A smiling Prince William and Kate Middleton were declared man and wife at London's Westminster Abbey, in front of a congregation of around 1,900 and a worldwide television audience estimated at as many as 2 billion.
Wearing an ivory and white satin dress designed by Sarah Burton--a closely guarded secret until minutes before the service began--Kate accepted a wedding ring of Welsh gold, given to William by the Queen soon after the couple were engaged. The bride also wore a diamond-studded halo tiara loaned by the Queen, with her gently curled hair down at the back.
In a marriage ceremony led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Kate promised William that she would "love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him," and he offered the same pledge. Like William's mother Princess Diana at her own 1981 wedding to Prince Charles, Kate struck a modern note by omitting the traditional vow to "obey" her husband.
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Wearing an ivory and white satin dress designed by Sarah Burton--a closely guarded secret until minutes before the service began--Kate accepted a wedding ring of Welsh gold, given to William by the Queen soon after the couple were engaged. The bride also wore a diamond-studded halo tiara loaned by the Queen, with her gently curled hair down at the back.
In a marriage ceremony led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Kate promised William that she would "love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him," and he offered the same pledge. Like William's mother Princess Diana at her own 1981 wedding to Prince Charles, Kate struck a modern note by omitting the traditional vow to "obey" her husband.
Read more