News

Actions

Meet England’s Royalist Town Crier

Posted at 7:55 PM, May 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-15 19:55:42-04

ESSEX, England — There’s no typical day for a town crier in England.

“In this business, you never know when the phones going to ring and they want a town crier,” said Tony Appleton, a town crier for over 30 years.

Appleton is also known as the Royalist Town Crier. He’s been to every major royal engagement and event since Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011.

He also made international news by announcing Prince George’s birth two years later on the steps of St. Mary’s Hospital.

"(I) decided just to turn up, but everybody thought I was from the Palace,” Appleton said.

He's not officially connected to the Royal Family, though he has met Queen Elizabeth II and hopes one day he will get a special call from the palace.

“I’m 82 this year,” Appleton said. “I hope … that Her Majesty will say, ‘Come on, you are the official Royal Town Crier.'”

He’s currently preparing to call another wedding, this time for Prince Harry and Meghan Markel. He will arrive in Windsor for the festivities on Friday.