How Queen Elizabeth Let Prince William "Rip Up" The Royal Rulebook for His Wedding to Kate Middleton
The late Queen broke protocol when her grandson was unhappy about one aspect of his big day.
Awkward conversations about wedding guest lists are a tale as old as time, and apparently, even Prince William and Kate Middleton weren't immune to the phenomenon. When the couple was planning their April 29, 2011 royal wedding at Westminster Abbey, the future King had one major problem with the ceremony: he didn't actually know who any of the guests were. And although Queen Elizabeth likely faced the same problem at her own 1947 wedding, she made an unusually modern move to help her grandson.
The Prince and Princess of Wales celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary during a trip to Scotland this week, but back when the plans were in the works for their big day, Prince William found himself "shocked" at the guest list.
Royal editor Roya Nikkah of the Sunday Times shared the story in the BBC documentary Royal Wedding: A Day to Remember. "When the guest list was drawn up [Prince William] was very bemused and had a conversation with The Queen to say, 'I don't know any of these people,'" she said (via the Express).
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are seen sharing a smile at the 2011 royal wedding.
The bride and groom were able to invite many of their friends to the ceremony in the end.
Royals at the event included Princess Charlene and Prince Albert (fourth row from back), Spain's Queen Letizia and King Felipe (front), and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden (behind Letizia).
"He wasn't very happy about it," Nikkah continued. Surprisingly, his grandmother told him to get rid of the list and invite his friends. "The Queen just said to him, rip that list up and start where you want to start from and invite who you want— and that's what they did," the royal expert added.
So who made the cut? The requisite government officials and foreign royals like Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco—who married just three months later themselves— still made the 1,900-strong guest list. However, William and Kate were able to add their friends—and exes—to the list, too.
Everyone from David and Victoria Beckham to their university pals to the owner of Basil's Bar in Mustique filled the Abbey. Among these guests included John Haley of The Old Boot Inn pub near the Middleton family's Bucklebury home.
"It was great that Kate and William were allowed to invite all their own friends," he said, per the Express. "She invited me, I've known her 15 years or so. It was fabulous."
