Royal wedding: The nine main talking points, from the viral pageboy to Amal's outfit
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Your support makes all the difference.After weeks of royal rumours, family debacles and a paparazzi scandal, the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was finally here.
With bunting hung and Pimm’s at the ready, the nation watched with baited breath – would a miffed Markle relation make a scene? Or perhaps we’d have some more questionable headwear to laugh about?
Sadly there was a distinct lack of pretzel-style hats at this royal wedding, but that didn’t mean there weren’t plenty of surprising moments.
Here are the key talking points of the royal wedding:
1. Amal vs Posh
International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney arrived at the royal wedding with her husband George in tow. Amal set the Twittersphere alight with her head-to-toe yellow look: she wore a bespoke Stella McCartney dress with a veiled Stephen Jones hat.
The contrast could not have been greater to Victoria Beckham’s outfit – the designer and former Spice Girl arrived with her husband at the same time as the Clooneys. Between the two power couples, Victoria’s bizarrely sombre ensemble seemed strangely out of place. At least she fully committed to the vibe, with not one smile to be seen.
2. Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice’s hats
After the princess sisters stole the show with their, shall we say, elaborate headwear at Will and Kate’s wedding in 2011, the public had high hopes for round two. Disappointingly however, the princesses swung completely the other way and decided to play it safe with their somewhat boring choice of hats.
Both Princess Beatrice’s fascinator and Eugenie’s off-white pill box hat are believed to have been designed by London milliners Bundle MacLaren. Perhaps the princesses are yet to recover from their humiliation seven years ago.
3. Fergie arrived!?
Considering Sarah Ferguson, ex-wife of Prince Andrew, was apparently rather unhappy about not making the guest list for Prince Charles’s evening reception, it was widely thought she wouldn’t be attending the wedding at all.
So when Fergie arrived, looking incredibly pleased with herself, gasps of shock erupted across the world. This was followed by expressions of confusion as she was for some unknown reason wearing just the one glove. An act of rebellion, perhaps?
4. Pippa Middleton came as a can of ice tea
Pippa Middleton apparently has a way of stealing the limelight at royal weddings. This time, however, it wasn’t for her derrière but for her choice of dress – as many social media users pointed out, Pippa appeared to have come to the wedding dressed as a can of Arizona Green Tea.
(The green floral dress was in fact made by British brand The Fold.)
5. Prince Harry is wearing a wedding ring
In a break with royal tradition, it was revealed the new Duke of Sussex is to wear a wedding ring, which is a somewhat progressive move. It is a platinum band with a textured finish, created by Cleave and Company.
The Dukes of Cambridge, Edinburgh and York do not wear wedding bands, but Prince Charles actually does, although he wears it underneath the signet ring on the little finger of his left hand.
6. Meghan half walked herself down the aisle
In something of a feminist statement, the now-Duchess of Sussex entered the chapel unaccompanied and began her walk down the aisle by herself. According to Kensington Palace, this was the plan even before it was realised her father Thomas Markle would not be able to attend the wedding due to ill health.
Once she reached the quire of the historic nave of St George’s Chapel, her now father-in-law the Prince of Wales joined her to lead her to the altar.
7. The pageboy's priceless reaction
One of the four pageboys went viral on social media after his reaction to the wedding was captured on camera.
The seven-year-old son of Jessica Mulroney, one of Meghan’s closest friends (the couple stayed with her to avoid the paparazzi when their relationship first went public) managed to steal the show behind the bride.
His expression captured exactly what many of us were feeling at that moment, gap-toothed smile and all.
8. Bishop Curry’s address
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the whole ceremony was Bishop Michael Curry’s enthusiastic address. It was long, it was powerful, and it certainly captured the world’s attention thanks to the many mentions of “the power in love”.
And it seemed some of the wedding guests weren’t quite sure how to respond; younger members of the royal family appeared to be stifling laughs, while their older relatives simply looked utterly confused by the unconventional address.
9. The gospel choir
Another break with tradition was the gospel choir’s performance. Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir gave a soulful rendition of Stand By Me by Ben E King, which made sure the service didn’t seem too stuffy.
We predict a new craze at weddings across the UK.
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