Britons celebrate royal wedding

WINDSOR, May 19 (Agencies): At street parties and pubs around the country, Britons celebrated Saturday's royal wedding with bunting, booze and bonhomie in a welcome respite from the divisions and uncertainties of Brexit.

Families, friends and neighbours converged to watch Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchange vows in the last major royal wedding for a generation.

After weeks of media coverage on the wedding, and with clear blue skies replacing Britain's often dreary weather, the mood was a joyous one.

"It's a nice way to bring everyone together... at least just for the day," said Maha Khan, 22, watching the ceremony at a London pub called the Duke of Sussex-the new title for Prince Harry.

"I think solidarity-wise it's a nice thing-everyone's generally in a good mood," said the student, hinting at divisions that have simmered in Britain in the age of Brexit and government austerity.

Cheers rang out as the first images of the wedding cars were screened inside the pub, and as the ceremony started it was standing room only in the main room with all eyes glued to the screen.

"I feel like the patriotic spirit is really prevalent in London because of where we are," said the pub's party organiser Sam Smith, 25, draped in a Union Jack.

"And everyone loves an excuse for a party."

He had festooned the Waterloo watering hole in Union Jack and US Stars and Stripes flags.

Pimms, the quintessentially British summertime drink, was the popular choice at the bar.

Local authorities across the country have approved hundreds of street party applications, which allow roads to be shut to traffic and decked out with decorations.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot on Saturday in a star-studded Windsor Castle ceremony watched the world over, that married British tradition and US razzmatazz.

The new Duke and Duchess of Sussex exchanged vows at the altar in St. George's Chapel in an emotional service, sealed with a kiss, that brought the biracial US TV star into the heart of the British monarchy.

As more than 100,000 people packed the sun-baked Windsor streets, Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family were joined in the chapel by stars including Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, George Clooney and David Beckham.

The couple held hands throughout and exchanged vows in a traditional Church of England wedding featuring some unusual twists.

Firebrand US pastor Michael Curry delivered a full-throttle address invoking slaves and the power of love, and a gospel choir sang "Stand By Me".

With the words "I will", 33-year-old Harry, and US former actress Meghan, 36, declared they would love, comfort, honour and protect each other.

Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, looked visibly moved.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Church of England's spiritual leader, declared them husband and wife.

With her father recovering from a heart operation in Mexico, Markle walked down the aisle on her own, before being accompanied to the altar by Harry's father Prince Charles.