LONDON – Newlywed royal couple the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been enjoying a quiet weekend at an undisclosed location in Britain yesterday after postponing their honeymoon.
But it will be quickly back to business as usual for Prince William when he returns to his job as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot next week, before the couple finally fly off for their honeymoon.
The couple celebrated their marriage on Friday night with 300 close family members and friends at a black-tie event at Buckingham Palace that lasted until dawn.
Millie Pilkington, the couple’s private photographer who took informal pictures throughout the day, described the couple as “buzzing with happiness” and the party’s atmosphere as “absolutely extraordinary”.
Asked about the speeches by best man Prince Harry, Kate’s father Michael Middleton and others, she said: “They were hysterical, absolutely hysterical.” She added: “The evening was buzzing, absolutely extraordinary. The daytime was wonderful – it was very, very relaxing and exciting and spectacular – but the evening was almost more magical.”
The excitement of the wedding – an intimate event and a national spectacle – was watched by a combined average BBC and ITV audience of more than 24 million.
In contrast to all the pomp and ceremony of the occasion, Kate’s family quietly returned to their home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, yesterday, and slipped back inside without any fuss.
In keeping with a tradition started by the late Queen Mother in 1923, the duchess’s bridal bouquet was returned to Westminster Abbey, where staff placed it on the grave of the unknown warrior.
After Prince William has completed a number of helicopter shifts next week, it is thought the couple will jet off on their honeymoon.