On 19 May 2018, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. The ceremony took place outside London, but the capital still carried the atmosphere of a national occasion. This Roberts London film records that day through a walk from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, St James’s Park and a Westminster pub showing the wedding on television.

Westminster on royal wedding day

Westminster Abbey provides a fitting starting point. Although it was not the wedding venue, it remains closely associated with royal ceremonies and state occasions. Parliament Square is busy in the May sunshine, while the surrounding streets show London continuing with an ordinary Saturday around an event being followed across the country.

The view towards Elizabeth Tower also fixes the film firmly in its period. The tower was covered for its major restoration, with scaffolding visible behind a red telephone box. From here, the route moves through Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade before joining the ceremonial approach towards Buckingham Palace.

The Mall and Buckingham Palace

Horse Guards and The Mall make the walk feel ceremonial even without an official London procession. Visitors head in the same direction, passing the familiar red roadway and the entrances to St James’s Park. The film is less concerned with formal pageantry than with the people who came into central London to share the mood of the day.

At Buckingham Palace, the forecourt and Victoria Memorial are filled with sightseers. Union Jacks and wedding souvenirs turn the palace surroundings into a public gathering place. The couple were in Windsor, but Buckingham Palace still offered many visitors the most recognisable London setting in which to mark a royal wedding.

A walk through St James’s Park

After the crowds at the palace, St James’s Park changes the pace. The lake, mature trees and shaded paths offer a quieter route back towards Westminster. Families and visitors pause beside the water while the city’s wedding celebrations continue only a short distance away.

This section makes the film more than an event recap. It preserves the geography connecting Westminster’s royal and political landmarks: the Abbey, Horse Guards, The Mall, Buckingham Palace and the park can all be joined comfortably on foot. The wedding provides the occasion, but the route remains useful as a record of central London itself.

Watching the wedding at The Two Chairmen

The final destination is The Two Chairmen on Dartmouth Street, close to St James’s Park. The pub describes itself as the oldest in Westminster, and its name recalls the sedan-chair carriers who once waited nearby for fares. For this occasion, the interior is dressed with Union Jack bunting and royal-wedding decorations.

Customers gather around the television to watch the broadcast from Windsor. It is a recognisably British conclusion to the walk: a historic pub, a decorated bar and a shared national event playing above the tables. Rather than claiming a place at the centre of the ceremony, the film records how it was experienced elsewhere.

A Roberts London record from May 2018

Published on 20 May 2018, the video preserves London on the day of the wedding: bright weather, busy landmarks, souvenirs around the palace and a pub audience following events at Windsor. Together, these scenes form a grounded archive of how one part of the capital marked a modern royal occasion.