PEOPLE in Fermanagh may have been in the throes of celebrating Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry at the weekend but it seems some of our County Town’s retail businesses weren’t so keen to capitalise on the momentous occasion.
On average 11 million people across the UK were glued to their TV screens on Saturday to catch a glimpse of the glamorous American TV star walk up the aisle at St. George’s Chapel.
But if you were hoping to grab a few Royal Wedding merchandise bargains locally, chances are you were sorely disappointed.
According to one Lisnaskea mum, who contacted the Impartial Reporter, her trip to the shops was a mixture of mystery and intrigue, resulting in her having to “ask the right person” in a local bargain store to come up with the goods.
“The local primary school was having a tea party to celebrate the Royal Wedding so I thought I would buy some of the merchandise,” she explained.
“But I was struggling to find anywhere actually stocking anything.”
The mother explained she had gone to Asda and Tesco and had found nothing.
“I know that Tesco in Belfast was stocking merchandise. It’s just the Enniskillen stores decided not to stock it.”
She said she had gone to Poundland in Erneside where again there was nothing on the shelves.
“But when I spoke to a staff member on the phone about it I was told I had to ‘ask for the right person’ and they would ‘get it out of the back for you’.
“It was all being kept in a store room and none of it was advertised on the shop floor.
“It was all very cloak and dagger!”
In the run up to the wedding a Donegal hotel reportedly had to cancel a Royal themed afternoon tea due to the number of angry phone calls they were receiving as a result of the event.
The mother believes shops locally were fearful that displaying Royal Wedding themed merchandise would attract negative comments from customers.
“I think they were worried about getting abuse,” she says before adding:
 “Which I find very disappointing.
“It’s all right to have merchandise for St. Patrick’s Day - that doesn’t bother me - but a huge event like a Royal Wedding - there is nothing.
“There should be a tolerance for everyone’s interests and preferences. Everyone enjoys a good wedding,
“I’m quite sure I wasn’t the only one in Fermanagh watching the Royal wedding on Saturday. 
“In fact I would say the majority of people in Fermanagh had an interest in it. But it only takes a small number of people to be offended and make a big deal of it.”
A member of staff from Poundland in Erneside told the Impartial Reporter that Royal Wedding themed stock had been sent to the store “by mistake”.
“We never got the full range,” explained the staff member, “It was sent through by mistake. But if anyone asked us, of course we sold items to them.
“We are a small store and only tend to stock core lines. There certainly was nothing worrying staff.”
An Asda spokesperson said: “We offer a range of foods and products to celebrate occasions such as weddings and parties throughout the year. 
“For the Royal Wedding we stocked a limited range of merchandise which was available for customers to buy online and in some stores across the UK.”
At the time of going to press, Tesco had not responded.