Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
An heir of nostalgia
THE DAY WILL AND KATE IT’S the stuff of fairytales – a commoner marries a prince, the heir to the throne.
The day Prince William and Kate Middleton walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey, April 29, 2011, was a day that broke with tradition.
Royalty, foreign VIPS, A-list celebrities and ordinary local folk from Kate’s home village in Berkshire mingled to make up the 1,900 guests, while a global TV audience of two billion tuned in.
Ten years on, this film celebrates that day, reliving its ritual and pageantry and telling the story through the memories of those who were intimately involved.
Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith says: “Wow, it was just unbelievable. My mum would have melted on the spot just to be there. We were all so proud.”
As well as gushing insights from everyone from Kate’s local butcher to pub landlord, we also hear from William’s former Royal Protection Officer, Graham Craker, and former Metropolitan Police Gold Commander, Bob Broadhurst, who was in charge of wedding security.
There are also interesting insights from the dressmaker, the cake maker and the choristers.
From see-through frocks to ski trips, this is also a whistle-stop tour through the eight years of Will and Kate’s courtship, exploring how the disparities in their backgrounds made this a thoroughly modern royal match.
At a time when the royals seem utterly divided and beset by scandal, this tells the story of a once united family as they hosted a magical day that became a global showcase for the House of Windsor.