Friday, April 29, 2011

Royal wedding: Britons celebrate with parties


Royal wedding: Britons celebrate with parties
Street party in Tunbridge Wells, Kent

The celebrations ranged from traditional street parties to picnics and big screen events
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Royal wedding

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Millions of people across the UK have marked the royal wedding with street parties, picnics and other festivities.

St Andrews, the Fife town where Prince William and Kate Middleton met, hosted a breakfast for 1,500 people and Downing Street held an outdoor party.

The Westminster Abbey service was shown on big screens in squares, pubs and churches, including in the bride's home village of Bucklebury, Berkshire.

There were more than 5,500 applications for street closures to hold events.

Fancy dress
A wedding breakfast was held in the hamlet of Chapel Row where the Middletons live, and Bucklebury Farm Park staged a day of celebrations culminating in a proms-style fanfare.

Later, about 100 charity workers and local children were invited to the party in Downing Street, where they celebrated with Prime Minister David Cameron and his family.

In Southampton's Guildhall Square several thousand people turned out for a party laid on by the city council and were encouraged to dress in red, white and blue.

They included Michaela Coutakis, 45, who said: "We came today because it's an important national occasion.

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Kate looks stunning and her wedding dress is fabulous. What's not to like about today?”

Elaine Lowe, Manchester
Thousands at Welsh royal parties
Scots turn out for royal wedding
Northern Ireland celebrates
'Special day' for Kate's village
Royal wedding: Your pictures
"We're not royalists but it's bringing the country together and it's quite exciting really. We will remember this when we're old and grey and we can say we came down to the square to watch Kate and William get married."

Hundreds of revellers held a fancy dress party on the restored £39m Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

In Cornwall, which has strong ties with the Prince of Wales, there were 30 applications for road closures so festivities could be held.
Foxearth, Suffolk
And in Tetbury, Gloucestershire - the closest town to Highgrove House, Charles's family home - people enjoyed picnics. Gloucester Cathedral showed the wedding on a giant screen, and parties took place in the city and in nearby Cheltenham.

A mass picnic also took place along the High Street of Alcester, in Warwickshire and street parties were held in Lavenham and Foxearth in Suffolk and Wells-next-to-the-Sea in Norfolk.

In Eastbourne, East Sussex, hundreds turned up around a huge screen in Princes Park.


Razia Iqbal reports on the street parties held across the UK
In Leeds, where Kate Middleton's father Michael was born, celebrations took place across the city, and York also opted for a fancy dress event.

A number of street took place in Sheffield, with the focus in the city centre at Devonshire Green.

People in Hull are also joining the celebrations, with six street-party applications approved in the city, contrary to reports a few weeks ago saying no-one had applied.

The Marple Bridge Association in Cheshire, which has been planning its town centre party since Christmas, sold 800 tickets.

Almost 250 street parties were being held across Wales, with Cardiff leading the way with more than 50.

On Anglesey, where William and Kate will live, about 2,000 people watched the ceremony on a giant TV screen at the island's agricultural showground. And a beach party took place in the evening.

In Londonderry, royal fans dressed in full wedding attire for breakfasts in community centres. Events also took place in Belfast, Newtownards, and Templepatrick.


Thousands of people turned out in Hyde Park where the ceremony was shown on big screens
In London, big screens were erected in Hyde Park where a crowd of thousands cheered as William and Kate exchanged their vows and there were similar scenes in Trafalgar Square.

Across the capital, there were more than 800 street parties, the Local Government Association said.

Elaine Lowe, 22, was among the revellers to turn up in Manchester city centre where the wedding was shown on a big screen.

"The rain has held off, the sun is out, and we are all having a great day," she said.

"Kate looks stunning and her wedding dress is fabulous. What's not to like about today?"

In Scotland, visitors at royal residence Balmoral Castle watched the ceremony on six big screens.

Hundreds brought picnics and drank champagne as they sat on the lawn outside. The royal couple have enjoyed several breaks at Prince of Wales' home on the estate.

Meanwhile, the breakfast event in St Andrews was televised worldwide.

Elsewhere in the town, John Montgomery, 44, from the Tayport area, said: "St Andrews feels responsible for all of this.


Street parties like this one in Foxearth, Suffolk, were held in towns and villages across the UK
"The atmosphere's fantastic here. It's amazing really for a small Scottish town to have two billion people around the world watching it."

There were 16 street parties held in Edinburgh, including one in Broughton Street for 250 guests.

Republican demonstrations were held in city's Royal Mile, and a large unofficial party in Glasgow was criticised by the local council.

"Not The Royal Wedding Party" events were held in Bristol and Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire and campaign group Republic hosted a similarly-themed street party in central London


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Balcony kisses seal royal wedding


Balcony kisses seal royal wedding 

Prince William and Kate Middleton kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace

Continue reading the main story

Royal wedding


Royal wedding: Day as it happened

Arrests in wedding security zone

William becomes Duke of Cambridge

Britons mark wedding with parties

Prince William and Kate Middleton have kissed twice on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding service in Westminster Abbey.


They were cheered by 500,000 well-wishers who gathered outside the palace, as RAF planes flew past in honour of the new royal couple.


In the evening the pair returned to the Palace for a dinner and dance, expected to continue into the early hours.


The couple will now be known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.


Police estimate a million people lined the procession route from the abbey to the palace following the wedding.


Prince William later drove his new bride back to Clarence House, following a buffet reception at Buckingham Palace, at the wheel of his father's classic blue Aston Martin, before returning to the palace in the evening.


The vehicle was decked in ribbons and balloons with "Just Wed" on the number plate.



Prince Charles is hosting an evening reception at Buckingham Palace

The church service, watched by 1,900 guests, ran smoothly but the prince did struggle to place the wedding ring on the duchess's finger.


Following a long tradition, the ring has been fashioned from Welsh gold given to Prince William by the Queen.


After the couple said their vows - in which the bride did not promise to obey her husband - the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Dr Rowan Williams, declared: "I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."


They spent a private moment together with their families, as they signed the marriage register.


Prince William has been given the title of the Duke of Cambridge by the Queen, and Miss Middleton has become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge on their marriage.


The duchess, who managed to keep her wedding dress a secret, wore an ivory and lace gown by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. The prince wore the red tunic of an Irish Guards colonel - his most senior honorary appointment.


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At the scene


Sarah Bell

BBC News, in central London

The excitement, which had been building throughout the morning, peaked at about 1330 BST when the prince kissed his new bride.


The crowd, decked in union jacks, tiaras, and fascinators, reacted with deafening cheers and demands for more.


Much neck-craning was required for the best view of the spectacle, which was obscured by a sea of cameras, periscopes and flags.


Some people had tears in their eyes as they watched the fly-past, with "amazing" a common response when asked about the day's events.


As one American spectator put it, "No-one does pageantry like the British - you can't help being infected by the energy and emotion."


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Views on the dress

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Among the guests at Westminster Abbey were singer-songwriter Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish, former England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward, and former England football captain David Beckham and his wife Victoria.


Actor Rowan Atkinson, a close friend of Prince Charles, Prince Harry's friend Chelsy Davy and film director Guy Ritchie were also there.


UK Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and former British PM Sir John Major were among the politicians present.


For those lining the route, large speakers broadcast the wedding service, and hundreds of millions of people were estimated to watch the proceedings worldwide on television.


According to a lip-reading expert, Prince William told his bride she looked "beautiful" as she joined him at the altar and joked to his father-in-law Michael: "We're supposed to have just a small family affair"

The fly-past at Buckingham Palace involved Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft from the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

Out of the 1,900 guests at the Abbey, 1,000 were friends and family, who were given some of the best seats in the house. The others included overseas royals, politicians, military personnel and representatives of various faiths and charities

After the service, the newly-weds travelled in an open-topped carriage for the 15-minute journey from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, past London landmarks, including the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Horse Guards Parade

More than 1,000 military personnel and musicians lined the procession route

Thousands of street parties were held around the UK, and big screens were put up in many towns and cities. The BBC has been bringing viewers and listeners comprehensive coverage across TV, radio and online, in the UK and around the world

5,000 police officers were on duty, with more than 900 along the wedding route

Police made 57 arrests in and outside the security zone and questioned masked protesters in central London.

About two square miles of central London were closed to traffic.

A yellow RAF Sea King rescue helicopter flew over The Mall as the couple drove to Clarence House. It was a surprise for the groom, a search and rescue helicopter pilot.

Royal officials said the couple were involved in planning their wedding day, from the music at the ceremony to the flowers and the cake.


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Tears and tiaras in the crowd

Inside Westminster Abbey, an avenue of trees lined the red carpet leading up to the altar.


The bride walked up the aisle to coronation anthem I Was Glad, by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, from Psalm 122. Her brother James Middleton gave the Lesson, reading Romans 12: 1-2, 9-18.


Classical compositions by Elgar, Britten and Vaughan Williams featured during the ceremony, alongside the hymn Jerusalem and the English melody Greensleeves.


A canape reception was held for 650 guests at Buckingham Palace in the afternoon.


Later, about 300 close friends and relatives were invited to a dinner and disco, hosted by Prince Charles.


The couple changed outfits for the event - Prince William was in black tie while his bride wore a strapless white satin gazar evening gown with diamante embroidered detail round the waist, by the same designer, Sarah Burton.


But the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh left for a weekend away after hosting the lunchtime reception.


They will miss Prince Harry's best man speech and Michael Middleton's father of the bride address.


Despite predictions of showers, the weather stayed dry for the royal couple. Temperatures in London reached around 18C (64.4F) at 2pm.


Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall leave for evening reception at Buckingham Palace

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