It's going to basically be impossible to book a room in London or Windsor over the Royal Wedding weekend

£30 for a parking space? No thank you.

london royal wedding
(Image credit: Moritz Wolf/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock)

£30 for a parking space? No thank you.

It’s no surprise that next week is going to be the biggest weekend of the year (maybe even the decade) for diehard royalists. Major Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stans are turning out in full force from all over the world and it turns out that if you’re planning to stay in Windsor or London for the festivities, it’s going to get a little crowded.

Airbnb released data recently that revealed Windsor bookings for the weekend were projected to rise by 194%, a welcome tourism boom if not a little inconvenient for the people that live there. Given that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding will be taking place in Saint George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the city’s biggest landmark, it makes sense that people want to be as close to the action as possible.

london royal wedding

Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock
(Image credit: Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock)

According to the Windsor Observer, The Royal Borough be raising prices to a steep £30 at a 6,000 bay car park for all those driving in on the day and unfortunate residents. Airbnb hosts are also predicted to make a killing over the weekend, as projected collective earnings for Windsor over the weekend could exceed £126, 000.

It’s not just Windsor getting a major boost, as it’s expected that 40,000 people will be flocking to the capital to join the inevitable London street parties. Generator Hostels have revealed that London has seen a huge spike in bookings and especially from millennial fans. In fact, an eye-watering 72% of all their reservations over the weekend were specifically from the age group and 62% of those were made by women.

meghan markle dad internet cafe

Alexi Lubomirski/REX/Shutterstock
(Image credit: Alexi Lubomirski/REX/Shutterstock)

While British royalists made up a quarter of Generator’s bookings, funnily enough the hotel chain saw the biggest surge in bookings from France with numbers up by 170%. (There must be a lot of Suits fans out there.) Germany followed closely behind with an increase of 126%, followed by Canada (120%) and America (100%).

Generator's Jason Rieff said, 'Here at Generator we are really looking forward to the Royal wedding. It’s becoming a global event with people from all over the world travelling to London to stay here and be able to say they were a part of it. Sales of beds are up YOY for the wedding weekend and excitement is growing by the day.'

If you’re over the Royal Wedding and just want to get out of England, you’re in luck though. Couples who are called Meghan and Harry can score a free night’s stay at any of Generator’s hostels across Europe if you email getroyal@generatorhostels.com. And if you just can’t tear yourself away from royalty, British and Canadian couples can also score a 30% discount on any food and drink in Generator London over the Royal Wedding weekend.

Megan C. Hills

Megan is a freelance journalist who covers entertainment and all things lifestyle, with a particular passion for fashion, beauty, travel and Keanu Reeves stories. She has previously worked on staff for titles including Marie Claire UK, CNN Style and The Evening Standard and has written for titles such as Bustle UK, Wallpaper*, Forbes and Hong Kong Tatler. She splits her time between London and her hometown Hong Kong, where she currently lives with the love of her life - an elderly dog named Poppy - and her husband.