Banners and bunting, a splendid tea party for children, hot hog roast and evening barn dance for adults plus plenty of beer and fizz to celebrate in bonanza fashion.
That’s how Marlborough, which has its own personal link to the historic event at Westminster Abbey, will define the royal wedding on April 29.
And at Marlborough College, where royal bride Kate Middleton was a student before heading for university romance with Prince William, there is going to be a special Royal Lunch, followed by a Royal Fete in the grounds.
A group of today’s students will then make a bid to raise thousands of pounds for charities, at home and abroad, to help those less fortunate.
“I am rather hoping it will be a great day to remember, a major event for Marlborough,” said the mayor, Councillor Andy Ross, as his year in office comes to a close. “Certainly I shall be going out on a real high point.”
The mayor approached the College initially, in the hope that it might throw a children’s tea party, as it has done on other royal occasions, in particular at coronations.
“But they are having their own events and their resources were limited in the way they could help Marlborough Town Council,” he explained. “So the council is under-writing the celebrations to the tune of up to £5,000.
“We hope we won’t have to dig too deep into our finances as there will be some money-making opportunities on the wedding day that will help to defray some of the costs. I am always delighted to receive help from any source, the traders, local organisations, anyone.
“We realise the traders are under economic pressure at this time and may be cautious in coming forward, but we shall be grateful for whatever they can do.”
Already Tesco is providing sandwiches and Waitrose cakes for the children’s tea party, and Greggs are baking sausage rolls for the evening barn dance, where there will be special beers from the Ramsbury Brewery and fizzy wines offered by local firms.
Blue and gold banners are being made to decorate the town, especially at Priory Gardens, where the council is hiring a huge marquee for the occasion. The mayor will arrive in his robes to greet the primary schoolchildren, some 600 at primary schools each receiving a commemorative royal wedding medal to mark the occasion.
Entertainment yet to be arranged will add to the glow when the evening event takes off, the hog roast and barbecue being provided by the Austrian Count Konrad de Geothe, proprietor of Temple Farm, near Rockley.
But the celebrations will begin long before that.
“We shall be opening up Marlborough town hall at 10am on the morning of the wedding and inviting people to see the event on our new five-metre projection system,” revealed town clerk Liam Costello.
“There will be space for up to 180 people. It’s a free event. And there will be refreshments too. It is so important that the town does something to celebrate this royal occasion.