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 Barriers to stop vehicle attacks, armed patrols, and
airport-style security will be among the measures employed in
what will be one of the largest police operations the
picturesque town of Windsor has ever seen.
"It is a real challenge," said Bob Broadhurst, a former police
officer who was "Gold Commander" in charge of policing the 2011
wedding of Harry's elder brother William to wife Kate.
"It is impossible to search tens of thousands of people who want
to come and line the streets, any one of which could be a
potential terrorist; someone who's besotted with the royal
family - and there are a number of those; or just an attention
seeker.
"It's much more of a challenge because essentially everybody in
that crowd is a potential terrorist."
Harry and Meghan will tie the knot on May 19 at St George's
Chapel in Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth's residence which
dominates Windsor, about 20 miles (30 km) west of London.
"In the coming weeks and months residents, local businesses and
visitors to the town can expect to see an increased police
presence, with police officers, both armed and unarmed, search
dogs, the mounted section, the roads policing unit and the
National Police Air Service," the police said in a statement.
Visitors arriving by car and train on the day will face random
searches and "any items that may pose a risk to the public will
be removed," they said.
SECURITY TRUMPS CELEBRATION
The conundrum for police will be ensuring that security does not
overshadow the event, said Broadhurst, who was also in charge of
policing the 2012 London Olympics and the wedding of Harry's
father, Prince Charles, to his second wife Camilla in Windsor in
2005.
"Essentially you're managing somebody's wedding and you want it
to be joyous and happy for the couple, for the family and for
the visitors," Broadhurst told Reuters.
"The trick for those planning the policing of this particular
event will be to make the security as unobtrusive as possible so
it doesn't impinge on the celebration," he said.
"That is a really tricky thing to do - in this day and age,
security must always trump celebration."
Britain is on its second-highest threat level - "severe" -
meaning an attack is considered highly likely. Last year there
were five incidents classified as terrorism in which 36 people
were killed.
Three of those involved a vehicle being driven at crowds, and in
two the assailants then attacked passers-by with knives. The
move toward such simple tactics poses a greater threat than in
the past, Broadhurst said.
"You don't need to have spent hours or months building
sophisticated bombs or other weaponry. You just need a kitchen
knife, a gun up your jumper, or even just a hire car," he said.
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"I very much doubt if the wedding itself will be targeted because of
all the security implications, but there's still the town center,
there's still central London. What you don't want is a celebratory
event in Windsor and an attack of some sort in London."
In 1981 the queen was shot at by a teenager in New Zealand and the
same year six blank shots were fired at her during the annual
Trooping of the Colour ceremony in London.
Aside from terrorism, security officials will be concerned about
protests - 18 were held on the day of William's wedding amid
hostility to the government's austerity measures, Broadhurst said.
Windsor Castle, whose website says it is the oldest and largest
inhabited fortress in the world, will provide a secure location for
the wedding and reception, but even its walls have been breached.
STUNT
In 2003, Aaron Barschak, who called himself "the comedy terrorist",
managed to bypass castle security wearing a pink dress and an Osama
bin Laden-style beard to crash William's 21st birthday party and
give him a kiss.
"It can just be a stunt that's not going to harm anybody but it
becomes headline news and it kind of then takes the gloss off the
wedding itself," Broadhurst said.
"Those reputation issues are always there and what they do is they
undermine the confidence of the people in the police and the
security services to get things right."
Police commanders will have envisaged all such scenarios during the
six months of preparation, but even the best-laid plans can be
severely tested.
On the day of William's wedding, minutes before Kate was due to set
off, officers discovered a car had been abandoned around the corner
and considered sending her a different route - which would have
involved missing the crowds. In the end they were able to confirm in
time that it was not a security risk.
This time, the most tense moment for the police will be when the
newlyweds ride in an open-top carriage through Windsor.
"That will be the bit where the Gold Commander will be holding his
breath for a while because it is that point where they are most
vulnerable," said Broadhurst.
Given that Britain regularly stages large public events without
serious problems, Broadhurst is confident the wedding will pass off
without incident.
But he cautioned: "Even with the best of intelligence there is still
a small risk, but it's a risk that's accepted by the royal family,
it's accepted by the police."
(Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Robin Pomeroy)
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