There is nothing quite more traditional than a royal wedding. Everything from the bride’s tiara to the post-wedding procession is planned down to the most minute detail. So it came as a surprise to learn that Queen Elizabeth II gave her grandson Prince William permission to “tear up” the formal guest list for his wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011. Why? She wanted them to enjoy all the “special touches” of their wedding, including being surrounded by friends.
Author Marcia Moody writes in her book “Kate: A Biography” that “William was presented with a list of hundreds of people who he should invite and felt his heart sink.
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“The occasion would be 100 percent formal, with no room for their personal guest list or special touches.
“He spoke to the Queen and she told him to tear up the list, invite his friends and start from there.”
According to Express, on the day of his wedding, William heeded the Queen’s advice and asked his long-time friend Thomas van Straubenzee and his Etonian schoolfriend James Meade to be ushers for the ceremony. The two are both now godfathers to William’s daughter Princess Charlotte.
Prince Harry was Will’s best man and, not that he needed permission, added his own “special touch” to the event by transforming the Throne Room into a nightclub complete with disco balls, cocktails, and bowls of the couple’s favorite candies.
