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 "I'm definitely a Royal Superfan," said Donna Werner, 66, of New
Fairfield, Connecticut, about 62 miles (100 km) north of New
York City.
The chance to lock eyes with Harry or exchange smiles with
Meghan as their gilded coach rolls by St. George's Chapel at
Windsor Castle on May 19 is enough to motivate Werner to pay for
a plane ticket and a hotel room she'll likely use only for its
restroom while she camps on the street for three days to secure
a prime viewing spot.
Early that wedding day morning, Werner plans to emerge from the
pink circular tent that fits only half her body - her legs
tucked into a sleeping bag poking outside. She intends to be
well rested, having warded off any overnight chill by plastering
her body with some of the 100 hand warmer heat packets she
ordered for the trip.
Wearing a tiara with a veil and a T-shirt proclaiming "Back-up
Bride," she expects to toss her tent, sleeping bag, camp chair
and nearly all her other possessions into a garbage bag in a
security sweep. Then, she is prepared to stand for hours in the
roadside spot where she bivouacked for three days.
"The kings, the queens, the castles, the jewelry and glamorous
parties. It's like a fairy tale," said Werner, describing what
fascinates her about all things royal.
"Sometimes, with all the problems in the world, it's just nice
to think that this sort of thing still happens," said the
married, stay-at-home mother whose three adult children are now
living on their own.
At her sprawling suburban home, Werner's cupboard is crammed
with mementos of British royal celebrations she managed to wedge
her way into since her fascination with the royal family began
in 1973 with the wedding of Princess Anne and her first husband
Mark Phillips.
Her Anglophile awe is anchored in research, from her daily check
of an online calendar that tracks the royals to tracing her own
genealogy back 500 years to the North Yorkshire town of Bedale.
To pinpoint her upcoming camping spot outside Windsor Castle,
she has been scouring accounts of Prince Edward and Sophie
Rhys-Jones's wedding at St. George's in 1999.
"I want to see what did they do and which way did their carriage
turn so I can figure out the best place to stand," Werner said.
Her chiffonier overflows with Union Jack-emblazoned souvenirs
like the tiny porcelain thimble to commemorate the 1981 wedding
of Prince Charles and then Lady Diana Spencer, and the hefty
ceramic whisky bottles to mark Princes William's and Harry's
births in 1982 and 1984 respectively. But her most prized
keepsakes are memories captured in her photographs, including
one of Queen Elizabeth looking directly into Werner's camera
during her 90th birthday parade in 2016.
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"She looked right at me and she nodded her head. I just freaked
out," Werner said.
"She's an icon. Somebody who has devoted her entire life to the
public and her country," she said.
Werner's ultimate royal fantasy?
"To just shake hands with the queen," she sighed.
Werner's family tolerates her regal passion, which prompted her to
choose middle names of "Elizabeth" for one of her daughters and
"Spencer" for her son "much to his chagrin." Mother's Day gifts from
her children have included dozens of books about the royal family
and another pink princess tent to replace one she had to toss in a
security sweep for the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate
Middleton.
"They think I'm nuts," Werner said. "They just sort of giggle and
say, 'Oh yeah. She's a Royal Superfan.'"
Her husband Mark, 66, a retired investment manager, said he accepts
his wife's preoccupation and her annual pilgrimages to England with
a girlfriend as something that strengthens their 45-year marriage,
much as she accepts his U.S. motorcycle excursions.
"It may be a little weird but she really enjoys it," said Mark
Werner, himself a fan of what some baseball fanatics consider
America's royal family: the New York Yankees. "She's met so many
others who love them. Can you really call that crazy?"
Donna Werner shrugged off any denigration of her enthusiasm.
"It's a hobby. It's not an obsession," she said, gazing at a coffee
cup dated July 22, 2013 and declaring "It's a Prince!" for Prince
George's birthday, stuffed among commemorative biscuit and tea tins,
perfume bottles, milk pitchers and other items.
"Well, maybe a little obsession," she said.
(Editing by Stephen Addison/Guy Faulconbridge)
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