by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

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Prince William, now The Prince of Wales and Catherine Middleton were married on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey in London, England.

• Unofficial Royalty: Westminster Abbey in London, England
• YouTube: Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton (BBC full coverage)
• YouTube: Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton (Royal Family YouTube Channel)

The Family of Prince William

HRH Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was born on June 21, 1982, at St. Mary’s Hospital in the Paddington section of London. William was the first child of Charles, The Prince of Wales and his wife of eleven months, the former Lady Diana Spencer. Charles was the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Greece. Upon his mother’s accession to the throne in 1952, Charles became her heir. He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on July 26, 1958. At birth, William became the second in the line of succession and is expected to follow his grandmother and father as monarch.

Diana was the third of four surviving children of Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer and The Honourable Frances Ruth Roche, younger daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy. The Spencer family is an old English noble family. Althorp in Northamptonshire, England has been the ancestral home of the Spencer family since the early 16th century. The Spencer family has served the British monarchy for centuries. Most recently, Diana’s grandmother, Lady Fermoy, was a close friend and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Diana’s father served as equerry to both King George VI and to Queen Elizabeth II. Among the Spencer family ancestors are the famous soldier and statesman John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife Sarah Jennings who was a close friend of Queen Anne, and King Charles II through four of his illegitimate children.

William’s brother Prince Harry was born on September 15, 1984. Unfortunately, the marriage of The Prince and Princess of Wales was not a happy one. The couple separated in December 1992 and divorced in August 1996. Exactly a year later, Diana, Princess of Wales tragically died in a car accident in Paris. Accompanied by their father, their grandfather Prince Philip, and their uncle the 9th Earl Spencer, William and his brother Harry walked behind their mother’s coffin during her funeral procession. In 2005, Prince Charles married Camilla Parker-Bowles with whom he had a romantic relationship before and during his marriage. It is understood that William and Harry have a good relationship with their stepmother.

• Unofficial Royalty: Prince William, The Prince of Wales

The Family of Catherine Middleton

Catherine Elizabeth “Kate” Middleton was born on January 9, 1982, at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Berkshire. Kate is the oldest of the three children of Michael Francis Middleton and Carole Elizabeth Goldsmith. Michael Middleton worked as a flight dispatcher for British Airways. Carole Goldsmith also worked for British Airways, but as a flight attendant. In addition to Kate, the Middletons also have another daughter Philippa (Pippa) born in 1983 and a son James born in 1987.

Kate was raised in the village of Bucklebury in Berkshire. Her ancestors are basically English with a few Scots and French Huguenots in the family background. Michael Middleton’s family comes from Leeds in West Yorkshire and Carole Goldsmith’s family is from County Durham where they were laborers and miners.

After the birth of James, Carole had the idea to create a business to help parents with their children’s birthday parties called Party Pieces. The business grew from a cottage industry into a business that made the family millionaires. Recent research by some journalists has revealed that apparently, Michael’s side of the family are descendants of a Victorian mill owner who left the equivalent of £33million in his will and that some of the Middleton family’s wealth may come from this source.

• Unofficial Royalty: Catherine, The Princess of Wales

The Engagement

In 2001, Prince William and Kate Middleton first met each other while they were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. During their first year, they both lived at St. Salvator’s Hall, a residence hall at the university. For their final two years, they shared housing in the town. They started dating in 2003 and remained together for eight years except for a brief separation in 2007. The couple became engaged in October 2010 while on a private vacation in Kenya.

The official engagement announcement came from Clarence House on November 16, 2010: “The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton.”

The Engagement Ring

William presented Kate with his mother’s engagement ring, a platinum ring set with a large oval sapphire and fourteen diamonds. The ring, reported to have cost in the region of $55,000 in 1981, was made by the royal jewelers Garrard & Company in Regent Street, London. William’s mother herself selected the largest and most expensive ring from a tray of engagement rings. As in 1981, copies of the engagement ring went on sale soon after the engagement was announced.

Partial Guest List

Members of the British Royal Family

• The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh
• The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
• Prince Henry of Wales
• The Duke of York
• Princess Beatrice of York
• Princess Eugenie of York
• The Earl and Countess of Wessex
• The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence
• Mr. and Mrs. Peter Phillips
• Miss Zara Phillips with Mr. Mike Tindall
• Viscount Linley and Viscountess Linley and The Hon. Charles Armstrong-Jones
• Lady Sarah and Mr. Daniel Chatto, Master Samuel Chatto, and Master Arthur Chatto
• The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
• Earl and Countess of Ulster
• Lady Davina and Mr. Gary Lewis
• Lady Rose and Mr. George Gilman
• The Duke and Duchess of Kent
• Earl and Countess of St. Andrews
• Lord Downpatrick
• Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor
• Lady Amelia Windsor
• Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor
• Lady Helen and Mr. Timothy Taylor
• Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
• Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor
• Lady Gabriella Windsor
• Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy
• Mr. and Mrs. James Ogilvy
• Miss Marina Ogilvy

Members of Foreign Royal Families

• Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium
• The Sultan of Brunei and Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha
• King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria
• Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
• King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes
• Crown Prince Pavlos, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, and Prince Constantine of Greece
• Sheikh Ahmad Hmoud Al-Sabah of Kuwait
• Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso and Princess Mabereng Seeiso of Lesotho
• Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
• The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia
• Prince Albert II of Monaco and Miss Charlene Wittstock
• Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco
• Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange and Princess of Maxima of the Netherlands
• King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway
• Prince Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman
• Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani The Emir of The State of Qatar and Sheika Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned
• King Michael I of Romania and Crown Princess Margarita
• Prince Mohamed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Princess Fadwa bint Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman
• Queen Sofia of Spain
• The Prince and Princess of the Asturias
• King Mswati III of Swaziland
• Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Daniel
• Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand
• King George Tupou V of Tonga
• Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi
• Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
• Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia

Dignitaries

• The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda
• The Governor-General of Australia and His Excellency Mr. Michael Bryce
• The Governor-General of The Bahamas and Lady Foulkes
• The Governor-General of Barbados
• The Governor-General of Belize and Lady Young
• The Governor-General of Canada and Mrs. David Jonhnston
• The Governor-General of Jamaica
• The Governor-General of New Zealand and Lady Satyanand
• The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea and Mrs. Michael Ogio
• The Governor-General of the Solomon Islands and Lady Kabui
• The Governor-General of St Christopher and Nevis
• The Governor-General of St Lucia
• The Governor-General of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Lady Ballantyne
• The Prime Minister of Australia and Mr. Tim Matheison
• The Prime Minister of The Bahamas and Ms. Delores Miller
• The Prime Minister of Barbados
• The Prime Minister of New Zealand and Mrs. John Key
• The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and Lade Somare
• The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and Mrs. Rosalia Nestor King
• The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines and Mrs. Ralph Gonsalves
• The Premier of Bermuda and Mr. Germain Nkeuleu
• The Premier of The British Virgin Islands and Mrs. Ralph O’Neal
• The Premier of the Cayman Islands and Mrs. Kerry Bush
• The Hon. Sharon and Mr. Rodney Halford (Falkland Islands)
• The Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Mrs. Peter Caruana
• The Chief Minister of Montserrat and the Reverend Doctor Joan Delsol Meade
• The Hon. John and Mrs. Vilma Cranfield (St. Helena)

Members of Government and Parliament

• The Prime Minister and Mrs. David Cameron
• The Deputy Prime Minister and Ms. Miriam Gonzalez Duantez
• First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Mrs. William Hague
• The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Hon. Mrs. Osborne
• The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor and Mrs. Kenneth Clarke
• The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, and Mr. Philip May
• The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and Mrs. Jeremy Hunt
• The Rt. Hon Ed Miliband, M.P. and Ms. Justine Thornton
• The Speaker of the House of Commons and Mrs. John Bercow
• The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales and the Lady Elis-Thomas
• The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament and Mrs. Alex Fergusson
• The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Mrs. William Hay
• The Lord Speaker and Mr. Martin Hayman
• First Minister of Wales and Mrs. Carwyn Jones
• First Minister of Northern Ireland and Mrs. Peter Robinson
• First Minister of Scotland and Mrs. Alex Salmond
• The Mayor of London and Mrs. Boris Johnson
• The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor and The Lady Mayoress
• Sir Gus and Lady O’Donnell
• The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Westminster and Count Paolo Filo della Torre
• Mr. and Mrs. Simon Fraser

Representatives from the Church of England and other Faiths

• The Most Reverend Gregorious, Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of Thysteira and Great Britain
• The Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs. Rowan Williams
• Rabbi Anthony Bayfield
• Mr. Anil Bhanot
• The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Archbishop Sean Brady
• Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Reverend David Chillingworth
• The Right Reverend John Christie, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
• Mr. Malcolm Deboo President, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe
• The Rt. Reverend Doctor Norman Hamilton
• The Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Reverend Alan Edwin Harper
• Monsignor Philip Kerr, The Convener, Action of Churches Together in Scotland
• Commissioner Elizabeth Matear, Salvation Army
• The Archbishop of Wales, The Most Reverend Doctor Barry Morgan
• The Reverend Gareth Morgan Jones, President of the Free Church Council of Wales
• Cardinal Cormac Murphy-Connor
• The Archbishop of Westminster, The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols
• Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh
• Rabbi Alan Plancey
• Imam Mohammad Raza
• The Chief Rabbi (Lord Sacks)
• The Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala, Acting Head Monk, The London Buddhist Vihara
• Maulana Syed Raza Shabbarm, Muhammadi Trust
• Mr. Natubhai Shah, President, the Jain Academy
• Dr. Indarjit Singh, Director, Network Sikh Organisations (UK)
• Canon Christopher Tuckwell
• The Reverend Martin Turner
• The Archbishop of York and Mrs. John Sentamu

Senior Members of the Defense Services

• Major General and Mrs. William Cubitt, Major General Commanding Household Division and GOC London District
• Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen and Lady Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff
• General Sir Nicholas and Lady Houghton
• Air Vice-Marshal the Hon. David and Mrs. Murray, Defence Services Secretary
• General Sir David and Lady Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff
• Admiral Sir Mark and Lady Stanhope, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff
• General Sir Peter and Lady Wall, Chief of the General Staff

Also invited are ambassadors representing countries with which the United Kingdom has normal diplomatic relations and Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenants for the United Kingdom. These individuals will not be accompanied by their spouses or partners.

What follows is a list of other guests who have a relationship with the bride and/or groom and guests whom television viewers may recognize. These guests have been invited along with their spouses or civil relationship partners.

• Mr. David Allan, Chairman of Mountain Rescue, England, and Wales. Prince William has been Patron of the organization since 2007.
• Major Tom Archer-Burton, was Prince William and Prince Harry’s Commanding Officer in the Household Cavalry.
• Mr. Charlie Mayhew, Chief Executive of the Conservation Charity, Tusk Trust. Prince William and Prince Harry visited Tusk-funded projects in Botswana in 2010.
• Mrs. Alison Moore-Gwyn, Chief Executive of Fields in Trust. Prince William is Patron of The Queen Elizabeth II Fields, an initiative to protect and create hundreds of playing fields throughout the UK in honor of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The project is run by Fields in Trust.
• Mr. Seyi Obakin, Chief Executive of Centrepoint. Centrepoint became Prince William’s first Patronage in 2005. His mother, Diana, Princess of Wales was also Patron of the Charity.
• Mr. Peter Cross, Chief Executive of the charity SkillForce, of which Prince William has been Patron since 2009.
• Miss Amanda Berry, Chief Executive of BAFTA. Prince William has been President of BAFTA since 2010.
• Mrs. Ann Chalmers, Chief Executive of the Child Bereavement Charity. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009.
• Mrs. Julia Samuel, Chair of the Child Bereavement Charity and also a family friend of Prince William. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009.
• Mrs. Tessa Green, former Chairman of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Prince William became President of The Royal Marsden in May.
• Mr. Simon Johnson, worked closely with Prince William as Chief Operating Officer of the FA’s 2018 World Cup bid.
• Sir Trevor Brooking, the Football Association’s Director of Football Development and is responsible for youth-coaching standards in England. Prince William has been President of the FA since 2006.
• Sir Clive Woodward, a former Coach of the England Rugby Team and the British and Irish Lions. Prince William was invited by Sir Clive to join the British and Irish Lions rugby team on their tour to New Zealand in 2005.
• Mr. Gareth Thomas, Welsh Rugby player. Gareth Thomas several times in his role as Vice Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.
• Mr. Ian Thorpe, Australian Olympic swimmer. Prince William met the Olympic swimmer, Ian Thorpe, on a visit to Australia in 2010 and has since supported Mr. Thorpe’s charitable organization Fountain for Youth, which focuses on improving health and education for children.
• Mr. Barty Pleydell-Bouverie led the Cycle of Life charity bike ride across Africa in 2008, which raised money for the Tusk Trust.
• Rear Admiral Ian Corder, Rear Admiral of Submarines. Prince William was appointed Commodore-in-Chief of Submarines by The Queen in 2006.
• Brigadier Ed Smyth-Osbourne, Brigadier Smyth-Osbourne was Prince William and Prince Harry’s Commanding Officer in the Household Regiment and acted as their military mentor.
• Major William Bartle-Jones, Prince William’s Squadron Leader in the Household Cavalry Regiment based at Windsor.
• Wing Commander Steven Bentley, Prince William’s Search and Rescue Force Squadron Leader at RAF Valley, Anglesey.
• Sergeant Keith Best, a colleague of Prince William’s at RAF Valley, in Anglesey, North Wales.
• Squadron Leader Paul Bolton, a colleague of Prince William’s at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales.
• Wing Commander Kevin Marsh met Prince William through his service in the RAF. He will be one of the Path Liners outside Westminster Abbey on the wedding day.
• Lance-Corporal Martyn Compton, Lance-Corporal in the Household Cavalry. He was injured in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2006, which put him in a coma for three months and left him with 75 per cent burns.
• Miss Holly Dyer, sister to 2nd Lieutenant Joanna Dyer, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2007. Joanna was a close friend of Prince William’s at Sandhurst.
• Mrs. Susie Roberts, widow of Major Alexis Roberts, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007. Major Alexis Roberts was Prince William’s Platoon Commander at Sandhurst.
• Mr. and Mrs. Bryn Parry, founded the charity Help for Heroes to assist wounded service men and women. Both Prince William and Prince Harry are supporters of the charity.
• Mr. Edward Gould, Master of Marlborough College when Miss Middleton was a student.
• Dr. Andrew Gailey, Vice-Provost of Eaton College and was Prince William’s Housemaster.
• The Hon. Edward Dawson-Damer, ex-Irish Guards officer, who was Equerry to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the 1980’s.
• Mr. Sam Stevenson, New Zealander Sam Stevenson was Prince William’s New Zealand equerry during his visit to the country in July 2005.
• Sir John Major, former Prime Minister, was appointed a Guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry with responsibility for legal and administrative matters after the death of their mother.
• Mr. Rowan Atkinson, actor and close friend of The Prince of Wales.
• Mr. Tom Bradby, journalist and news reporter. He has known both Prince William and Miss Middleton for some time and conducted their first joint interview together.
• Mr. Ben Fogle, travel writer, television presenter and adventurer and has met Prince William on a number of occasions.
• Sir Elton John, singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist. He performed at the funeral of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
• Mr. and Mrs. David Beckham, footballer (soccer player). Beckham and Prince William worked together as Ambassadors of England’s 2018 World Cup Bid.
• Mr. Guy Ritchie, film-maker and friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton.
• Miss Joss Stone, English Soul singer and songwriter, performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley in 2007 and at City Salute in 2008.
• Mr. Mario Testino, photographer, took Prince William and Miss Middleton’s official engagement photographs.
• Miss Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, friend of The Prince of Wales and his family.
• Mr. Sam Waley-Cohen, amateur jockey and friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton.
• Mr. Galen Weston, friend of The Prince of Wales and his family.

The Wedding Attendants

Bridesmaids:

• The Honorable Margarita Armstrong-Jones, age 8, daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Linley
• Lady Louise Windsor, age 7, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex
• Grace van Cutsem, age 3, daughter of bride and groom’s friend Hugh van Cutsem
• Eliza Lopes, age 3, granddaughter of the Duchess of Cornwall

Page Boys:

• William Lowther-Pinkerton, age 10, son of Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the groom’s Private Secretary
• Tom Pettifer, age 8, son of Tiggy Pettifer, the former nanny of the groom and his brother

Best Man: Prince Harry, brother of the groom

Maid of Honor: Philippa Charlotte “Pippa” Middleton, sister of the bride

The Wedding Attire

The Ceremony

Announcement from Clarence House on November 23, 2010:

“The marriage of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton will take place at Westminster Abbey on Friday 29th April 2011. The Royal Family will pay for the wedding, following the precedents set by the marriages of The Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981 and Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1947. “

The Lunchtime Wedding Reception

Prior to the reception, there was a private photo session for the wedding party and family with photographer Hugo Burnand and then the bride and groom greeted the 650 guests.

Next, the bride and groom appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace where they pleased the crowd with the now obligatory kiss.

Finally, Queen Elizabeth II hosted the lunchtime wedding reception for 650 guests at Buckingham Palace. Claire Jones, the official harpist of The Prince of Wales, entertained at the reception. The guests were served an assortment of canapés prepared by a team of 21 chefs, led by Royal Chef Mark Flanagan. The chefs prepared approximately 10,000 canapés. Along with the canapés, guests were served Pol Roger NV Brut Réserve Champagne and soft and alcoholic drinks. The selection of canapés included:

• Cornish Crab Salad on Lemon Blini
• Pressed Duck Terrine with Fruit Chutney
• Roulade of Goats Cheese with Caramelised Walnuts
• Assortment of Palmiers and Cheese Straws
• Scottish Smoked Salmon Rose on Beetroot Blini
• Miniature Watercress and Asparagus Tart
• Poached Asparagus spears with Hollandaise Sauce for Dipping
• Quails Eggs with Celery Salt
• Scottish Langoustines with Lemon Mayonnaise Pressed Confit of Pork Belly with Crayfish and Crackling
• Wild Mushroom and Celeriac Chausson
• Bubble and Squeak with Confit Shoulder of Lamb
• Grain Mustard and honey-glazed Chipolatas
• Smoked Haddock Fishcake with Pea Guacamole
• Miniature Yorkshire Pudding with Roast Fillet of Beef and Horseradish Mousse
• Gateau Opera
• Blood Orange Pate de Fruit
• Raspberry Financier
• Rhubarb Crème Brulee Tartlet
• Passion Fruit Praline
• White Chocolate Ganache Truffle
• Milk Chocolate Praline with Nuts
• Dark Chocolate Ganache Truffle

Two cakes were served, a wedding cake and a chocolate biscuit cake specially requested by Prince William and made by McVitie’s Cake Company using a Royal Family recipe. The wedding cake was designed by Fiona Cairns and was made from 17 individual fruit cakes and had eight tiers. A garland design around the middle of the wedding cake matched the architectural garlands around the top of the Picture Gallery in Buckingham Palace where the cake was displayed. The wedding cake was decorated with 900 individually iced flowers and leaves of 17 different varieties. The flowers and the leaves on the wedding cake symbolized the following:

• White Rose – National symbol of England
• Daffodil – National symbol of Wales, new beginnings
• Shamrock – National symbol of Ireland
• Thistle – National symbol of Scotland
• Acorns, Oak Leaf – Strength, endurance
• Myrtle – Love
• Ivy – Wedded Love, Marriage
• Lily-of-the-Valley – Sweetness, Humility
• Rose (Bridal) – Happiness, Love.
• Sweet William – Grant me one smile
• Honeysuckle – The Bond of Love
• Apple Blossom – Preference, Good Fortune
• White Heather – Protection, Wishes will come true
• Jasmine (White) – Amiability
• Daisy – Innocence, Beauty, Simplicity
• Orange Blossom – Marriage, Eternal Love, Fruitfulness
• Lavender – ardent attachment, devotion, success, and luck

The Evening Wedding Reception

300 of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s closest friends and family attended the evening wedding reception hosted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. The Queen and Prince Philip were not in attendance, having left the Palace for the younger crowd. The new Duchess of Cambridge had changed into a floor-length ivory satin gazar gown with a diamante-embroidered waistband and a cream-colored angora bolero jacket which was also designed by her wedding dress designer Sarah Burton. William looked handsome in a black tie and dinner jacket. As the guests arrived, a military band played. Swiss chef Anton Mosimann, who owns a restaurant in the Knightsbridge section of London, was responsible for the dinner. The menu included:

• Terrine of dressed crab and tiger prawns
• Aberdeen Angus beef fillet from Longoe Farm, the Castle of Mey, Scotland
• Welsh lamb from the Highgrove estate
• Spring vegetables grilled and blanched (and not cooked in butter or cream)
• Trio of chocolate puddings
• Seasonal fruits
• Ice cream with a brandy snap

When dinner was done, Prince Harry gave the best man’s speech and Michael Middleton gave the father of the bride speech. After the speeches, William and Catherine had their first dance to Elton John’s “Your Song” sung by Ellie Goulding. The music continued until 2 AM and most guests had departed by 3 AM after a long and memorable day.

The Honeymoon

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent their wedding night at Buckingham Palace. The next day, they left the Palace via helicopter for an undisclosed location in the United Kingdom. Prince William returned to work the next week as a Search and Rescue pilot on the island of Anglesey in Wales. On Tuesday, May 10, 2011, palace officials said that the couple had left for a honeymoon at an undisclosed location and declined to comment on the length of the honeymoon. At a later date, it was revealed that the couple spent a 10-day honeymoon in the island nation of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. The location of their honeymoon was the private North Island in one of the 11 secluded, exclusive villas there. To learn more about North Island, see its official website.

Children

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The Prince and Princess of Wales with their three children

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, now The Prince and Princess of Wales, have three children. The British Royal Family will descend from this marriage. Princess Charlotte became the first British princess not to be overtaken in the line of succession by her younger brother.  The Succession to The Crown Act 2013, which formally went into effect on March 26, 2015, put in place absolute primogeniture, which means that for those born after October 28, 2011, the eldest child born becomes the heir to his or her parent, regardless of gender.

• Prince George of Wales (born 2013)
• Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015)
• Prince Louis of Wales (born 2018)

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