‘Society wedding of the year’ attended by Prince William targeted by protestors
Prince William had just exited the church with the rest of the wedding party for the high-society nuptials when chaos erupted in the crowd.
Prince William and other high-profile guests at Britain’s “society wedding of the year” have been caught up in a post-ceremony protest, which prompted swift action by police.
The future King, who was serving as usher for his longtime friend Hugh Grosvenor as he tied the knot with Olivia Henson in Chester on Friday, had just exited the cathedral with the newlyweds when what appeared to be orange fire extinguishers were detonated from the crowd toward the bridal party.
Fortunately, the coloured substance didn’t make contact with the bride and groom, who were just metres away and about to step into their vehicle.
Two women were then seen being escorted from the area by authorities, while the hundreds-strong crowd booed.
It’s understood the disruption was part of the Just Stop Oil protests.
“Shortly after 1pm on Friday a coloured flare was released by two women, believed to be protesting on behalf of Just Stop Oil, on St Werberg Street, Chester,” a spokesman for Cheshire Police said.
“Officers were immediately on the scene and two women were quickly arrested on suspicion of public order offences. The 69-year-old woman from Manchester and 73-year-old woman from Suffolk are both in police custody at this time.”
Meanwhile, a who’s-who of Britain’s aristocracy descended upon the town of Chester in northwest England ahead of the high-profile event.
Grosvenor, who is also known as the Duke of Westminster, is thought to be worth a cool $20 billion and is the richest man under 40 in Britain.
The duke is godfather to both Prince George and Prince Harry’s son Archie but Harry and Meghan were not in attendance.
There was a very heavy security presence around the town in the lead-up to the wedding, with dozens of police vans, officers, and rooftop snipers seen in the vicinity of the cathedral on Friday.
Princess Eugenie was spotted heading into the chapel wearing a long-sleeved green dress and a matching hat, while the groom arrived at the Cathedral in a forest green Land Rover and waved to cheering crowds.
Hundreds of well-wishers lined the streets hours ahead of the scheduled start time, while security officers patrolled the streets, providing an atmosphere not unlike that of a proper royal wedding.
The Duke of Westminster spared no expense for his wedding, with the town undergoing a full makeover in the lead-up to the big day.
A private reception followed the ceremony, held at the duke’s sprawling 10, 872 acre family estate, Eaton Hall, which is less than 15 minutes by car from Chester city centre.
It’s understood a second day of celebrations will be taking place at the property on Saturday.
Chester was buzzing with activity the day prior to the highly-anticipated wedding, with barricades erected, road closures, workers transporting flowers and other decorative items into the venue - and even painters sprucing up the public phone boxes.
It’s also been reported the duke arranged and paid for 100,000 flowers to be planted around the city, which will be later donated to charity.
In a very popular gesture of goodwill on the day, Grosvenor arranged for free gelatos and other treats to be gifted to the community.
A massive queue was seen outside an ice-cream shop just around the corner from Chester Cathedral, as people enthusiastically took up the offer.
Awkward call before Prince Harry’s conspicuous absence
Earlier this week, details emerged of the circumstances leading up to Harry’s absence from his longtime friend’s wedding, following reports he’d been left off the guest list.
Both Harry and William grew up with Grosvenor - or “Hughie” as he’s known within his inner circle – and he’s even godfather to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son, Prince Archie.
However, Harry and Meghan were at home in California as the ceremony took place today, while William was honoured with the role of usher at the ceremony.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, did not attend due to her ongoing cancer treatment.
Conflicting reports have swirled about whether it was Harry or Grosvenor who ultimately decided he shouldn’t be there for the big day, but according to the UK’s Times, it was the result of a phone call where they both came to a “civilised understanding”.
“Harry was invited but then agreed to stay away,” a source told the publication.
“The Duke’s diplomacy then cleared the way for William to perform the role of usher during Friday’s ceremony — a job that would have been beyond awkward if he was obliged to show Harry to his pew, even though he might enjoy telling him where to go.”
When Harry’s looming lack of attendance was first reported last year, a friend of the warring brothers described the situation as “incredibly sad”.
“It’s incredibly sad it has come to this. Hugh is one of the very few close friends of William and Harry’s who has maintained strong bonds and a line of communication with both,” the source told the Times.
“He wishes they could put their heads together and patch things up, but realises it’s unlikely to happen before the wedding. He wanted to avoid anything overshadowing the day, especially for Olivia, and doesn’t want any awkwardness.”
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