street Food company, Curry Den, joining to conjure up some delicious sizzling plates, including their signature ‘Royal Curry’ dish which will be cooked-up especially for the day. This can be washed down with a pint (or two) of Robinsons’ brand new White Label I.P.A; Trilby, so why not join in on the fun and be one of the first to taste this floral limited-edition brew? If beers not your thing, the Windsor Castle has a super gin collection.
Joanne continued: “We will be holding a Royal raffle in support of Breast Cancer Care on the Saturday – hampers can be won, including a basket full of goodies containing everything a lady could ask for – together with a nice cuddly toy. Tickets are £1 or £5 for a strip – it would be fantastic if customers could get involved.”
The pub will also be showing the FA Cup final on Saturday evening, followed by a fun-filled Abba tribute at 9pm – Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!
If that’s not enough, the Windsor Castle will also be hosting a lively garden party on Sunday 20th, with entertaining performances by the Removal Men from 3pm – 6pm. Don’t worry if you miss the mouth-watering food on Saturday – the Curry Den will return from 1pm onwards to spice things up on Sunday as well, so come along and indulge in some scrumptious street food.
Commenting on the event, William Robinson, Managing Director (Pub Division) for Robinsons Brewery said: “The event which Joanne is holding at the Windsor Castle is a great example of why pubs are still the heart and soul of any local community, especially at times of special occasions such as a wedding. We encourage everyone to get out to their local pub and raise a glass of Britain’s national drink to the happy couple… hopefully in the sunshine.”
The Windsor Castle regularly hosts quiz nights, shows live football, and presents live music. Joanne is on the hunt for another street food company to serve at her pub, so get in touch if you can cook up some tasty dishes!
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