Secrets of the royal wedding

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, we uncover some of the lesser-known details of their special day

Ten years ago this week, a blushing and beautiful Kate Middleton swept serenely down the aisle of a hushed Westminster Abbey to marry her waiting prince. And after being shaken by recent sad events, Kate and William reaching their milestone anniversary gives the royal family some much-needed cause for cheer.

Former royal editor Duncan Larcombe, one of the 1,900 guests at the 2011 ceremony, says of the special day, “I saw William arrive and I could feel his nerves. He was as pale as a ghost. Best man Harry whisked him off to a side room right next to me for about 10 minutes. It was the brothers at their very best – I don’t think William could have got through it without Harry. Harry had a huge smile on his face. In an affectionate way, he loved that his brother was petrified.

“We were all frisked and had our bags checked. Everywhere you turned, there was security. The first 100 people in line to the throne were in that one building, so security was vital.

“I had Chelsy Davy [Harry’s then girlfriend] sat near me, David Cameron, Tony Blair and the Sultan of Brunei. Nobody was interested in each other though. It was all about William and Kate.

“After Her Majesty took her seat, it went totally silent. We listened to the erupting cheers outside as Kate arrived. It still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up thinking about it.”

Harry’s girlfriend Chelsy reportedly made him cut a line in his speech about Kate’s “killer legs” to avoid embarrassment. Wearing a fez, he said William didn’t have “a romantic bone in his body” until he met Kate – and did an impression of him calling her “Babykins”. The speech was a hit, with Kate weeping.