Prince William marries Kate in glittering ceremony

Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, kiss as they stand on the balcony at Buckingham Palace today . REUTERS/Darren Staples

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince William and  Kate Middleton married at Westminster Abbey today in a royal  occasion of dazzling pomp and pageantry that has attracted a  huge global audience and injected new life into the monarchy.
Before the vows, a veiled Middleton, the first “commoner” to  marry a prince in close proximity to the throne in more than 350  years, walked slowly through the 1,900-strong congregation to  the swirling strains of Charles Parry’s “I Was Glad”.

Prince William, and Kate Middleton stand before the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, during their wedding ceremony In Westminster Abbey, in central London today. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski/Pool
Prince William, and Kate Middleton stand before the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, during their wedding ceremony In Westminster Abbey, in central London today. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski/Pool

As they met at the altar William whispered to her, prompting  a smile at the start of the ceremony. The Archbishop of  Canterbury Rowan Williams declared the couple married with the  words: “I pronounce that they be man and wife together.”
Middleton’s dress, the subject of fevered speculation for  months in the fashion press, was a traditional ivory silk and  satin outfit with a lace applique and long train.
She wore a tiara loaned by the queen and the diamond and  sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to William’s mother  Princess Diana, who was divorced from Prince Charles in 1996, a  year before her death in a car crash in Paris aged just 36.

Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, travel to Buckingham Palace in the 1902 State Landau, along the Procession Route, after their wedding in Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011. Prince William married his fiancee, Kate Middleton, in Westminster Abbey today.  REUTERS/Tony Gentile
Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, travel to Buckingham Palace in the 1902 State Landau, along the Procession Route, after their wedding in Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011. Prince William married his fiancee, Kate Middleton, in Westminster Abbey today. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Bells pealed loudly and trumpets blared as 1,900 guests  earlier poured into the historic abbey, coronation site for the  monarchy since William the Conqueror was crowned in 1066.
Queen Elizabeth, other royals, David and Victoria Beckham,  the footballer-pop star couple, singer Elton John and Prime  Minister David Cameron were among famous guests at the abbey.
They joined 50 heads of state as well as charity workers and  war veterans who know the prince from his military training.

HUGE CROWDS

Britain's Prince William (L) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, walk after their wedding ceremony in Westminster Abbey in central London today.  REUTERS/Toby Melville
Britain's Prince William (L) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, walk after their wedding ceremony in Westminster Abbey in central London today. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Thousands of people from around the world were outside the  abbey, many of them camping overnight for the best view of the  future king and queen and fuelling the feel-good factor that has  briefly lifted Britain from its economic gloom.
“People watching this at home must think we’re completely  mad, but there’s just no comparison,” said 58-year-old Denise  Mill from southern England. “I just had to be here.”
The crowd entered into the festive spirit on a chilly day by  wearing national flags and even fake wedding dresses and tiaras.  Hundreds of police officers, some armed, dotted the royal routes  in a major security operation.
Tens of thousands more people crammed the flag-lined streets  of London to catch a glimpse of marching military bands in black  bearskin hats, cavalrymen in shining breastplates and ornate  carriages that will carry royal figures from the service.

Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, kiss as they stand on the balcony at Buckingham Palace today .  REUTERS/Darren Staples
Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, kiss as they stand on the balcony at Buckingham Palace today . REUTERS/Darren Staples

A large gathering is expected outside the queen’s London  residence, Buckingham Palace, to cheer on the married couple as  they appear on the balcony for a much-anticipated public kiss.
For some, however, the biggest royal wedding since Diana  married Prince Charles in 1981 was an event to avoid, reflecting  divided opinion about the monarchy.
“It’s just a wedding,” said 25-year-old Ivan Smith.  “Everyone is going mad about it. I couldn’t care less.”

Inside the abbey: garden party to hushed service
* Reuters Bureau Chief Jodie Ginsberg in the abbey
* Some 1,900 guests were invited to service
* Abbey felt cocooned from celebrations outside

By Jodie Ginsberg
LONDON, (Reuters) – It was almost like being at two  weddings for guests at the marriage service of Britain’s Prince  William and long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton.
When we entered Westminster Abbey — ushered in through  cool, quiet cloisters that felt a million miles away from the  noisy crowds we knew were gathered outside — those members of  the press lucky enough to have an admission card met a  surprising sight.

Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange rings before the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, during their wedding ceremony In Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011. REUTERS/Andrew Milligan/Pool
Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange rings before the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, during their wedding ceremony In Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011. REUTERS/Andrew Milligan/Pool

Most of us expected to see row upon row of formally dressed  guests, sitting quietly in their seats, waiting patiently for  the ceremony to start.
Instead, the atmosphere was like a garden party. Groups of  guests chatted in the aisles, surrounded by huge trees taken  from the royal gardens which made the centre of the abbey feel  more like a French boulevard than a church.
Light glittered off rows of chandeliers and off enormous  stained glass windows. It was surprisingly warm.
I had expected a building that has witnessed royal  coronations for nearly a thousand years to be chilly, drafty –  even damp. Instead, the air felt soft and cosy.

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, walk up the aisle, followed by Prince Harry and Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton, after their wedding ceremony in Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011. Prince William married his fiancee, Kate Middleton, in Westminster Abbey today. REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, walk up the aisle, followed by Prince Harry and Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton, after their wedding ceremony in Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011. Prince William married his fiancee, Kate Middleton, in Westminster Abbey today. REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool

We walked along the plush red carpet that Kate and William  would later tread as husband and wife.
Everyone chatted amiably. William and Kate’s friends and  family mingled with a broad range of guests that included  royalty from around the world, global celebrities like Elton  John and David Beckham, and shopkeepers from Middleton’s  hometown.
I met the partner of one of Middleton’s uncles as we queued  for the bathroom.
“The word surreal doesn’t begin to describe it,” Leah  Lowinger said.

INSULATED

(L-R) Prince Philip stands next to Carole Middleton as Queen Elizabeth listens to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, after the wedding ceremony of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, in central London, today. REUTERS/Toby Melville
(L-R) Prince Philip stands next to Carole Middleton as Queen Elizabeth listens to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, after the wedding ceremony of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, in central London, today. REUTERS/Toby Melville

We were all strangely cocooned in the abbey. Only during  pauses in the music could you hear the faint cheer of the crowd  or the distant peal of the abbey’s bells. There were no Union  Jacks, no waving crowds, just a sea of colourful hats.
Only one screen in the abbey — that closest to where we  journalists were seated in Poets’ Corner — was showing the  goings-on outside, and the ambassadors and foreign dignitaries  seated near us craned their heads for a peek.
Like most people, we — and they — could barely see  anything of what was happening in the abbey until the service  began when the other screens, which until then showed a still  picture of flowers, began broadcasting the service.
Guests peered out from between feathers, scrolls and hat  brims to try to see what was going on.

Kate Middleton (top R) arrives with her father Michael (top L) at Westminster Abbey followed by her sister and Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton (C) for her marriage to Britain's Prince William in central London today. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
Kate Middleton (top R) arrives with her father Michael (top L) at Westminster Abbey followed by her sister and Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton (C) for her marriage to Britain's Prince William in central London today. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

As soon as Prince William arrived, the mood shifted. The  informal atmosphere gave way to one of intense seriousness — it  was almost as though the entire room was holding its breath.
The abbey became still and silent. The sweet, fresh scent of  lilies of the valley, planted in containers throughout the  abbey, wafted through the air.
Suddenly everyone was much more restrained. Even the singing  felt cautious — although I gamely tried my best with the hymns.
There was no chatter, no real moments of levity. It all felt  incredibly grand, but also a little sombre — perhaps because it  was so hard to see or hear the couple, or because of the  formality of the occasion.
Although I have been to many weddings in churches, this was  the most overtly religious and formal of any I have attended,  and this gave it a strangely impersonal air. Or maybe that stems  from not knowing the couple and being with hundreds of  others in a similar position.
Robbed of much of the ability to see the couple or speakers  directly, and with no end-of-service kiss or drama, it will be  the smell of the flowers — and the fabulous,  goosepimple-inducing fanfares that I will remember most.
As one guest said as we were leaving the Abbey: “As a  country we do know how to do ceremonies.”

Prince William pays tribute to Diana at wedding

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince William made  sure his mother Princess Diana in his own words didn’t “miss  out” on the ceremony and celebrations for his wedding to Kate  Middleton in Westminster Abbey today.
His bride wore Diana’s engagement ring, a hymn from his late  mother’s funeral was sung at the service and guests included  Elton John — who sang “Candle in the Wind” at Diana’s funeral  in the abbey.
Fourteen years ago, the eyes of the world watched as  William, then 15, walked solemnly behind the coffin of his  mother as it was taken through the packed streets of London to  her funeral.

Prince William (R) meets New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key and his wife Bronagh Key at Buckingham Palace in London April 29, 2011. REUTERS/Ian West/POOL
Prince William (R) meets New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key and his wife Bronagh Key at Buckingham Palace in London April 29, 2011. REUTERS/Ian West/POOL

William wed Middleton in front of almost 2,000 guests and an  audience of millions worldwide. But the one person conspicuous  by her absence was Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
From the moment the couple announced they were getting  married last November, William has deliberately put the memory  of Diana at the centre of celebrations, giving Middleton his  mother’s large blue oval sapphire and diamond engagement ring.
“It’s very special to me,” William told reporters in  November. “It’s my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out  on today and the excitement and the fact we are going to spend  the rest of our lives together.”
The build-up to the day and the ceremony itself has been  littered with reminders of Diana.
“The only downside on a perfect day was Diana not being  there,” her brother Charles Spencer told the BBC after the  wedding service.   Before the wedding, the couple were reported to have visited  Diana’s resting place, an island at her family’s Althorp estate  in central England.
“It was very important for William to take Kate to visit his  mum just before their wedding day,” a source told the Daily  Mirror newspaper. “It is tragic that she won’t be there to see  the wedding and that she never got to meet his bride.”

WEDDING ADDRESS

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, look at each other as they leave the Westminster Abbey after their wedding ceremony in central London today. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, look at each other as they leave the Westminster Abbey after their wedding ceremony in central London today. REUTERS/Toby Melville

The wedding address was delivered by the Bishop of London,  Richard Chartres, who knew Diana since her 1981 marriage to  William’s father Prince Charles and was an executor of her will.
He also delivered an address at a memorial service to mark  the 10th anniversary of her death.
One of the hymns chosen by the couple for their service,  “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer”, was the final one to be sung  at Diana’s funeral.
“I think it’s the most joyous result and I’m sure Diana  would be very, very happy about it,” pop star John said of  William’s upcoming wedding in a recent U.S. TV interview.
Diana was a royal outcast when she was killed aged 36, a  year after she and Charles divorced.
However, her huge popularity both at home and abroad dwarfed  that of the royal family and her early death generated enormous  sympathy for William and his younger brother Harry, sentiments  that have meant both retain much public sympathy to this day.
Two other guests at Friday’s wedding will also forever be  linked to Diana and her untimely death — Charles’s second wife  Camilla who he married in 2005 and Diana’s brother.
Diana blamed Camilla for the breakdown of her relationship  with heir-to-the-throne Charles, famously saying in a TV  interview “there were three of us in this marriage”.
Spencer will be remembered for the scathing attack he  launched on the House of Windsor at his sister’s funeral,  promising William and Harry would not be stifled by the royals  and their souls would not be immersed by duty and tradition.
He gave the wedding his seal of approval.
“It was incredibly beautiful wasn’t it? Very moving,” he  said, before expressing regret at Diana’s absence.
“But what a wonderful day, such a celebration.”