Royal wedding proves to be big business

By Corazon Miller in London

It is possible to get a taste of the royal wedding cake even if you haven't been invited – not from the very cake the newlyweds will be cutting into on Saturday, but in a piece of fudge.

Prince Harry and Meghan have chosen to celebrate their wedding day on Saturday at Windsor Castle with a lemon and elderflower creation.

It's being made by Violet Bakery's Claire Ptak who has already begun baking the cake to be served to up to 600 guests at the royal reception this weekend.

While only the invitees will be served a piece of the actual wedding cake, visitors to Windsor could get a taste of the flavour with the special-edition treat at the Fudge Kitchen.

The store, just down the road from the castle gate, is one of many retailers cashing in on the royal wedding business; eyeless facemasks of the royals, ceramic thimbles, plates, cups, cutlery, tea-towels, beer, cookies – if it could be given a wedding flavour it has been.

Fudge Kitchen acting manager Shannon Hodgins said people loved the glitter-topped fudge – because it was for the wedding.

"It's a really abstract flavour, it's really different, not one that we had before, so having one that is not like any other is really nice, as it appeals to different taste buds and it's for the wedding."

Kevin Scott came to Windsor from the British Midlands, several days before the big day, to sell wedding merchandise to royal fans who were already gathering in the streets.

The orange and purple Meghan and Harry scarves he's selling aren't quite flying out of his hands, but he hopes that will change come Saturday – especially if he manages to wrap one around a royal neck.

"It's a bit slow at the moment, but we will be here on the day.

"We are hoping to get prime sales from Harry and Meghan and our sales will quadruple if we get one around one of their necks."

The royal family certainly makes for great retail business in the United Kingdom, more so when a royal wedding is on the cards.

The UK Office of National Statistics figures showed the marriage of Prince Harry's older brother, the Duke of Cambridge, to Kate Middleton, now Duchess of Cambridge, in April 2011 boosted visitor numbers to the United Kingdom by 350,000 in that month alone.

An estimate from the Centre for Retail Research showed their wedding also accounted for a £527m (NZ$1.03b) increase in UK retail spending, including £199m (NZ$340m) on wedding souvenirs and memorabilia.

Time will tell the impact of the latest royal wedding on the economy, but with thousands of visitors predicted to flock to Windsor, where hotels are almost all completely booked, its seems it will receive a significant boost.

As soon as the news of the latest royal engagement was announced last year and a date set for the wedding the memorabilia quickly filled shelves and cropped up online, with sales expected to pick up in the days leading up to the wedding.

Some quirkier items available online include a pack of heritage condoms being sold at www.crownjewelscondoms.co.uk, with the couple's faces on the package. Open the box and an exclusive arrangement of God Save The Queen and Star-Spangled Banner will play.

Bagsoflove.co.uk has also listed on its site full-body swimwear with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's faces blown up on the front.

For the kids you could even buy them some paper dolls of the royal couple at www.target.com or a biographical comic book at www.amazon.com.

And it's not just retailers, but designers, florists, bakers and tiara makers who are providing for the wedding that will benefit, not only financially from the celebrations on Saturday, but long-term from the invaluable reputation that will inevitably come from being able to say they served the royals.