On Tuesday it will be 14 years since Kate Middleton married Prince William in front of 1,900 guests at Westminster Abbey – as well as a further two billion watching from home.
Radiant in a Sarah Burton-designed dress for Alexander McQueen, the royal bride, then 29, kept her composure as she made her way down the maple-tree lined aisle with her nine-foot train and bridesmaids in tow, including her maid-of-honour Pippa Middleton.
By her side was a proud Michael Middleton, who held his daughter’s hand as he gave her away to the man that will one day become King.
But it was Prince Harry in the all-important role of best man who caught the attention of lip readers as he snuck a glimpse of Kate.
According to royal author Marcia Moody in her 2013 book Kate: A Biography, Harry then turned to his brother and said: ‘Right, she is here now.’
As tradition dictates, William, who wore the bright scarlet tunic and cap of the Colonel of the Irish Guards, did not flinch at this comment and continued to face forwards.
‘Well, she looks beautiful, I can tell you that,’ Harry whispered.
When his bride finally reached the altar and he was able to set eyes on her, William took poetic inspiration from his younger brother and said: ‘You look lovely. You look beautiful.’
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Prince Harry and Prince William wait for Kate to arrive at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. ‘Well, she looks beautiful, I can tell you that,’ Harry whispered
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Kate looks radiant in a Sarah Burton-designed dress for Alexander McQueen
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Michael Middleton holds his daughter’s hand as they approach the altar
After sensing his father-in-law’s nerves, William turned to Michael and, according to Kate Nicholl in her book Kate: The Future Queen, said: ‘We’re supposed to have just a small family affair.’
The ceremony flew by in a whirlwind and soon the newlyweds were waving to the roaring crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony.
‘Kiss, kiss, kiss,’ union jack draped royal fans chanted from below.
‘Oh wow’, said Kate who later shared that she was ‘incredibly moved’ by the support.
Eventually, William turned to kiss Kate but, according to Nicholl, ‘it was more of a peck than a kiss, and the crowd cheered for more’.
‘William grinned. “Let’s give them another one. I love you,” he said as a Lancaster, a Spitfire and a Hurricane thundered overhead.’
After bidding the crowd one final farewell, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge headed inside to greet the 650 guests invited to the champagne reception.
And by 3.30pm, the couple were being waved off as they made their way to Clarence House to get into slightly more comfortable outfits for the evening reception.
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William turns to Michael to say: ‘We’re supposed to have just a small family affair.’
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The newlyweds wave to the crowds lining The Mall
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Kate and William arrive at Buckingham Palace following the Royal Wedding
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The newly married couple wave to roaring fans from the Buckingham Palace balcony
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After the first peck, William said: ‘Let’s give them another one. I love you’
Harry was both a staple of the ceremony and the evening reception – especially after delivering a side-splitting best-man speech.
‘Adorning a fez, he recounted how he and William played soldiers as little boys, a game that always ended with him being beaten up by his older brother,’ Nicholl wrote.
‘There were jokes about William’s bald patch and his long-standing inability to keep up with Harry during drinking games.
‘Referring to the newlyweds as the “dude and the duchess”, he said, “William did not have a romantic bone in his body before he met Kate.”‘
Ever charismatic, Harry then went on to impersonate his brother, calling Kate ‘baby’ to much laughter.
But he also made sure to include a heartfelt comment about his new sister-in-law and how lucky his brother was to have found a woman who loves him unconditionally.
Detailing his speech in his bombshell memoir Spare, Harry said: ‘I closed on a serious note. Mummy: How she’d have loved to have been here. How she’d have loved Kate, and how she’d have loved seeing this love you’ve found together.’
After many tears were shed, Harry announced it was time for the guests to make their way to the Throne Room for a surprise that he and Pippa had planned.
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Kate Middleton, newly appointed as the Duchess of Cambridge, arrives to greet the 650 guests invited to the champagne reception
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Crowds gather on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace on the couple’s wedding day, waving union jacks
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The happy couple leaving for Clarence House in a royal blue vintage Volante car festooned with balloons and a ‘Just wed’ numberplate
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The A-line gown designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen that Kate wore to her evening reception
There, the chandeliers had been covered up and replaced with strobe lights and disco balls. The thrones had also been moved to make way for a cocktail bar and DJ booth.
William and Kate had been heavily involved with the music, asking British singer Ellie Goulding to perform her song Starry Eyed for their first dance.
When the DJ took over, guests requested their own favourites with Carole Middleton asking for the 1986 Jermaine Stewart hit We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off before she and Michael left the youngsters to dance the night away.
At 2.30am, the more resilient wedding guests made their way out into the gardens for a firework display.
When the final rocket soared, William and Kate were driven across the courtyard in an open-topped Fiat 500 to the Belgian Suite where they spent their first night as husband and wife.
But the night was not yet over for Harry who declared it was time for some ‘serious partying’.
Recounting the party prince’s escapades to Nicholl, one reveller said wrote: ‘Harry literally stage dived – it was a great finale.’
But Harry’s own retelling of the day was far from cheerful.
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Harry was the life of the after party, delivering a hilarious best-man speech and crowd-surfing
The Duke of Sussex penned in Spare: ‘The ceremony is mostly a blank in my mind. I recall Kate walking down the aisle, looking incredible, and I recall Willy walking her back up the aisle, and as they disappeared through the door, into the carriage that would convey them to Buckingham Palace, into the eternal partnership they’d pledged, I recall thinking: Goodbye.
‘I loved my new sister-in-law, I felt she was more sister than in-law, the sister I’d never had and always wanted, and I was pleased that she’d forever be standing by Willy’s side. She was a good match for my older brother. They made each other visibly happy, and therefore I was happy too.
‘But in my gut I couldn’t help feeling that this was yet another farewell under this horrid roof. Another sundering. The brother I’d escorted into Westminster Abbey that morning was gone – forever.’
