Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sent a private message to Wills and Kate on wedding anniversary
As their feud has played out in public, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle momentarily shelved tension with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Here’s why.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “privately congratulated” Kate and William on their 10th wedding anniversary, according to sources.
The couple reached out to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to send well wishes on their marriage milestone.
A spokesman for the Sussexes confirmed to The Daily Beast that a message was sent between the royals but did not give any further detail, The Sun reports.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla reposted one of the official portraits of the pair on their Twitter account today, alongside the caption: “Wishing The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a very happy 10th wedding anniversary.”
And The Queen was one of the first to publicly congratulate William and Kate – with a message on her official Twitter account, saying: “Wishing The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a very happy wedding anniversary.
“Today marks ten years since Their Royal Highnesses exchanged vows at Westminster Abbey.”
WILLS AND KATE’S VIDEO
Prince William and Kate Middleton released a new video to celebrate their anniversary, showing the doting parents playing with their three kids.
The candid footage shows the family of five scrambling on sand dunes and roasting marshmallows on a campfire.
The short video is made up of a series of clips of them enjoying family time in Norfolk late last year, according to The Sun.
Thank you to everyone for the kind messages on our wedding anniversary. We are enormously grateful for the 10 years of support we have received in our lives as a family. W & C
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 29, 2021
📹 @will_warrpic.twitter.com/eWNw1E8FLB
A dressed-down Kate and William chased the kids around the garden in one scene, and in another marched up sand dunes before cuddling together to look out at sea. Prince George would have been seven, Princess Charlotte five years old, and Prince Louis around two when it was filmed.
“Thank you to everyone for the kind messages on our wedding anniversary,” William and Catherine – known as Kate – said in a statement signing off with their initials “W & C”.
“We are enormously grateful for the 10 years of support we have received in our lives as a family. W & C.”
The couple also marked their decade-long marriage milestone by releasing two new photographs.
In the shoot, Kate wore a blue wrap dress by Ghost (and sporting her engagement ring once owned by Princess Diana) while Prince William sported a matching periwinkle sweater. It was a nod to their engagement portrait in which the couple also wore blue tones, US Vogue noted.
William and Kate tied the knot on April 29 2011, in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey that was watched by two billion people across the world.
FUTURE QUEEN KATE
A majority of Britons believe Kate – a former “commoner” with no royal ties – would make a good Queen if her time comes, a new poll has found.
The YouGov survey of 5055 adults in Great Britain found that 43 per cent thought Kate definitely would make a good Queen while 33 per cent said she probably would.
This compared to just three per cent who said she definitely will not, and two per cent who said she probably will not.
The poll was done to coincide with the eve of the Duke and Duchess’ 10th wedding anniversary on Thursday London time.
According to the poll, women were more likely to think Kate would make a good Queen, with 51 per cent saying she definitely will and 31 per cent that she probably will.
This compared to 35 per cent of men for both answers.
The poll also found that the majority of people did not think it made a difference that Kate was a “commoner”, and did not come from an aristocratic or royal background.
Some 31 per cent of people said it was better that she did not come from an aristocratic or royal background, while 59 per cent said it made no difference.
Only two per cent said it was worse that the Duchess did not come from an aristocratic or royal background.
Despite many wanting to see a King William, he cannot leapfrog Prince Charles who has to be the next monarch unless he abdicates – which he will not.
His mother, the Queen, turned 95 this month and also has not indicated she is about to leave the crown soon.
The Duke and Duchess spent the day ahead of their anniversary in Durham, where they visited a number of farms and a local charity which was among those chosen by the pair to receive donations from their 2011 Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund.
When they tied the knot 10 years ago, almost two billion people tuned in from around the world to watch their modern-day fairytale wedding.
The couple’s day was star-studded and laced with royal tradition, but also filled with personal touches that made the celebration their own.
KATE’S $619K GOWN
Kate’s wedding dress cost six-figures and featured subtle symbolism, as is the case with many royal gowns. Designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, Kate’s dress cost a rumoured $619,000. The dress featured lace sleeves and a structured bodice, which included padding around the midsection to accentuate the waist. The hand-sewn floral applique roses, thistles, and shamrocks, to represent England, Scotland, and Ireland.
DESIGNER WAR
Alexander McQueen was not the only fashion house to outline a vision for Kate’s dress.
The late Karl Lagerfeld offered his input, suggesting she wear a take on “the Victorian wedding dress”, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
Badgley Mischka sketched an off-the-shoulder option, while Gucci thought Kate should wear a “boat neck” frock.
Valentino designed a “blossoming” gown option. But Kate – and the palace – ultimately signed off on McQueen, which “won the most coveted commission, according to fashion industry sources” according to The Sunday Times.
This was not the first royal-related wedding dress that Burton designed. She was behind the strapless wedding gown of Sara Buys, the wife of Duchess Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles.
INTRICATE PROCESS
While making Kate’s dress, members of Royal School of Needlework – who sewed the lace applique – had to wash their hands every 30 minutes, due to the delicate nature of the white fabric.
‘I AM NOT DOING IT’
Sarah Burton initially denied she was designing Kate’s dress, issuing a statement about Alexander McQueen’s rumoured involvement.
“I am not doing it,” she said, bluntly.
But when Kate emerged on her wedding day, it was clear this was a Burton design. “The last few months have been very exciting and an incredible experience for my team and I as we have worked closely with Catherine to create this dress under conditions of the strictest secrecy,” Burton later said, in a statement.
“Understandably, Catherine has been very keen to keep the details of her dress a secret, which is every bride’s prerogative, and we gave an undertaking to keep our role confidential until the day of the wedding.”
QUEEN’S TOUCH
In a royal tradition, Queen Elizabeth loaned Kate a tiara – a gesture that the monarch also extended to Meghan Markle for her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.
For Kate, the Queen loaned her the Cartier “halo” tiara. The piece was made in 1936 and bought by King George VI for the Queen Mother. The Queen – then a princess – was gifted it by her parents on her 18th birthday.
The Duchess of Cambridge, as she now known, teamed the Queen’s tiara with a set of earrings from her parents, based on the family’s coat of arms.
30,000 FLOWERS
Coming in at just shy of $1.4 million in total, around 30,000 flowers transformed Westminster Abbey into a rural idyll.
“The aim is the abbey looks unpretentious and simple and natural and that it reflects the fact that Catherine is a country girl at heart and that they couple are the best of the Britain,” the couple’s florist, Shane Connolly told Town and Country at the time.
Eight mature trees also lined the aisle of the abbey, before later being moved to Prince Charles’s estate for planting.
Kate had Jo Malone orange blossom candles burning throughout the abbey to round out the floral scents.
HARRY’S SHOW OF SUPPORT
Acting a best man, Prince Harry supported a nervous Prince William in the moments before the wedding ceremony began, offering updates as to what was going on behind them. Upon hearing the crowds outside Westminster Abbey screaming Harry was caught on camera whispering to William that Kate “is here now” before adding, “She looks beautiful, I can tell you that”.
When Kate joined her groom at the altar, William met her saying, “you look beautiful.”
STAR-STUDDED GUEST LIST
With almost 2,000 people in attendance, the guest list for Kate and William’s wedding included royalty from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Malaysia, Monaco, Spain, and Morocco among others. Then Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard attended, as did Britain’s then PM David Cameron. Celebrity guests included funny man Rowan Atkinson, Elton John and David Furnish, Victoria and David Beckham, director Guy Ritchie, Australian Olympian Ian Thorpe, and fashion photographer Mario Testino, who had taken the couple’s engagement photos.
NOT ONE CAKE, BUT TWO
The Duke and Duchess’ dessert truly took the proverbial cake, standing three foot tall and weighing 100 kilograms. According to the couple’s baker, the booze-soaked fruit cake was covered in white fondant and adorned with gum paste flowers, the couple’s intertwined initials, and motifs to represent the United Kingdom. The couple also had a chocolate biscuit cake, which was a childhood favourite of Prince William.
A FITTING FIRST DANCE
A timeless tradition of any wedding, William and Kate enlisted the help of British pop superstar Ellie Goulding to perform the couple’s first dance song.
While she’s got a long list of top hits under her belt, Goulding gave a nod to William’s late mother, Princess Diana, by covering Elton John’s ‘Your Song’.
It’s also rumoured that later in the evening William serenaded Kate with the Grease classic, You’re the One that I Want, but sadly the couple have never confirmed the Prince’s karaoke moment.
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