With a population of 68,000 and as many sheep, the island of Anglesey, lost a piece of land on the northern tip of Wales, dreams of international fame since Prince William and Kate Middleton was elected as a love nest.
The island could only offer so far to tourists the cold wind in the Irish Sea, its 200 meters and cut costs people with the longest name in the UK: "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch."
However, Ynis Môn (the island's name in Welsh) was the famous overnight when Prince William and his bride was elected to live after their wedding on 29 April.
The prince, search and rescue pilot, is assigned to a base of the Royal Air Force (RAF) from local end of 2010, and brought with him a number of journalists and tourists.
"It's crazy," says David Robertson, owner of Ye Olde Bulls Head Inn, in the town of Beaumaris. Has long since stopped counting journalists who have passed through the hotel pub, located at the entrance of the island.
"CNN, NBC, ABC, Japanese, Australians ... We are the center of attention," confirms Jane Blakey, chairman of the Anglesey Tourism Association (ATA).
The arrival of the prince increased the number of tourists in more than 20 percent, estimates James Stevenson, head of Adventure Elements, a company specializing in water sports, you've noticed an increase of 30 percent of the number of visitors to your website .
"This has put us on the world tourism map," he stresses. "We're a real island," says Selwyn Williams delighted, local chairman of Anglesey, which expects a boost for the tourism sector.
This raises reef appetites and speculation and a real tour next take foreign tourists to places that supposedly haunts the couple. "It's a good idea," says Selwyn Williams.
Not everyone agrees. "Do not exploit people here," replies Jane Blakey. "The coming of the prince is a gift to the island. Refund is what respecting their privacy," he adds.
Prince William can not be more pleased: "They leave us alone.'s Okay," he said recently before receiving his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II at the RAF Valley. The law of silence seems, indeed, prevail in the island. "No comment" replies Adrienne Owen, manager of the White Eagle pub, when asked if the prince and Kate are among its clients.
In the course of dozens of journalists who follow in the footsteps of Prince William also include the trailer The Flaming Grill, installed in a parking lot a few steps from the base. "He came a year ago," says the proud owner, Alison Williams, in his plates of snacks and hot water containers full of sausages.
To leave one of their training at the base, the pilot Prince "took a plate of ham and eggs," he recalls, before interrupting the conversation by saying he was "tired of journalists."
Cemaes port is located in the north of Anglesey. This island of Wales is hit frequently by icy winds in the Irish Sea.
Anglesey does not have much to offer tourists, except that it is the future home of Princes William and Kate.
