This was a live celebrity soap opera in front of the Queen

Richard Bacon spoke for many at yesterday’s royal wedding when asked how he actually knew Princess Eugenie. “Um, I don’t really know. I think we met at 3am in Miami.” It was typical of the random yet very A-list array of celebrities who made up the 850-strong guest list.

More so even than at Harry and Meghan’s wedding, here was the collision of so many different worlds: royalty, society, celebrity, fashion, music, art, business, international and randomly famous. At the centre of it all, Princess Eugenie (and her tequilaselling husband Jack Brooksbank). But how on earth does she know such an eclectic group of people? We knew we were in for a feast for the eyes when father of the bride Prince Andrew gave a pre-wedding interview. In it, he casually boasted that Eugenie and Jack were having 850 guests, 250 more than Harry and Meghan.

How come, the interviewer wanted to know? “Eugenie’s just very social!” he beamed, dropping the hint that his daughter is somehow even more popular than Harry. And so it seemed: the guest-list was less St George’s Chapel, more Mahiki on a Thursday night. It was a club manager’s dream come true – which was, of course, at one point the groom’s profession.

James Blunt, Holly Valance, Ricky Martin, Robbie Williams.

At one point the Queen seemed in danger of being forgotten, so distracted were the cameramen by Cara Delevingne and Stephen Fry.

Was it an accident that the unmistakable beauty of Kate Moss dominated television screens for the first five minutes of the ceremony, parked, as she was, on the front row right in shot behind Eugenie and Jack?

And what on Earth was Jimmy Carr so deep in conversation about with Russian oligarch and newspaper proprietor Evgeny Lebedev?

This was the solemn nuptials of Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie of York, but the occasional panning shot of the ubiquitous Ellie Goulding reminded us that we were at a very modern royal wedding.

Why was Ricky Martin there? And how often does Eugenie actually hang out with Demi Moore? The answer to all these questions is Fergie. And, to a lesser extent, Andrew. Through growing up extremely close to her parents, and remaining so, Eugenie has come into contact with a lot of famous people. Despite Andrew’s claims otherwise, they were the masterminds behind the planning (though expert party-planner Peregrine Armstrong-jones took care of the nitty-gritty).

As with any wedding, he who pays the piper calls the tunes, so the guest list was as much about the Yorks’ friends as Eugenie and Jack’s. (In case you were still wondering about Demi Moore, she reportedly introduced Fergie to Kabbalah, the Jewish religion, in 2004.) And who wouldn’t accept an invitation to a royal wedding? Actually, there were a few.

Elton John and Ed Sheeran were unable to attend on account of being on tour. George and Amal Clooney were nowhere to be seen.

And most conspicuous in her absence was Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who had a pressing engagement in Scotland. These absences aside though, if television is about entertainment, what more could one ask for than three hours of glorious celebrity-rich soap opera, played out live in front of the Queen.

Why was Ricky Martin there? And how often does Eugenie actually hang out with Demi Moore?