‘One hell of a party’: Inside Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank‘s post-wedding celebrations
THE lavish royal wedding celebrations continue with celebrities partying up a storm at Eugenie and Jack’s carnival-themed bash on day two of the festivities.
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ROBBIE Williams and wife Ayda Field were dressed to kill as Princess Eugenie’s carnival-style wedding celebrations continued over the weekend.
The stylish couple swapped their Armani formal wear for designer casual to attend the funfair-themed bash, held the day after the wedding.
True to form, Williams had been one of the stars of the show at the evening reception, reportedly jumping on-stage for an impromptu gig.
The carnival festivities were held in the gardens of The Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park — the home of Eugenie’s divorced parents Prince Andrew and Sarah the Duchess of York.
Sources revealed day two of the celebrations included dodgems and amusement rides, old-school coconut shies and food stalls.
Hungover guests in need of a hair of the dog downed bloody Marys and cocktails.
The festivites, described as “one hell of a party” kicked off hours afer the pair’s wedding ceremony with a champagne reception hosted by the Queen.
The young couple jumped into a flashy Aston Martin car originally built for the James Bond movie Spectre and headed for nearby Royal Lodge.
Eugenie, 28, was still in her bridal gown, while Mr Brooksbank, 32, helped her into the car before getting behind the wheel and heading off to the reception.
After the formality of the luncheon hosted by Queen Elizabeth for her granddaughter, the Princess and her former nightclub manager husband enjoyed two less-formal parties, joined by most of the 800 wedding guests who had celebrated their nuptials on Friday morning at St George’s Chapel.
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Prince Andrew reportedly broke protocol to give his new son-in-law a hug as the couple cut their five-tier red velvet wedding cake, which featured a cascade of autumn leaves and berries, and was served with Pol Roger champagne.
The celebration then moved to Royal Lodge where a funfair was set up in the grounds to give guests a fun getaway, with dodgem cars, a coconut shy and games.
Mr Brooksbank, who sells tequila for a company founded by George Clooney and Rande Gerber, had promised the Casamigos tequila would flow freely, along with Bloody Marys to ease any hangovers.
A gardener on the estate told the British media that: “The setup looks amazing so I’m sure it will be one hell of a party.’’
There was continued buzz around Windsor about comments by Prince Andrew, who appeared to one-up Prince Harry and Meghan by saying more people attended his daughter’s wedding than theirs at the same venue five months ago.
This is despite the considerable pains royal courtiers had gone to to avoid comparisons between the two events.
“There are a few more people than most people have,’’ he told ITV in a pre-recorded interview.
“There are a few more than Harry had.
“But that’s just the nature of Eugenie and Jack. They have got so many friends that they need a church of that size to fit them all in.”
Prince Andrew also said the event was held at St George’s Chapel on the orders of the Queen.
“The Queen very firmly said, ‘No, St George’s is where you are going to have the wedding.’
“So I said, ‘Aye, aye ma’am, turn to the right, salute and carry on.”’
Charlie Proctor, editor-in-chef of the Royal Central news website, said the comments about the size of the wedding party — 800 guests compared to Harry’s 650 — was a “tactless comment.’’
“Nobody should be comparing the two weddings — especially the father of the bride,’’ he told News Corp.
“They are completely different events, and surely these comparisons will just put more pressure on Eugenie and Jack.’’
Mr Proctor said it was inevitable there would be comparisons, given the wedding was held in the same venue just five months apart.
“I think we have to be realistic. Eugenie’s wedding was never going to be as big as Harry’s wedding.
“Princess Eugenie isn’t a working member of the Royal Family and she is further down the line of succession than her cousin. This means there is already a lack of interest to begin with, and the two events can’t really compare.’’
British newspaper The Mirror hired a lip reader who reported that Zara Tindall had turned to Harry and Meghan and said: “it’s very quiet compared to the screaming at your wedding.’’
Royal watchers were also still digesting the decision to include a reading from the Great Gatsby, which talked about the smile and language used by the hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great novel, Jay Gatsby.
The Dean of Windsor David Conner explained that Eugenie had read the book shortly after meeting Jack and felt the passage “Gatsby’s Smile’’ reminded her of Jack.
This raised some eyebrows as the Jay Gatsby character was a man born into poverty who strived to be something he was not to win the affections of a rich young woman.
Originally published as ‘One hell of a party’: Inside Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank‘s post-wedding celebrations