The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on 29th April, 2011. It was a wonderful occasion shared by hundreds of personal guests, hundreds of thousands on the streets of London and billions of people all over the world via their TV sets or the Internet.
There was a really special feel about the whole day. It had all the pomp and ceremony one would expect from a Royal Wedding, but also, helped by advances in technology and perhaps the young couple’s approach to being part of the monarchy, it was at the same time a truly intimate affair. It felt very much like one had been invited to a family wedding and the public had unprecedented access to catch all the special moments of the day, and there were so many of those special moments!
The day before the wedding
From the eve of the wedding it was clear that both William and Catherine appreciated their public support and wished people to share in their happiness. Catherine Middleton paused outside The Goring Hotel where she spent her last night before her wedding, to wave at the waiting people and allow them to take photographs. Prince William went even further than that. Late on Thursday night, he and his brother Harry came out of Clarence House to talk to the people camped out on the pavement there.
“I hope I’m not too nervous tomorrow,” Prince William said, before thanking the crowd. He even told them, “Make sure you wave at Charles and Camilla,” (his father and stepmother).
Prince Harry joked that he would be camping out himself, because of the “fantastic” atmosphere. He said the brothers had come out to greet the crowds because they could actually hear them while they were inside.
The journey to Westminster Abbey
The journey to Westminster Abbey was a modern one for Catherine Middleton, who was transported to the service with her father in a burgundy Rolls Royce, and for all but the principal guests, who arrived in Mercedes minibuses. Senior Royals took the more traditional carriages. Inside the Abbey, it wasn’t quite audibe what the Royals were saying to each other but the cameras took us close enough to see Charles kiss his mother the Queen on the cheek and the Duke of Edinburgh to kiss his daughter-in-law Camilla on the cheek. We also got to see some good natured teasing between the brothers, no doubt attempting to keep William calm as he waited for Catherine to arrive.
Once the couple stood side by side at the altar it was impossible to miss the loving looks and little giggles that passed between the betrothed couple. One didn’t have to be expert in lip-reading to also discern that Prince William apparently told Catherine Middleton, “You look beautiful.”
Westminster Abbey decoration
The Abbey itself was decked out unusually as an English country garden which gave the wedding theme a really modern feel. Instead of fussy floral arrangements the nave was transformed into an avenue of maples which denote modesty and humility. The last two trees by the high altar were hornbeams, which signify faithfulness and eternal love. The wall of the altar had had its tapestries removed to reveal a beautiful mosaic and several Westminster Abbey treasures were brought out for the occasion.
Wedding dress
The first real glimpse of Catherine’s wedding dress was when she stepped out of the car at the Abbey. The style of the Sarah Burton wedding gown was simple understated elegance which suited Catherine’s slender figure and small features beautifully. Burton is the creative director at the fashion house the late Alexander McQueen. Catherine’s gown was fitted at the waist and hips, in ivory and white, with a low sweetheart neckline and sheer lace sleeves. It was decorated with hand-made lace appliqué flowers.
Catherine wore a simple long veil secured with a halo tiara which was borrowed from the Queen. It had been given to the then Princess Elizabeth as an 18th birthday present. The wedding dress train was 2.17 metres long. That is quite short compared to some other royal trains, but it suited the dress perfectly.
The small bouquet carried by Catherine, and the buttonholes worn by the men in the wedding party were all of white flowers. They included some Sweet William, as Catherine’s tribute to her husband-to-be.
What the rest of the wedding party wore
Prince William wore the dress uniform of a Colonel of the Irish Guards. Prince Harry wore the uniform of the Blues and Royals, the Household Cavalry.
There was the maid of honour, Philippa (Pippa) Middleton) and four young bridesmaids. Two page boys wore knickerbockers livery.
Music
The wedding music was a mix of new and deeply traditional. The hyms were: “Love Divine, All Love’s Excelling”, “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeeemer” and the patriotically stirring “Jerusalem”. A special song, “This is the Day”, was composed by John Rutter for the occasion. “God Save the Queen” was also played at the wedding.
Vows
The couple took the wedding vows on velvet kneelers. The both promised to “love, honour, comfort and keep” each other.
Wedding ring
There was a little struggle to get the wedding ring on Catherine’s finger, but then we saw that it was a plain band of Welsh gold, fashioned from a nugget given by the Queen to Prince William as a pre-wedding gift as has been traditional for recent Royal weddings. It was made by Royal jewellers, Wartski.
Titles
After the ceremony, it was announced that that Prince William and Princess Catherine would now also be called the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and in Scotland, the Earl and Countess of Strathearn.
The wedding procession
The wedded couple took a carriage ride back to Buckingham Palace. Emotional moment along the way came not only from their obvious love for each other but also Prince William’s salutes to the Cenotaph and when passing the Household Cavalry guard.
The balcony kisses
Crowds massed outside Buckingham Palace to wait for the bride and groom’s appearance on the balcony. This provided one of the most truly special moments of the day, with not one but two kisses between the happy couple. The second at least seemed completely spontaneous and caused the crowd to gasp in delight and cheer wildly.
Leaving Buckingham Palace
The couple then went inside to enjoy a standing buffet lunch. Afterwards, there was a wonderfully unexpected event. When William and Catherine emerged from Buckingham Palace to go to Clarence House for a larger, informal reception, Prince William was driving his bride in his father’s 1969 Aston Martin, Charles’ 21st birthday gift from his parents.
The vintage car has been restored to a green car, running on alcohol. Someone had decorated it for the Royal Wedding, with heart shaped balloons, ribbons and streamers. The attached number plate read “JU5T WED”. There was also an “L” plate on the back. The bride and bridegroom drove along, still in their wedding outfits, happily chatting to each other and waving to the crowd. Unusually for the Prince, they were alone in the car, although a Royal Protection vehicle followed them a little way behind.
With that, Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went off to enjoy their party at Clarence House.
