Britain celebrates monarchy as Kate, William wed

LONDON – With a smile that lit up TV screens around the world, Kate Middleton swept down the aisle to marry Prince William in a union expected to revitalize the British monarchy. Hundreds of thousands cheered as the royal couple rode an open carriage to Buckingham Palace.

With an estimated 2 billion people watching around the world, the couple managed to appear at times in their own private world Friday at Westminster Abbey. William whispered to Kate, who radiated contentment and joy, as they pledged their lives to one another with the simple words “I will.”

The biggest secret of the day — Middleton’s wedding gown — prompted swoons of admiration as she stepped out of a Rolls-Royce with her father. Against all odds, the sun broke through steely gray skies at that exact moment.

The ivory and white satin dress — with its low neckline, high lace collar, long lacy sleeves and a train over 2-meters (yards) long — was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. Middleton’s hair was half-up, half-down and decorated with dramatic veil and a tiara on loan from Queen Elizabeth II.

“It’s a dream,” said Jennie Bond, a leading British monarchy expert and royal wedding consultant for The Associated Press. “It is a beautiful laced soft look which is extremely elegant. She looked stunning.”

William, second-in-line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, wore the scarlet tunic of an Irish Guards officer, sending a strong signal of support for the armed forces and reinforcing his new image as a dedicated military man. The couple’s first royal wedding present came from the queen: the titles of duke and duchess of Cambridge.

Floods of well-wishers — as well as some protesters — packed central London, around Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and other landmarks beginning at dawn, despite cool temperatures and the threat of rain. Cheers erupted as huge television screens began broadcasting at Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park.

“Will, it’s not too late!” read one sign held aloft by an admirer dressed as a bride.

Maid of honor Pippa Middleton wore a simple column dress and naturally styled hair, while best man Prince Harry was dressed in formal military attire. The flower girls, in cream dresses with full skirts and flowers in their hair, walked down hand-in-hand with Pippa.

The iconic abbey was airy and calm, the long aisle leading to the altar lined with maple and hornbeam trees as light streamed in through the high arched windows. The soft green trees framed the couple against the red carpet as they walked down the aisle, having recited their vows without stumbling before Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

The royal-couple smiled broadly as they were driven to Buckingham Palace in the open-topped State Laundau, a carriage built in 1902, escorted by four white horses and followed by scarlet-clad troops on horseback. The palace was holding two parties, one hosted by the queen for 650 guests, and an evening dinner dance for 300 close friends.

The queen and her husband have promised to go away for the evening, leaving the younger royals free to party the night away_ and Harry to make his best man’s speech away from his octogenarian grandparents’ ears.

Plumage of Amazonian variety filled the cavernous abbey as some 1,900 guests filed in, the vast majority of women in hats, some a full two feet (half a meter) across or high. Some looked like dinner plates, and one woman wore a bright red fascinator that resembled a flame licking her cheek. A BBC commentator noted there were some “very odd (fashion) choices” walking through the abbey door.

Most men, however, looked elegant and suave in long tails, some highlighted by formal plaid pants and vests. Others wore military uniforms.

The queen, of course, wore a soft yellow hat and coat dress, just like the bookies had predicted.

All the details — the wedding dress, her hair, their titles, the romantic kiss on the balcony, the honeymoon — were finally being answered. But the biggest question won’t be resolved for years: Will this royal couple live happily ever after?

Will their union endure like that of William’s grandparents — Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, now in its 64th year — or crumble in a spectacular and mortifying fashion like that of his own parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana?

Recent history augurs badly: The first marriages of three of the queen’s four children ended in divorce. But William and Kate seem to glow with happiness in each other’s company, and unlike Charles and Diana they’ve had eight years to figure out that they want to be together.

Still, the fate of their marriage depends on private matters impossible for the public to gauge, since any wedding is fundamentally about two people. Will their lives together, starting with such high hopes, be blessed by good fortune, children, good health, productive work?

Much will depend on whether 28-year-old William and 29-year-old Kate can summon the things every couple needs: patience, love, wit and wisdom. But they face the twin burdens of fame and scrutiny. Money, power, beauty — it can all go wrong if not carefully nurtured.

These are the thorny issues upon which the fate of the monarchy rests, as the remarkable queen, now 85, inevitably ages and declines.

Hundreds of street parties were under way as Britons celebrated the heritage that makes them unique — and overseas visitors come to witness traditions they’ve admired from afar.

Brenda Hunt-Stevenson, a 56-year-old retired teacher from Newfoundland, Canada, said there was only one thing on her mind. “I want to see that kiss on that balcony. That’s going to clinch it for me. I don’t care what Kate wears. She is beautiful anyway.”

The celebration was British to the core, from the freshly polished horse-drawn carriages to the sausages and lager served at street parties. Some pubs opened early, offering beer and English breakfasts — sausages, beans, toast, fried eggs and bacon.

The festivities reflected Britons’ continuing fascination with the royal family, which despite its foibles remains a powerful symbol of unity and pride.

“It’s very exciting,” Prime Minister David Cameron said. “I went on to the mall last night and met some people sleeping on the streets. There’s a sense of excitement that you can’t really put a word to … It’s a chance to celebrate.”

A number of famous people were left off the guest list, including President Barack Obama and Britain’s last two prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of the Labour Party, which is not as strong a backer of the monarchy as the ruling Conservatives. That snub might resonate for years among Labour voters.

The royals fervently hope that a joyous union for William and Kate will rub out the squalid memories of his parents’ embarrassing each other and the nation with confessions of adultery as their marriage tumbled toward divorce.

And there is no small irony in the sight of Americans waking up before dawn (on the East Coast) or staying up all night (West Coast) after their fellow countrymen fought so fiercely centuries ago to throw off the yoke of the British monarchy and proclaim a country in which all men are created equal.

Brenda Mordic, 61, from Columbus, Georgia, clutched a Union Jack with her friend Annette Adams, 66.

“We came for the excitement of everything,” Mordic said. “We watched William grow up. I came for Prince Charles’ wedding to Diana and I came for Princess Diana’s funeral. We love royalty England and London.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton now officially married

It’s official!

A smiling Prince William and Kate Middleton were declared man and wife at London’s Westminster Abbey, in front of a congregation of around 1,900 and a worldwide television audience estimated at as many as 2 billion.

Wearing an ivory and white satin dress designed by Sarah Burton–a closely guarded secret until minutes before the service began–Kate accepted a wedding ring of Welsh gold, given to William by the Queen soon after the couple were engaged. The bride also wore a diamond-studded halo tiara loaned by the Queen, with her gently curled hair down at the back.

In a marriage ceremony led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Kate promised William that she would “love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him,” and he offered the same pledge. Like William’s mother Princess Diana at her own 1981 wedding to Prince Charles, Kate struck a modern note by omitting the traditional  vow to “obey” her husband.

William, who chose not to wear a ring, donned a bright red tunic, with a crimson and gold sash and gold sword slings, from the Irish National Guards, a British Army regiment of which he is an honorary colonel. The choice was made in part to honor three members of the Guards who were killed in action in Afghanistan.

The bride’s ring was created by Wartski, a Palace spokesperson said, a family jeweler that also created the wedding bands for Prince Charles’s 2005 marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall.

Kate, 29, the daughter of creators of a successful party-planning business, becomes the first commoner in line to be queen in modern times. She’ll now be known officially as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, Buckingham Palace said in a statement this morning–though the public will know her as Princess Catherine. William becomes the Duke of Cambridge.

The bride’s three-and-half minute procession through the abbey was accompanied by a choir singing the soaring English choral “I Was Glad,” composed in 1902 by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. In a tribute to Princess Diana, the congregation began the service by singing “Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer,” a Welsh hymn sung at her 1997 funeral. It also sang “Jerusalem,” the popular English hymn based on a poem by William Blake.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, along with Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, served as witnesses and signed the marriage registers. The bride’s mother wore a gray-blue dress designed by Catherine Walker, a fashion designer whose work was championed by Princess Diana. The Duchess of Cornwall opted for a champagne silk dress designed by Anna Valentine, and a Philip Treacey hat.

The hour-long service was conducted by the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall, the dean of Westminster.  It also included an address from the Right Reverend Richard Chartres, the bishop of London and a friend of the royal family.

William, 28, spent a low-key last bachelor evening with his father at St. James’s Palace, then traveled this morning to the abbey in a uniquely designed Bentley, with his best man, Prince Harry–both brothers smiling and waving through the window to the crowds. Before the service, they greeted members of the congregation, including Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother.

Kate, meanwhile, stayed the night with her family–including her maid of honor, younger sister Philippa–at London’s Goring Hotel, and came to the abbey alongside her father in a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI owned by the queen.

After the service, the newlyweds are set to ride to Buckingham Palace in a horse-drawn open-top carriage–originally built in 1902 for William’s great-great-great grandfather, King Edward VII. They’ll pass Parliament Square, Whitehall, and the Mall along a processional route, lined since yesterday–despite the chilly and overcast weather–with crowds cheering and waving the Union Jack, having heard the service over loudspeakers.

At the palace, the Queen will host a lunchtime reception for a select 650 members of the congregation, during which William and Kate will appear on the balcony–weather permitting–for what’s expected to be their first public kiss as newlyweds. Later, they’ll head to a roughly 300-person dinner and dance party given by Prince Charles, also at Buckingham Palace. The Queen, who wore an Angela Kelly primrose dress and matching coat, will skip that event, the Palace has said, to allow the younger crowd to properly let their hair down.

Elsewhere, millions of Britons took advantage of the national holiday–declared months ago by Prime Minister David Cameron–by gathering in pubs, private homes, and public viewing areas to celebrate the event, which for  months has dominated the country’s news coverage. Estimates for the hit to Britain’s economy, thanks to the day off work, have ranged from $10 billion to $50 billion.

Cameron, who famously camped out on the Mall for Charles and Diana’s wedding, called the day “a chance to celebrate.”

“We’re quite a reserved lot, the British,” the prime minister told the BBC this morning. “But then when we go for it, we really go for it.”

The wedding congregation mixed personal friends of the bride and groom, royalty from around the world, dignitaries from numerous former British colonies, foreign officials and diplomats, and celebrities including Elton John and David and Victoria Beckham.

Representatives of all governments with whom Britain has normal diplomatic relations had originally received invitations. But the Syrian ambassador was informed yesterday that he was no longer welcome, amid a violent ongoing crackdown against pro-democracy protesters carried out by the regime of President Bashar Assad. The presence of the Bahraini ambassador, who previously ran a government agency accused of using electric shocks and beatings, has also provoked controversy.

Adding to the rancor over the guest list, two former Labour Party prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, were not invited, even as two former Conservative PMs, Baroness Thatcher and Sir John Major, were included–an arrangement that was criticized by several Labour members of parliament (Thatcher was too unwell to attend). St. James’s Palace said that Thatcher and Major received invitations because they’re both Knights of the Garter, unlike Blair and Brown. Major also was appointed a guardian to William and Harry after Diana’s death.

The wedding caps a nearly decade-long relationship for William and Kate, who met in 2001 as students at the University of St Andrew’s in Scotland, and began dating a year or so later. Aside from a brief reported split in 2007, they appear to have been an item ever since. William proposed during a vacation in Africa last October.

The pair’s lengthy buildup contrasts with that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, who were estimated to have spent just 21 hours together before marrying. That famously troubled union ended in divorce in 1996, after a long estrangement. Diana died in a car accident in Paris the following year.

The wedding comes at a pivotal time for the House of Windsor. Though she appears to remain in good health, the 85-year-old Queen reportedly has begun planning for her funeral. Charles, the heir to the throne, is seen by much of the public as stiff and out of touch, prompting concern that his accession could undermine the monarchy’s standing with the public. Polls indicate that upon the Queen’s death, most Britons would like to see the throne skip straight to William, though that currently appears unlikely.

In addition to being given the titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the couple will also become the Earl and Countess of Strathearn, as well as Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus.

Kate Middleton wedding dress a success

The rumors were true: Catherine Middleton’s dress was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.

The veil is long, sheer, and modern. It showcases her hair, which she is wearing down. The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.

The veil is held in place by a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Middleton by the Queen. It’s a simple but very elegant look. She is wearing a train that measures over six feet. The sleeves are long and lace. The front is cut in a low V.

According to the press release, Middleton wished for her dress to “combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work.  Miss Middleton worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress.”

The sweeping train measures just over six feet. According to the official royal wedding website, the dress is made with “ivory and white satin gazar.  The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats.  The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueen’s designs. “

Middleton was successful at keeping not only the look of the dress top secret, but the identity of the designer as well. Quite an accomplishment, considering every detail of the wedding was closely followed by a global media circus.

The princess bride wasn’t keeping dress details just from the public; she was keeping them from her husband-to-be. Prince William finally saw the gown after many of the wedding watchers. Kate went to great lengths to make sure he did not catch a glimpse of it until she met him at the altar.

Some pre-wedding rumors suggested that Kate was playing bridal dress roulette, commissioning three dresses for the day, with two backups in case the number-one dress was leaked to the press. Other reports suggested she’d created the gown herself.

The mystery around the designer became a source of everything from a guessing game for fashionistas to a professional betting business for British bookies.

Bruce Oldfield was a front-runner. He designed clothing for Princess Di and created the wedding gown forQueen Rania of Jordan.

Sarah Burton was named as a fashion favorite to produce the dress. She is the creative director of theAlexander McQueen label, taking over after the designer committed suicide last year.

And who can forget the blue wrap dress made famous when Kate wore it to announce her engagement? That designer, Daniella Helayel, of the British label Issa, had also been recently suggested as the name behind the royal wedding dress.

Other possible British designers included Erdem, Alice Temperley and Jasper Conran.

Relative unknown Sophie Cranston, whose label Libelula was rumored as the wedding dress designer, is responsible for the sheer black top and velvet coat that made scandalous headlines when Middleton wore the design.

Back in 1981, Princess Diana’s dress was a surprise, but her dress designer was not. After Diana asked if the dressmakers David and Elizabeth Emanuel would design her wedding gown, the choice was made public.

The moment Diana appeared in the fairy-tale wedding dress, with a 25-foot train, enormous puffed sleeves, and 10,000 pearls and sequins, it was immediately knocked off. Expect no less with Kate Middleton’s dress.

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