Why Prince William Couldn't Sleep the Night Before His Wedding to Kate Middleton

• The night before his royal wedding to Kate Middleton (opens in new tab), Prince William could barely sleep.
• It wasn't nerves that kept Will up, though—it was noise from the crowds celebrating his wedding out in the streets.
• "The crowds were singing and cheering all night long, so the excitement of that, the nervousness of me and everyone singing—I slept for about half an hour," he later said, according to Express (opens in new tab).

Like many grooms-to-be, Prince William (opens in new tab) admits that he had trouble sleeping the night before his wedding to Kate Middleton (opens in new tab). Unlike many grooms-to-be, Will's pre-wedding sleeplessness had nothing to do with cold feet.

When Will and Kate made things official in 2011, they had already been together for years and Will had no reason to doubt (opens in new tab) or second guess their future. No, Will's lack of sleep is totally the fault of royal fans, who partied and celebrated the impending nuptials all night in the streets, keeping him awake.

Of course, the loud celebration was kind of Will's fault (opens in new tab), both for being so beloved and because he and Harry broke protocol a bit by going out into the crowds surrounding Clarence House, Green Park, and Buckingham Palace the night before his and Kate's big day. (opens in new tab)

In her 2013 book, Kate: A Biography, royal expert Marcia Moody writes, "It was a very modern gesture by a member of the Royal Family, and very typical of William."

Will later confirmed that the crowd of fans had kept him up all night. "The crowds were singing and cheering all night long, so the excitement of that, the nervousness of me and everyone singing—I slept for about half an hour," he said, according to Express (opens in new tab). 

According to Moody, Harry was also running on very little sleep the day of the wedding, but more because he was out partying the night before. By Moody's account, Harry stayed up late drinking (opens in new tab) with Kate's sister, Pippa Middleton, and his then-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy and then ended the night around 3 a.m. by jumping off a balcony and into a flowerbed at the Goring Hotel and then walking back to Clarence House to crash.

Harry was all smiles and projected a very "I'm not hungover and I definitely slept last night" vibe at the wedding the next morning:

Ah, youth.

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for theMarie Claire newsletter.

SUBSCRIBE HERE (opens in new tab)