A national knees-up in glorious sunshine
THEY were the lucky holders of the so-called Golden Ticket to Harry and Meghan’s wedding and first to glimpse the newlyweds emerge from Windsor Castle.
The Prince and his bride issued 2,640 special invitations to members of the public, palace staff and charity workers granting them special access to the big day.
And while the favoured few were celebrating the Royal Wedding first hand, thousands were staging their own celebrations, if perhaps on a slightly less lavish scale.
At Windsor, the Golden Ticket holders included Amelia Thompson, 12, from Sheffield, who survived the Manchester Arena bombing. One of the day’s most joyous moments came when she spotted David Beckham and ran to give him a hug – an embrace broadcast to millions across the world.
Amelia said: ‘He got told off for breaking the protocol. The security guards also said no, but my mum said go for it. So I went.’
Though far fewer parties were staged than for William and Kate’s 2011 wedding, the festivities were just as enthusiastic.
Crowds partied across the nation, from Newcastle and Bristol to Kilmarnock in Ayrshire and Cheadle, Greater Manchester, while Richmond in South-West London held almost 100 street parties alone. Kent had 14 official parties and Hertfordshire 51.
Thousands of Scots celebrated in gardens and streets. Nearly 100 friends and neighbours in Dunnottar Drive, Kilmarnock, gathered in glorious sunshine.
Co-organiser Kirsty Dow, 39, said: ‘The wedding was beautiful and it brought our community together.’
It was bunting all the way at Orwell Wynd, East Kilbride, where dozens of neighbours raised a glass. Angela Logie, a 41-year-old IT worker, said: ‘We divided up the work. Some baked cakes, I did the decorations. It’s been amazing.’
A screening of the wedding also took place on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, while residents in Markle in East Lothian, a tiny and aptlynamed village, held a barbecue.
At Balmoral every visitor received a free Royal Wedding cup cake.