A tale of two Windsors, and a wedding cake made by the Queen's chef
Kaye Dyason met her husband-to-be John Brown the year of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth
Kaye Brown looks through an album of wedding photos and mementos.
She pulled it out after she saw a story on CBC News Windsor about a stained glass window in Windsor, U.K.
That window resides in the Guildhall, the town hall there. It's just minutes from St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be married on Saturday.
"It was heavenly. It was so lovely to see something from my old Windsor on Windsor's TV. It was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous," she said.
Brown grew up in Windsor, U.K. Her father, Ronald Dyason, was a long-time councillor there and mayor from 1980 to 1981, so she is well acquainted with the Guildhall.
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"It was a lovely joy to see the picture of the window in Guildhall, Windsor that reminded me so much of my childhood and many happy days spent in the Guildhall," said Brown. "And I'm sure he's (father) looking down on me and thinking, 'There she is telling the story.'"
Twin city romance
That story begins in 1977, the year of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. That was when 37-year-old John Brown, a production clerk for Ford in Windsor, Ont. visited Windsor, U.K. He was visiting "as a representative of the town's twin, Windsor in Ontario, Canada," reads an article in Brown's album.
And that was where John met Kaye Dyason.
The couple from the twin cities fell in love and were married in 1980 at the parish church. There's a photo of them cutting their wedding cake in front of the symbolic stained glass window.
"We wanted it cut there because of the context between Windsor, England and Windsor, Canada," said Brown.
The cake, incidentally, was made by the Queen's chef.
Brown now lives at the Villages of St. Clair College. She and John were married for 25 years. He died three years ago from pancreatic cancer.
"The loss of him doesn't make living easy for a widow," said Brown. "Living in St. Clair has been a really great help for me."
Watching images of her home town and the royal family on TV has given her great pleasure. And she's looking forward to watching the wedding on Saturday with other residents at the Villages.
"A lot of people here are getting up to see it. I'm sure we're all going to enjoy a nice cup of tea on Saturday afternoon and cheer the royal couple on," she said.