News 6 royal reporters cover wedding festivities in Windsor

LONDON – Hi, News 6 followers! It's Bri Volz here with Loren Korn. Well, it’s actually just Bri watching Loren sleep—finally. I’m writing this while on our flight to London, which is going to bring a LOT of fun updates here and to the rest of our Royals page.

We’re keeping you updated on all the celebrations taking place across the pond ahead of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s big day Saturday on News 6, ClickOrlando.com/Royals and on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. Continue checking all platforms for live updates and fun stories from London.

But before we can appreciate all that, I figured I’d walk you through the mess of a trip we’ve had so far—for your entertainment purposes, of course. 

If you’ve been watching our Facebook live videos on the News 6 page, you’ve probably already been cracking up at our situation or just genuinely feeling bad for us because of our unfortunate luck. Either way, it’s been quite the show. 

Where should I start? Well, here’s a brief timeline (EST through Wednesday; BST begins Thursday in London):

Saturday:
7:30 a.m. — Guests are already pouring out the doors of our hotel and making their way to Windsor just hours before the couple is set to exchange vows. Loren and Bri prepare for a full day of coverage on all News 6 platforms. Follow along on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter and watch the wedding live on News 6 and at ClickOrlando.com/Royals beginning at 7 a.m. EST.

8:25 a.m. — Prince Harry has officially been named the Duke of Sussex, according to the Associated Press. Markle is set to become the Duchess of Sussex upon marriage Saturday morning.

11 a.m. — Roads leading to Windsor Castle are closed ahead of the big ceremony and crowds packed the surrounding streets to celebrate the soon-to-be royal couple.

Noon — Markle arrives at St. George's Chapel and is greeted by thousands of members of the crowd. After weeks of speculation over what designer the soon-to-be royal would wear on her big day, the bride shows up in a plain and rather modest strapless dress designed by Clare Waight Keller.

12:20 p.m. — A Chicago preacher addressed the couple and their guests during a fiery speech before crowds sang along to the well-known song "Stand by Me."

12:40 p.m. — The couple exchanges vows and is pronounced husband and wife, officially becoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

1 p.m. — Crowds outside the chapel wait for the newlyweds to make their way through town as part of the processional. The couple seemed ecstatic as they left to celebrate the rest of their big day, and guests cheered them on as they passed.

1:30 p.m. — Crowds begin to pour into the streets of Windsor beginning celebrations of their own. Bottles were popped, praises were sung and dancing could be seen at each turn. Media crews, visitors and locals continued their celebrations for hours into the evening and even into Saturday night. Officials estimated 110,000 people were in Windsor for the royal event.

3 p.m. — Locals tell News 6 royal reporters Loren Korn and Bri Volz that they thing Markle will be a splendid addition to the royal family and they admire the diversity she brings to the monarchy. Americans came from across the pond to show their support for the new princess, saying they're happy to see one of their own becoming royalty. Other visitors from all over also came, saying they couldn't miss the chance to witness history.

Watch a full wedding day recap below in Saturday's ClickO on the Go.

Friday:
11:45 a.m. — Loren and I wake up to some major royal-related news: Markle confirms that, after a couple days of rumors circulating that her father would not attend her wedding, Prince Charles, the father of her soon-to-be husband, will instead accompany her down the aisle.

It was already the topic of discussion among almost all local news outlets. It was even something the hosts of Orlando radio station Mix 105.1 asked us about when we dialed in to talk about our royal adventures across the pond. We joined the show at 6:45 a.m. EST. Thanks for having us!

1:50 p.m. — Loren and I head to the heart of London to kick off our royal scavenger hunt on a mission to complete the following list:

• Tex-mex
• Tennessean 
• Central Floridian 
• American music
• Mickey Mouse
• Siberian husky
• Fish and chips
• Telephone booth
• Interact with guardsman
• Spot royalty

2 p.m. — Our search gets off to a great start when we meet up with JoAnn McManamy, a News 6 viewer who lives in The Villages, but used to live in London.

She volunteered to be our tour guide for the day, as well as the first item we were able to cross off our list. With her help and a £5 bus pass, we made quite a dent in it.

3 p.m. — McManamy leads us onto a bus that takes us through the busy streets of the city. Tons of Markle and Prince Harry memorabilia could be seen at every corner and some internationally famous stores had specials in honor of the couple's big day. One department store even branded their special as the chance to "shop Markle's sparkle." We also passed by a Disney store, with plenty of Mickey Mouse items, another scavenger hunt item, seen from the storefront window, before sitting down for a light lunch near the area where the queen buys her groceries.

4:30 p.m. — Our lovely unofficial tour guide brings us to see some of the most well-known landmarks in London, including the London Eye, Green Park, where we found another fellow Floridian in town for the wedding, and Buckingham and Kensington palaces. No guardsmen were seen, so that remains on our list of things to search for Saturday.

5:30 p.m. — We wrap up the tour and a great day of getting to know a special News 6 viewer by visiting the memorial of Princess Diana at Kensington and spotting a famous old-fashioned phone booth while we wait to catch a ride back to our hotel.

6:30 p.m. — We arrive back at our hotel and Loren puts together her TV story about our day with McManamy, which later airs on News 6 and can be seen here:

8 p.m. — Bri updates the scavenger hunt list for Friday's ClickO on the Go, which can be found on News 6's Snapchat and Instagram accounts, and gives a recap of our search. A recap and updated list can also be watched in the video below, which was posted on the News 6 Facebook. Anyone with requests of what to search for Saturday can leave them in the comments of our scavenger hunt story here.

11 p.m. — Too excited to sleep, Loren and Bri force themselves to get to bed so they're well-rested for the main event Saturday morning.

Thursday:
8 a.m. — We land in London, where the time is five hours ahead of Orlando. Bri's bag doesn't, but who's shocked? Oh well, let the fun begin! 

Noon — Loren and Bri head straight to Windsor to capture the crowds surrounding the castle. It was easy to meet all kinds of characters: some from the U.S., many locals and others from all parts of the world. The entire town is decked out with reminders of the royal wedding to come.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry can be seen in nearly every window of every business, with their faces on every type of memorabilia imaginable. A cardboard cutout of the couple even greeted us at the front of our hotel.

12:30 p.m. — Some of the youngest and maybe the most adorable royal fanatics were sitting just outside the castle enjoying their popsicles when we ran into them. The 3 and 4-year-old boys waved their country's flag with pride, giving us all the royal information we needed to know.

1 p.m. — A Connecticut woman and a few of her friends who have been camping just across the street from Windsor Castle since Tuesday were getting a lot of attention Thursday afternoon. The women said they won't be moved, no matter how chilly it gets at night or how busy it is each day. They've loved getting to meet the crowds and we loved getting to meet them. Here's a peek at their campsite:

2 p.m. — Crowds continue to pour into the streets as last-minute preparations are underway. The path leading to the castle seems to be surrounded by more and more people as the day progresses. Locals said Windsor doesn't usually see a crowd like the one seen Thursday, so they enjoy seeing the new faces and love what it's doing for their economy.

3 p.m. — Loren and Bri arrive back at the hotel to get some work done and ... surprise. Bri's luggage has made its debut!

Wednesday
2 a.m. — We land in New York only to find that we can’t get on a flight to London until 6 p.m. Wednesday, we can’t get our checked luggage, which have all of our belongings in them, until we arrive in London and the only hotel that had openings near the airport had a single-bed room for $999. 

4 a.m. — I accept the fact that I’ll be sleeping on the airport floor, so I do. Loren watches because she can’t sleep. One of our friends we met in Virginia roughs it with us in the B terminal until she catches a flight at 6 a.m.

10 a.m. — We begin our unsuccessful day of floating around the airport in search of an internet connection. 

12 p.m. — We start to lose the faith. Our waiter at an airport restaurant lets us crash in one of his comfortable  booths for hours to get some work done. 

5:30 p.m. — We check in to make sure we’re actually on the 6 p.m. flight. An airline employee tells us we won’t be able to get on a flight until next week. Loren’s face turns from sleepy and pitiful to evil. I start to cry. He tells us he’s kidding and that he gave us seats with extra leg room for our troubles. We forgive him. 

6 p.m. — The same man who joked we wouldn’t be on the plane tells us our luggage may not be on the plane with us. We wait for him to say he’s kidding. He never does. We board anyway. 

Tuesday 
3 p.m. — Loren and I left Orlando for JFK airport in New York, where we planned to make a connecting flight to London at 7 p.m. 

4:30 p.m. — Our pilot tells us JFK is not allowing us to land right away due to dangerous weather, but that we would hover in the air for a bit to see if they reopen. 

5 p.m. — We should be landing at JFK. Instead, our pilot tells us we’re being diverted to Richmond, Virginia to refuel since JFK is still closed. 

6 p.m. — We’re staying hopeful as we hang outside the airport in Richmond, because it’s only a 40-minute flight to New York. We could still make it. 

7 p.m. — We watch our flight to London take off using the Delta mobile app. The pilot in Richmond tells us he hopes we’ll get an update in an hour about when we can fly to JFK, but suggests we get comfortable since he’s already ordered himself a pizza. 

7:05 p.m. — Loren and I sit at a bar and wait three hours for a glass of wine and salads while we check the app every few minutes. It wasn’t so bad, since at least two other flights were stuck there and we made friends with the passengers. They joined us for a Facebook live and waited for their announcements. 

11:30 p.m. — Passengers on our flight debate renting cars and driving to New York, but our calm, cool and always collected pilot tells us he thinks we’ll still leave sometime soon and suggests everyone grabs one more drink. 

11:35 p.m. — The bartender closes the bar the second we walk in. A passenger on our flight gets a text saying our plane is boarding and that we need to go back. 

11:40 p.m. — Everyone pours back onto the plane and sits tight until we take off.