William and Kate

We continue with the beautiful subject of the royal wedding.

The ceremony took place in the Westminster Abbey founded in 960. It has been the venue for coronations and some royal weddings. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams  conducted the marriage at 11:00 of a local time. The ceremony was attended by  about 1 900 guests - the bride's and groom's families, some members of foreign royal dynasties, diplomats and the couple's personal guests.  

Now, the dress.

The bridal dress was designed by the London designer Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. The project dress was a closely guarded secret. The handmade lace for the dress was made by the Royal School of Tailoring and lace from the French Chantilly. Lace embroidered on tulle, creating a unique pattern of flowers symbolizing the United Kingdom: roses, thistles, daffodils and clovers. The workers had to wash their hands every 30 minutes so that not to dirty the lace and threads. Also  the needles were renewed every three hours to keep them sharp and clean.

The fashion experts gave much comment about the dress and it was very well received.

After the wedding, the dress was on public display at Buckingham Palace fans could have admired it. Even several hours after the ceremony, the wedding dress of Princess Kate had her first copies. This dress has become an icon of style, class and good taste. To this day, it is an inspiration for many brides and designers wedding dresses.

After the wedding ceremony, the young couple went to the ceremonial reception at the Queen Elizabeth II after which appeared together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. After the official part of the wedding the bride and groom also took part in an organized evening gala dinner at the Prince Charles, who organized a dance party, which was attended by friends and family of the newlyweds. In addition, a few days later, the couple announced already quite a private dance party with friends.

People in more than 180 countries could have watched the wedding. It was broadcast on television, internet, and radio. It is said that 2 billion people in over the world watched it. In London 1 million people watched the wedding and over 5000 street festivals were organized across the United Kingdom. As you can see, some people were totally involved. 

One more thing which is interesting for me. When it comes to title upon marriage, William became Duke of Cambridge with Catherine becoming Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. Prince Harry, the brother of William is not anymore the third in line to the throne of Britain after Prince Charles and Prince William. Harry is the fifth now after the children of William and Kate – Prince George and Princess Charlotte.