Windsor homeless clampdown sparks UK royal wedding row

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In picturesque Windsor, in the shadow of the castle where Queen Elizabeth II spends her weekends, a dozen homeless people shelter from the cold in a jumble of blankets and cardboard boxes.

But with less than five months to go until the May 19 wedding of her grandson Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle in the medieval castle's chapel, the local authority's bid to sweep the homeless off the streets has triggered indignation.

The Royal Standard flutters above Windsor Castle, where Britain's Prince Harry will marry his US actress girlfriend Meghan Markle in May. /AFP Photo

Simon Dudley, the Conservative leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council, has urged the local Thames Valley Police force to take action against their "aggressive begging and intimidation."

"A large number of adults that are begging in Windsor are not in fact homeless," he wrote in a letter, while those that were genuinely homeless had rejected secure accommodation in order to keep begging.

"This is creating a concerning and hostile atmosphere for our residents and the seven million tourists who come to Windsor each year."

Homeless on the street in Windsor. /VCG Photo

The level of interest in Windsor, some 35 kilometers west of London, is "set to multiply" ahead of the royal wedding, he added.

According to the business valuation consultancy Brand Finance, the event should draw hundreds of thousands of extra tourists to the town, normally home to just 30,000 people, in 2018.

The British economy could be set to benefit to the tune of 500 million pounds (680 million US dollars), they claimed.

Homeless in Windsor. /VCG Photo

However, the council's plans have been condemned by, among others, the Conservative MP for Maidenhead – Prime Minister Theresa May.

Murray James, the Windsor Homeless Project manager, was all the more shocked by the proposed clampdown as Harry and his brother Prince William have long been involved in work with the homeless – William having even slept outside by a bridge in London.

"I am pretty sure they're as outraged by the comments that have been made as I am and many of the Windsor residents are," James said in the church where the project offers hot meals, clothes and a shower.

Mugs with Harry and his fiancee's faces on. /AFP Photo

Derek Prime, who runs a souvenir shop already selling mugs and trinkets with Harry and his fiancee's faces, doubted the council's claims to have proper accommodation in place.

Dudley "really wants to come out here and spend a night on the street just to see what it's like," he said.

Last month, Dudley complained on Twitter of the "epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy" in the royal town.

But the local police hit back on the social media network, saying: "Housing is the responsibility of the council but it is better that agencies work together so people don't become homeless."

Source(s): AFP