The wedding day
On Friday 29 April 2011 at 11 o'clock HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton were married in Westminster Abbey.
Ahead of the service, Miss Middleton travelled by car with her father from the Goring Hotel, down The Mall to Parliament Square.
Lining the aisle were eight 20 feet-high trees six English Field Maple and two Hornbeam. Miss Middleton carried a bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William, ivy, myrtle and hyacinth.
The Dean of Westminster conducted the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury married the couple and the Bishop of London gave the address.
After the ceremony the newly married couple, now titled Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, travelled in a horse-drawn carriage procession to Buckingham Palace and were greeted along the streets by members of the public.
The Queen hosted a Reception for the couple and their guests at Buckingham Palace, and The Prince of Wales hosted a further private dinner in the evening.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for an RAF flypast and two kisses!
The couple's wedding cake was made by Fiona Cairns. The cake was a multi-tiered traditional fruit cake decorated with cream and white icing in the Joseph Lambeth technique.
The engagement
The engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton was announced on 16th November 2010.
The couple became engaged the previous month during a private holiday in Kenya.
Following the marriage it was announced that the couple would live in north Wales where Prince William would continue to serve with the Royal Air Force.
The bridal party
Miss Catherine Middleton's sister, Philippa, was chosen to be her Maid of Honour.
Prince William asked his brother, Prince Harry, to be his best man.
The Bridesmaids and Page Boys were:
- The Lady Louise Windsor (Aged 7 – daughter of The Earl and Countess of Wessex)
- The Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones (Aged 8 – daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Linley)
- Miss Grace van Cutsem (Aged 3 – daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh van Cutsem)
- Miss Eliza Lopes (Aged 3 – daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lopes)
- Master William (Billy) Lowther-Pinkerton (Aged 10 – son of Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton)
- Master Tom Pettifer (Aged 8 – son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pettifer )
- Miss Grace van Cutsem and Master Tom Pettifer are godchildren of Prince William
The carriage procession
After the service at Westminster Abbey, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge travelled in the 1902 State Landau along the Processional Route to Buckingham Palace.
There were five horse-drawn carriages in the Procession, drawn from the Royal Mews. The Royal Mews houses 30 carriage horses and has 38 staff including liveried helpers, coachmen, chauffeurs.
There are two breeds of horses at the Royal Mews, Windsor Greys and Bays (the majority of which are Cleveland Bays). There are over 100 carriages in the collection, although not all of them are kept at Buckingham Palace.
The 1902 State Landau was specifically built for King Edward VII in 1902 and was intended to be used at his Coronation. It is the carriage in most general use at the Royal Mews and is usually used by The Queen to meet Foreign Heads of State when they arrive on State Visits to Britain.
The wedding dress and jewellery
Prince William proposed to Miss Middleton with his mother's engagement ring. The Duchess of Cambridge's wedding ring was fashioned from a piece of Welsh gold given to Prince William by the Queen shortly after the engagement was announced.
Miss Middleton's wedding dress was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. The lace appliqué for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace.
Individual flowers were hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a design which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.
Miss Middleton wore a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent by The Queen. The ‘halo’ tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and presented to Princess Elizabeth (now The Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.
Titles
Upon the occasion of their marriage, The Queen conferred titles upon Prince William and Miss Middleton. Henceforth they would be known as The Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus, and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.
