Kate & William 10 magical years: The story of their romance and marriage as you’ve never read – or seen – before 

They fell in love… and we fell in love with them: … and now, today and next Saturday, Weekend is celebrating the tenth anniversary of William and Kate’s magical Westminster Abbey wedding with two glorious special magazines. 

Brimming with fresh accounts from close friends and those who played vital roles in their story… 50 pages of dazzling photos, including many never seen before… enchanting new insights into what brought them together 20 years ago, how their friendship blossomed into secret courtship, that spectacular wedding day – and their blissful married life with three gorgeous children… So break out the bunting – and enjoy the full, heart-warming tale of the most touching royal romance of our generation.

It’s the luxury hotel where Kate spent her last night as a single woman. And thanks to a barman flown in from Mustique: The Goring was roaring

Those who were involved in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding share their fondest memories. Pictured: Catherine and William wave to the crowds as they ride in the 1902 State Landau after the ceremony on April 29, 2011 in London

Thousands gather on The Mall hoping for a glimpse of the newly married couple – and perhaps the sight of a kiss on the Palace balcony

The night before the wedding Kate Middleton and her family stayed at The Goring, a discreet 69-bedroom ‘baby grand’ hotel tucked away behind Buckingham Palace. 

While Kate and her family joined some 120 relatives and friends for a buffet at the hotel, Prince William and Prince Harry went on a walkabout on The Mall to meet with well-wishers, as the Duchess of Cornwall had done earlier in the day.

After dining with William, Charles and Camilla at Clarence House, best man Harry popped in to The Goring, where the party continued into the early hours. The Middletons had flown in legendary Mustique barman Basil Charles, who’d served cocktails to William and Kate on their 2008 visit, to set up a pop-up bar. 

Harry is said to have stayed until 3am, leaving by jumping from a balcony and landing awkwardly in the garden. Some said that might explain why the next morning at the Abbey he seemed to walk with a bit of a limp.

The lavish hospitality continued on the wedding day, with the Middletons offering an all-day party. At 3am, those still standing at the reception at the Palace, including Harry, adjourned to The Goring for a nightcap.

David Morgan-Hewitt, managing director of the hotel, which was a favourite of the Queen Mother and remains one of the Queen’s chosen lunch spots, had offered the Palace help with the preparations, but was surprised to welcome the stars of the show – Kate stayed in their lavish Royal Suite – and a global audience of 2 billion on the big day.

Kate and her family joined some 120 relatives and friends for a buffet at The Goring the night before the wedding. Pictured left: Pippa, Kate and Carole Middleton arrive at The Goring, pictured right: bridesmaid Grace van Cutsem

Best man Prince Harry joined the party at The Goring (pictured), after dining with Prince William, Charles and Camilla at Clarence House

David Morgan-Hewitt (pictured left) who was managing director of the hotel, offered the Palace help with the preparations. Pictured right: Bags of wedding finery 

The Alexander McQueen dress had arrived at the hotel well before the ceremony in a box and stayed under wraps. 

A white gazebo was attached to the front door of The Goring and the first peek the world had of the dress was when the bride was helped into her maroon Rolls-Royce, where she sat beside her father for the drive to the Abbey. 

Harry’s said to have left the party by jumping from a balcony 

‘One shouldn’t overblow what we did, because we were just a hotel that the bride’s family decided to stay in,’ David recalls. ‘But it was wonderful to have been a small part of that. Lots of people ask what the dress looked like. I say I don’t know. The first time I saw it was in the Abbey.’ He was of course invited to the service. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attracted an audience of 2billion on their big day. Pictured: Princes William and Harry greet the crowds on The Mall

Pictured: Duchess of Cornwall returns to Clarence House after an impromptu walkabout on The Mall on April 28, 2011

What was the plan if a guest HAD objected? As Westminster Abbey’s Dean reveals for the first time… We had a lawyer waiting in the wings

Dean of Westminster, Dr John Hall said they had a lawyer waiting in the wings for any possible problems. Pictured: Dr Hall greeting Princes William and Harry on their arrival

As Dean of Westminster, Dr John Hall knew that Westminster Abbey had vast experience of royal and state occasions, but the pressure was still on him as the man responsible for making sure the wedding service went like clockwork on the day and ensuring that all potential problems had been foreseen. 

At the service, the Dean was set to read the words, ‘If any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace’ – and the Abbey’s preparation for that moment gives an idea of the lengths they went to.

‘One of my colleagues said, “You really do need to have a lawyer handy just in case,” so we did. Even though we knew it was all going to be fine, we did actually have a lawyer waiting in the wings.’

Claire Jones The harpist played at the reception in Buckingham Palace

As Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales, a role reinstated by Prince Charles, Claire played 118 times for the Royal Family. But she ended her four-year stint in style. 

‘My very last performance was at the reception, in the Green Drawing Room,’ she says.

‘I was playing the Royal Harp, which is normally kept at Clarence House. It’s a beautifully ornate instrument covered in gold leaf. It looked spectacular.’

Claire Jones played the royal harp (pictured) as she ended her four-year stint in playing for the royal family

Claire had met Prince William a few times, but she didn’t meet Catherine until the day. ‘

Just as they were about to leave they came over. She was so nice; the first thing she said was, “Oh my goodness, you look gorgeous.” I hadn’t had a chance to say it to her, she said it to me first!

‘William was so sincere and thankful that I’d made time to be there. I was thinking, “Where else would I be?”

‘When you think what they’d been through that day, I couldn’t believe they were so calm and sweet. After they left there was a lovely moment when the flower girls came to have a go on the harp, it was all very down to earth.’

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The preparations had begun in November of the previous year. ‘We had an indication that the couple were interested in the Abbey and then Catherine came to visit us quite quietly, and I gave her a tour,’ recalls Dr Hall, who retired in 2019. 

‘It was a charming moment, just her and me walking through the Abbey. I don’t think she was very familiar with the building and she was obviously interested in seeing it and discovering how it might actually work out in practice. Very soon after that meeting we heard they would like to be married at the Abbey.

‘The wedding date itself came right after Easter, so actually we had already welcomed the Queen for the Maundy Thursday ceremony, then had our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services, before we went straight into getting ready for the wedding the following Friday. It was really a fortnight of high-octane stuff.’

Intense, detailed preparations for the order of service, the music and the decoration had gone on for months. Dr Hall discreetly describes discussions about what music to have in the service as ‘quite lively and interesting’. 

‘There were a number of different people who had interesting points of view – not just the couple, but parents and so on. There were influences, and some of the suggestions that had come from different angles had been done away with by the end.’

On the day there was traditional music by Parry and William Walton, and a new piece by John Rutter. 

‘It was a lovely, simple, direct piece and he came and listened to the choir singing it. I remember he said to me, “Look, if they don’t like it we can change it completely, don’t worry at all.” He was very charming and not remotely proud. It was quite good they did like it though.’

A bigger concern was the logistics of getting so many choristers and musicians into the Abbey, then ensuring a conductor could make them play and sing together in time. 

‘With two choirs and an orchestra there could have been an absolute disaster with things not coming together, but what was completely extraordinary was that it did.

‘There was a rather last-minute discussion about having a red carpet, and that was put down quite quickly. And then there were the trees. 

‘There was a feeling early on that there would be relatively small apple blossom trees but the apple blossom had gone by then, so the magnificent maple trees arrived the day before. There was a bit of a dispute between two of the trees and the BBC because where the trees had been positioned meant that two of the broadcaster’s key remotely controlled cameras were going to be obstructed and wouldn’t have been able to see to the altar. The trees lost and were moved.

‘I remember walking around the Abbey the evening before the wedding – there were just a few TV and radio people around. They left and it felt wonderfully peaceful. I went among the crowd outside where people were camping out, the sense of anticipation and excitement was really moving.’

Tom Fetherstonhaugh  As a 13-year-old chorister Tom sang a solo in front of the Royal Family and a worldwide TV audience of more than 2 billion

Tom Fetherstonhaugh said the royal wedding was the first time he had seen a red carpet laid down the aisle. Pictured: Tom right, with brother Ted

Tom (pictured) said he was told only a few days before that he would be singing solo 

‘One of my most vivid memories on the day was seeing for the first time a red carpet laid down the aisle,’ he recalls. ‘It was brand new, and I remember it being really squidgy and springy and nice to walk on. It was a beautiful day and there was a buzz. But you’re there to do a job. Even though you’re a child, you’re working.

‘We knew when the bride had arrived. We couldn’t see the Great West Door but there was a fanfare and when she passed us we were singing Parry’s I Was Glad.

‘I wasn’t expecting to sing the solo of the Ubi Caritas. I was told only a couple of days before. Looking back, I find it amazing that I didn’t feel nervous – but as a pupil of Westminster Abbey Choir School we were used to eight services a week.

‘There were two choirs singing on the day, and my brother Ted, 12, was there, with the choir of the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. It was a lovely coincidence as he was right there in front of me.

‘When we got home the first thing we did was watch the wedding back on BBC iPlayer. It was exciting to see ourselves on television. You can see that the Chapel Royal choir have much cooler outfits! Plus we both got wedding cake, which was a great souvenir.’

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Dr John Hall said the atmosphere in the Abbey was so warm and positive. Pictured: The Dean meeting Catherine and her father at the entrance to the Abbey

On the day, one of Dr Hall’s responsibilities was to greet the senior royals and the bride when they arrived. ‘Prince William and Prince Harry came about half an hour early. They wanted to mingle with the guests like it was a village wedding, but it didn’t work out because people were in their places inside, so they went into one of the chapels, which was a precious preparation time for them.’

Kathryn Cuthbertson The Queen’s pastry chef at the time, Kathryn helped make 10,000 canapés for the 600 wedding guests at Buckingham Palace

Kathryn Cuthbertson (pictured) helped to make 10,000 canapés for the 600 wedding guests

‘The basement kitchens had 21 chefs making 16 canapés per head, of which my team were doing puddings and chocolate truffles. The television was upstairs so we had to nip up to catch a glimpse of the ceremony, then run back down.’

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The Queen and the senior royals followed and then of course the bride. But what on earth do you say to them as you wait for the service to begin, what small talk do you come up with that’s appropriate?

‘I’ve done lots of weddings over the years so you just want to be warm and kind and gentle,’ he says.

‘You want people to feel comfortable and not be too formal because these are human beings. They may be astonishingly internationally recognised people but still… I think I said to Catherine, “I want to reassure you it will be all right, we are all on your side.”

‘Obviously people were nervous. When the Queen arrived I actually missed a cue myself. I was going to welcome the Queen into the Abbey and I knew that music was then going to happen. I was standing with her waiting for the music to start, but the musicians were waiting for me to give them a signal.

‘I suddenly then twigged that I had to turn round and then the music would start. So the Queen and I ended up speaking for slightly longer than might otherwise have been the case.’ 

He then led the bride and her father up the aisle to join the groom.

‘At the last rehearsal I said to Catherine and Prince William that they should try to relax, look at each other and say hello quietly. I had meant for the camera not to be looking at them at that point. 

‘But I forgot to mention that to the BBC and so actually everyone saw it, but I don’t think it mattered, I think it was just a moment that was very precious of them saying, “We’re here, it’s OK.”

‘After the signing of the registers in the St Edward the Confessor Chapel behind the High Altar I said to Catherine, “Your Royal Highness, it’s time to go.” So I may have been the first to call her “Your Royal Highness”, I was pleased about that.

‘What was completely astonishing to me was that the atmosphere in the Abbey was so warm and positive, everyone was so pleased to be there. When we have memorial services or funerals the atmosphere is electric but this was one of the warmest services I can remember, just terrifically happy.

‘I was invited to the reception at Buckingham Palace, then on our way out our Head of Communications said there had been an incident with a cartwheeling verger [see overleaf]. 

‘I rang him up the next morning and asked him to come in and see me. I think he expected to be rebuked but I said it was a fantastic moment, people saw it and it gave them rather a lot of pleasure, so don’t worry about it. He still works at the Abbey.’  

Paul Mealor The composer had a piece of his music chosen for the ceremony – but had to alter it after the lyrics were deemed too racy

Paul Mealor (pictured) said he created a new piece because the lyrics to Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal has quite sensual lyrics 

‘The piece they originally chose for the wedding was one I’d written in 2010 called Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal, which is a love story by Tennyson,’ he says.

‘But it has quite sensual lyrics, and after some discussion it was decided that I might find different words. So I created a new piece by resetting the music to the words of Ubi Caritas et Amor, a Latin hymn that talks of Jesus coming to serve.’

It was Prince Charles who suggested the Welsh composer to the couple, although Paul had already met them. 

‘I grew up on Anglesey in North Wales where William and Catherine were living before their wedding, so I saw them around a bit, and I’m also involved with music at St Andrews University.

‘I was so nervous at the wedding that I didn’t take everything in! In fact, the day before was just as magical, at a rehearsal. Apart from the choir the Abbey was empty and it looked amazing with the trees. It was a mystical experience hearing my music in there.’

Since the wedding Paul has written a lullaby, Sleep On, for Prince George.

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The only broadcaster allowed in the Abbey, Ed Stourton, on how… The cartwheeling verger had the country jumping for joy 

Commentating on proceedings for BBC Radio 4, Ed Stourton had one of the prime media jobs of the day. He was the only broadcaster allowed inside the Abbey, where he would be following in the footsteps of an illustrious predecessor, but the reality meant Ed found himself alone high up in an attic, surrounded by 700 years’ worth of dust.

‘It was a great honour,’ he recalls. ‘And very exciting. It’s a privilege to be at the heart of a great national occasion which lifts the nation.

Ed Stourton said it was a ‘great honour’ to be the only broadcaster allowed in the Abbey. Pictured: Prince William putting the ring on a joyful Catherine’s finger

Ed said you have an awful feeling at the back of your mind that you might commit a terrible slip of the tongue when commentating on huge occasions. Pictured: Ed’s position in the Abbey

‘What always struck me as the shot of the day was the verger doing a cartwheel down the aisle. It expressed the sense of excitement and pleasure. But it was after the service, so unfortunately I was no longer on air.

It was sheer terror when I thought I might have to describe the dress 

‘I was on my own in what’s called the triforium, which is more than 50ft above the sanctuary, and where Richard Dimbleby was positioned for the Coronation in 1953. 

‘That space has now been cleaned out and is The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, which you go up to in a glass lift. But when I was there ten years ago it was a sort of lumber room full of centuries’ worth of bric-a-brac and junk.

How Kate improved the chef’s sauce 

Chef Anton Mosimann says it’s unusual for someone to suggest improvements to his recipes. 

Kate Middleton did though, when she tasted a lemon and samphire sauce he’d made for the salmon, crab and langoustine starter for the wedding banquet.

‘She said maybe there should be more samphire,’ he recalls. 

Chef Anton Mosimann said Kate asked for more samphire in a sauce he made for the wedding banquet

‘She felt it was overpowered by the lemon. ‘And do you know, Catherine was right. We went away and changed it, and her version was better. Full marks to her!’

William and Kate had been to lunch with Mr Mosimann, who previously held two Michelin stars, to try out his suggestions. The star of the show was the main course – saddle of lamb.

For dessert, they chose a trio of mini-puddings of sherry trifle, chocolate parfait and ice-cream in brandy-snap biscuits.

‘They came back a week later and Catherine thought the new version of the sauce was fantastic. 

‘I thanked her and said, “If you ever need a part-time job…” I smiled, and she smiled. I was hugely impressed, actually.’

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‘I was sitting in a little box looking down on the couple. I also had a small monitor there so I could see the television coverage.

‘The way people are chosen for these things is a bit like a papal conclave and you never know the full story. But the then-controller of Radio 4 Gwyn Williams told me she fought quite hard for me, so others were certainly considered.’

He may not have been party to the wranglings, but he felt it a privilege to sit where Richard Dimbleby had sat.

‘He was incredibly diligent,’ says Ed of the celebrated BBC broadcaster. 

‘In 1953 he hired a barge on the Thames near Lambeth Palace and spent a week on it beforehand, swotting up on all you need to know about coronations. Then on the actual morning he walked across Westminster Bridge and installed himself in the triforium.’

Queen Elizabeth II’s spectacular Coronation was a three-hour marathon, and a once-in-a generation event. The wedding was a far brisker affair, but Ed still needed to prepare and of course there were still nerves.

‘There’s a general principle that if you’re not a bit nervous you’re not going to do a good job because it’ll be a bit flat. But just as Catherine was about to arrive at the Abbey I had a moment of sheer terror,’ he admits.

‘A BBC colleague who understood clothes was positioned outside so she could see the dress when Catherine stepped out of the car and talk about it. But just then it looked like it might rain, so the bride would have to skip into the Abbey pronto and I’d have to describe the dress to the world. 

‘Shall we say that would have put me way out of my comfort zone. My heart really was beating fast. I’m not even sure what I’d have said beyond, “It’s white, there’s a lot of it and she looks great.” Luckily the rain stayed away.

‘Before you start broadcasting on those huge occasions you also have an awful feeling at the back of your mind that you might commit a terrible slip of the tongue.  

‘I did Trooping the Colour a few times and a producer said to me once, before we went on air, “Just remember the guys in the funny braid jackets are the Royal Horse Artillery, not, as one of your predecessors called them, the Royal A**e Hortillery.” And, because he’d said it to me, out it came. So you have to empty your mind of all such thoughts and focus on where you are. In the end you do relax once it’s under way and you begin to enjoy it.’

Nothing did go wrong for Ed, thanks in part, he says, to the service being tightly scripted and rehearsed. ‘Westminster Abbey services are almost military in their precision,’ he says. 

‘So you only have tiny moments when you can commentate. It was solemn and formal and magnificent in the way that great British state moments are. It wasn’t until the end, when William and Catherine walked back down the aisle, that I was able to have a bit more fun as a commentator, picking out a few faces and giving a sense of the atmosphere.

‘After the formal ceremony there was a huge release, and a sense of joy and happiness that you feel at an ordinary wedding. That was impressive on an occasion that was so grand. There was a much more relaxed feeling.’

Once it was over, Gwyn Williams phoned to congratulate him. ‘It was almost as if she had been a guest and just wanted to chat about it all. That’s how those events make you feel. It was a thrill to feel you really were part of a national celebration.

‘On a personal note, my step-daughter Rosie was in the crowds on the streets. They put our broadcast through the loudspeakers for people watching outside and she said it was very nice to be able to say, “That’s my stepdad talking.”’  

Cake that needed police protection  

Keeping secrets is tortuous at the best of times, but imagine the subterfuge involved in keeping a royal wedding cake hush-hush.

For Fiona Cairns, tasked with making the eight-tier cake for the Royal Wedding at her bakery in Leicestershire, it meant having six of her top staff sign confidentiality agreements, and concealing the project from the rest of her 70 employees. And she also needed a little help from the boys in blue.

‘I was worried about the safety of the cake,’ she says. ‘The police were involved in protecting it and they were amazing.’ Every so often they’d make night patrols round the bakery for Fiona and her then-husband Kishore Patel, and one night they saw something fishy. 

Fiona Cairns said she was worried about the safety of the cake and the police were involved in protecting it. Pictured: Fiona and her magnificent eight-tiered wedding cake

‘We got a call from the police at 1.30am. I thought, “Oh nooo!” Kish raced over to the bakery, but fortunately it was just a group of lads playing outside.’

Fiona, 66, laughs about it now, but It was tricky, she admits, managing the covert operation while making a masterpiece.

Kate Middleton had a clear idea of what she wanted; a fruit cake with sugar paste icing and cascading flowers, each of which had a special significance.

In the end the team made 900 flowers to adorn the one-metre-high confection, which was comprised of 17 fruit cakes in total. They also made 4,000 extra slices of cake, packaged in tins (inset) as gifts.

Eventually the cakes were packed into 40 boxes and driven in an unmarked van to the Palace, where Fiona’s team had two and a half days to finish their creation and place it on a plinth in the Picture Gallery, by 1pm the day before the wedding. It was so huge that a door in the Palace was taken off its hinges to get it there. 

That morning one of the Queen’s equerries came to ask her how William should cut the cake with his sword, and said Her Majesty wanted to have a look.

‘She was very complimentary and she knew all about the door being taken off. She commented on that and smiled,’ says Fiona.

But what did Kate and William think? After attending the ceremony, Fiona and Kishore waited for the verdict. Finally a call came from the Palace: the couple had declared the cake ‘way beyond their expectations’. And as Fiona says, ‘That, after all, was the only thing that mattered.’

Frances Hardy

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When I got that shot I thought…’bingo!’: He only had half an hour, but official photographer Hugo Burnand managed to capture this gloriously spontaneous image. Here he reveals what makes it so special 

All eyes immediately go to the bride in a wedding portrait, so you’d assume that a wedding photographer would want to make sure she’s looking absolutely perfect from top to toe. But for Hugo Burnand, who took the official portraits on Kate and William’s big day, it’s the imperfections that are truly beautiful.

That’s why, in his favourite shot of the wedding – one he dubbed The Tumble – it’s the details that weren’t smoothed out that he likes best. The Tumble, our main image to the right, features the bride and groom sitting with the bridesmaids and pageboys huddled around them. You can clearly see there is a crease in Kate’s skirt. 

‘I love that,’ says Hugo. ‘I mean, it’s astonishing that it didn’t have more. I can’t believe what an excellent job the dress designer Sarah Burton did smoothing it out in no time at all, but there is that lovely crease.’

Hugo Burnand took the official portraits on Kate and William’s big day. Pictured: The portrait Hugo dubbed ‘The Tumble’

The hurried nature of the shot, taken at the last minute, helped achieve just what Hugo was aiming for. ‘I had this idea of them sitting down, and right at the end we decided to go for it. It was done in about three minutes, but I was so pleased with it. 

‘It’s spontaneous and I love the way the bridesmaids are positioned – one leaning in, one with her arm like this. Every expression, movement and position in that shot is natural. Everyone contributed something that was very special. When I got it I did think, “Bingo!”’

There is that lovely crease in the dress 

The little bridesmaids and their antics helped enliven even the most formal of his portraits from the Throne Room (see detail, overleaf). ‘What I love is that image isn’t perfect,’ he insists, referring to the shot of the wedding party with the bride and groom’s families. 

‘If you look closely you can see that one of the bridesmaids, Eliza Lopes, has something bright pink in her hand. It’s a wiggly worm toy. Prince Harry gave it to her to keep her amused in the carriage, I think, and she wouldn’t let go of it. The point is that it illustrates how this wasn’t just a historical record, but an intimate one – of a family wedding.’

Hugo said Kate and William’s wedding portrait was spontaneous and done in about three minutes. Pictured: the Winterhalter painting whose pose it echoes

There are other details in the portraits – viewed by millions around the world as soon as they were released – that could be perceived as imperfections too. No lampshades coming out of people’s heads or untidy cables, but a plug socket does make an appearance. 

Most wouldn’t notice it, but Hugo and his team did. ‘There was a temptation to remove it with Photoshop, but I wouldn’t do that. I said, “No, no, no, no, no”, this is real, and we want people to see how real it is. A blemish is a very human thing.’

Hugo (pictured)who is a former photographer for Tatler, insisted on a rehearsal before the wedding

Landing the job of taking the official portraits for the Royal Wedding was perhaps the plum photography job of the decade, but it was not a commission for the faint-of-heart. 

Why it was secured by Hugo becomes clear on meeting him. As well as the technical skills and decades of experience (he’s a former photographer for Tatler, used to shooting society figures and celebrities), he has that other necessary quality for a wedding photographer: the ability not to panic if a bridesmaid goes missing or a bulb blows.

He tells me that before the big day he insisted on a rehearsal, with members of his team and Palace staff playing the roles of the Royal Family. This let him test his equipment and angles. Crucially, it would help him gauge how long the required shots (like any couple, Kate and William had a list of ‘must-haves’) would take.

This rehearsal sounds a bit Carry On Royal Wedding. ‘All the parts were played by my assistants and people from the Palace. I did tell them, “Look, don’t just walk in and take your positions quickly. We want this to be as close as possible to the real thing.” 

They played along so well. Just as I was about to take the photograph, someone said, “Oh, there’s a bridesmaid missing,” and there was. She was behind the curtain, hiding because she was shy. 

‘That led to me having to go over and coax this 35-year-old, who was down on her knees, out from behind the curtain.’ The upshot of the rehearsal was that Hugo worked out the minimum time he’d need would be 33 minutes. Out came the Palace wedding schedules. ‘They said, “You can have 29.”’

There is much laughter today as Hugo recalls the most important commission of his life (‘Yes, it did change everything’). He had photographed members of the Royal Family (he was the photographer at Prince Charles’s wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles) and had experience working in the palaces. 

Hugo said Kate who is a keen amateur photographer, was very much involved in planning the pictures. Pictured: Bridesmaid Eliza Lopes (right) clutching the pink toy Prince Harry had given her

You do pick up a tip or too, he jokes.

‘The rule is that if you see a corgi, you know Her Majesty is only a few steps away. Once at Windsor Castle, I was scrabbling around on the floor, trying to plug a light into a socket, when the cold, wet nose of a corgi offered some “assistance”.’

He can’t talk much about his interactions with the happy couple themselves, but they were very much involved in planning the pictures – Kate in particular, because she’s a keen amateur photographer. ‘Her feeling was that we should work with the amazing architecture of the room.’

So he and his team of six moved in with all their equipment. ‘It was all set up and left there overnight, which is unusual. It felt odd going back to my home in Kensington without it. The next morning we arrived at the Palace on bicycles, because the roads were closed.’ 

Hugo revealed there were more guests than expected on the steps of Buckingham Palace. Pictured: Family members in their finest at the service

As the wedding got underway in the Abbey, Hugo and co waited at the Palace. Yes there were nerves – and mounting panic as the wedding party failed to arrive on time. 

‘There were more guests than expected on the steps of Buckingham Palace, so getting everyone up to the Throne Room took longer. I think I lost two minutes. They were the longest two minutes you can imagine.’

In the event the guests were more amenable than the rehearsal stand-ins had been. ‘None of the bridesmaids hid behind the curtains.’ What was the atmosphere like? ‘Terrific,’ he says. ‘Everyone was chatting, laughing, just like any other wedding.’

It had always been agreed that there would be two pictures released to the world. The editing process was done in situ and the pictures were selected and laid out on a table. 

Pictured left: Prince Charles, holding bridesmaid Eliza Lopes on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, following the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, pictured right: Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

Hugo said he was struck by the similarities between the photo he snapped and a Winterhalter painting of Queen Victoria and her family. Pictured: Kate and William leaving Buckingham Palace in his father’s Aston Martin

‘Then they had to choose which images would be released. I have to confess that I pushed The Tumble forward. When they selected it, it was just magical.’

On his way out of the Palace, Hugo passed one of the oil paintings lining the walls. He stopped and looked, and looked again. It was a Winterhalter painting of Queen Victoria and her family – in a pose that wasn’t a million miles from The Tumble.

‘I hadn’t remembered seeing it, but I was struck by the similarities. Mine was a contemporary image, but there were parallels with this classical painting.’

His two portraits went round the world, even before he had got home. Now the ones selected are in the history books. And the rest? The happy couple got to keep them for themselves, very private reminders of a most public day.

Pictured: Prince Harry with Bridesmaid Lady Louise Windsor and Pageboy Tom Pettifer at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding

Picture research Susannah Prescott Reporting team Jane Slade, Ian Lloyd, Mary Greene and Jessica Moorhouse  

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

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