MONTREAL - Those who know Autumn Kelly say she's the product of a commoner's upbringing in the heart of Canadian suburbia.
But that's about to change as she is due to wed the Queen's eldest grandson, Peter Phillips, in a private ceremony Saturday in the 15th-century St. George's Chapel in England.
The regal affair, where she will rub elbows with 300 guests including the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, has monarchists drooling.
Even a British tabloid reportedly doled out close to $1 million to the couple for an exclusive interview and 20-page photo spread.
But back home in her old Montreal burb of Pointe-Claire, most people are shrugging off the idea one of their own is about to marry the man who is 11th in line to the throne.
``It's like a non-issue on our street, it's just business as usual,' said Katherine Fauteux, who lives across the quiet road from the house where Kelly lived for more than a decade.
``It's like if anybody's daughter is getting married.'
The canopies of mature trees shadow the subtle, two-storey home, where she lived as a teenager and where her mother and stepfather still live.
Since the engagement sparked headlines last year, Kelly's closest friends have been reluctant to share tales of her youth despite a barrage of media requests _ from both sides of the pond.
Fauteux, whose daughter met Kelly playing baseball when the two were eight years old, is not surprised people close to her have clammed up. She said Kelly has always been very private.
``I'm delighted for Autumn, she's a sweetheart,' said Fauteux, as she reached for grocery bags in the trunk of her car.
``She's just a normal girl. She's really funny, actually. She's got a wicked sense of humour _ like really wild. I could tell you some stories, but I won't. He's lucky, honestly, to get a girl like her.'
In Pointe-Claire's nearby waterfront village, many locals hadn't heard about the neighbourhood's royal connection.
``I don't think there's any need to make a big deal about it,' said Brad Wilson.
``It's just two people getting married.'
Horea Fratean, meanwhile, said he was surprised to hear about the wedding.
``I think it's great that she found somebody she loves,' he said. ``I'm proud of her, since she's a local.'
Phillips, who does not have a royal title because his mother, Princess Anne, didn't want him to, met Kelly at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
For years, the couple, both 30, stayed out of the spotlight until they agreed to a pre-wedding interview for the May 13 issue of Hello! magazine.
British newspapers reported they received as much as $1 million for the exclusive. Palace officials were reportedly not amused by the deal.
Kelly told Hello! she did not know about her beau's family until six weeks into the relationship, when she spotted him during a TV report on his cousin, Prince William.
``I ran upstairs, looked on the Internet and shouted down (to her mother), 'This is him! This is Peter.'' Kelly told the magazine.
``That was the point at which she said, 'Oh, Autumn! What have you gotten yourself into?''
The McGill University graduate, raised a Roman Catholic, also said she joined the Church of England, which allows Phillips to keep his slim chance of becoming king intact.
As for trading in her Canuck passport? Nope, she said.
``I'm proud of where I come from,' Kelly said in the interview. ``So I will keep my passport.'
Some of Kelly's Montreal pals, including maid of honour Jackie Aubie, have already shipped out to England for the wedding.
Invitees were also asked to study a behaviour manual on what to wear and how to address members of the royal family.
Laurie Dagg, who says Kelly has been good friends with her kids for more than 20 years, said if anyone can handle the pressure of being in the royal family, it's her.
``I couldn't think of a nicer person for this to happen to,' Dagg said in a telephone interview from her home in Canmore, Alta.
``She was an intelligent, very classy girl.'
Dagg said Kelly excelled at sports, especially ringette. She remembers her daughter, Emily, and Kelly competing on a forward line together, helping their team take home several championships to the local arena.
``She was really good... a great skater, a real digger, very aggressive,' Dagg said.
``She was always happy, smiling. I've never seen her angry, oh, except maybe in ringette.'
Britain's tabloids did some modest digging into the bride's background, but the closest they could come to scandal is an uncle who once ran a strip club in Moncton, N.B.
The British media have also called Kelly resoundingly ordinary. The Daily Mail described her as a ``working-class girl from a suburban backwater of Canada.'
But Pointe-Claire Mayor Bill McMurchie, who used to play softball with Kelly's father Brian, disagrees.
He said the Windsors are getting the best deal out of the marriage.
``I think it's appropriate that the royals should marry into the Pointe-Claire family,' he said.
