The Royal Wedding

This wedding has been on minds of both Claire and I since it was announced in November last year. We were on a ferry back from Manly when we picked a paper up from off the seat and it was there on the front cover – ‘Royal Engagement’. There weren’t many details at that stage but the paper guessed that the wedding would be during the summer of 2011. On that ferry ride we discussed the possibilities of going to THE wedding, and got very excited at the prospect.

Flash forward six months and we woke at 2.30am on the 29th to get ready for the big day. Long ago it had been decided that hats were a must for the day, and so whilst I was in Ireland I bought materials and constructed, with Kathleen’s help, Pill-box hats. Mine was green and feathered, and Claire’s was white with pearls.

Many international students were spread throughout the city that day but our partners for the day were Mitch and John, both from Oklahoma. We walked to the station at 3.30am. There were no lights on the road and if it had been just Claire and I we would have been very spooked but we trusted the boys to fight any wolves that came out of the woods. Surprisingly we made it to the station without any incident and caught the 4am train in. We had all these plans to be in early enough to get a good spot and then we got to Kings Cross where the overground merges with the underground and it turned out that the underground didn’t open until 5. We didn’t have to hang around long and we were back on the train. We got out at Piccadilly (can I use this moment to say that Claire and I are tube pros by now)and walked in the half light down to St James Park. Trickling down with us were a variety of people with union jacks painted on their faces, carrying chairs and wearing red white and blue, there was a hushed excitement in the foggy air.

(Another interesting side note is that the Union Jack got its name when it was first introduced at the coronation of King James I of England/King James VI of Scotland, he unified Scotland and England and Jack is a nickname for James).

Coming onto the mall (thats mall rhyming with shall for all the Aussies)it seemed crammed to us with tents and people on both sides, we walked all the way up to Buckingham Palace and then back down to find ourselves a spot. We eventually decided on a place where the tents were only two deep, this was 6am and they were just coming out in their pyjamas and eating some breakfast. As they slowly pack up their tents we slid forward into the empty spaces, and that is how we ended up standing right on the rail on the mall. The next four hours dragged on a little, we sat on the dusty floor, John fell asleep, we ate our packed lunch, played 20 questions and chatted with the people around us. All this time the crowds were getting thicker and the costumes better. Flags cut into clothes were a given, but there were a LOT of wedding dresses, Kate and Wills masks as well as a random Obama one. The family next to us painted their nails red white and blue, and anyone who came along the Mall got a huge cheer from the crowds, the street sweepers were treated like royalty and waved royal-y back at us. As we got nearer to the starting time policemen began lining the street and marching bands began their procession along the route.

The first guests to pass us went by in vans and coaches with tinted windows, not a very regal sight but finally at 10:10 (or around that) Princes William and Harry left Clarence house. The crowd went wild, as did we. I may have been jumping up and down yelling ‘I saw the Princes!’, but I’m not positive because it’s all a blur of excitement now. Well that was just the start of a tidal wave of royalty, all the big names, Charles, Camilla, THE QUEEN (Lizzy), Phillip, Eugenie and Beatrice  and then the lesser known’s, Carole, Pippa, with all the flower girls and page boys and finally Kate and her father. Our neighbours kept up a stream of explanations of the royals we didn’t recognise, telling us which Prince Andrew or Zara Phillips. All the cars had glass roofs and backs so all the occupants were clearly visible waving to their adoring public. I was leaning against the fence with Claire pressed up against my back and at least eight other people pressed up behind her. Once the procession had finished the press of people eased up as everyone got ready to wait through the ceremony. All the trees along the Mall had speakers in them and a hush descended on the crowds as we all listened to the vows. The most amazing part was the ‘I do’s’, when those words were uttered the crowd exploded with cheering, high fives and hugs and again when they were pronounced man and wife. It was such a tight and bonded atmosphere. Everyone sang Jerusalem and the anthem (except for the Queen) and we followed the rest of the ceremony from our official programmes.

The final procession was made in the official state carriages and began with the newlyweds Kate and Will and again the crowd went wild. We got a better look at Kate’s dress this time and straight away Claire and I were discussing it with each other. As all the other carriages passed by the occupants waved royally at us and we waved royally back amidst shouts of ‘HARRY! HARRY!’ Or ‘THE QUEEN!!! ‘

Now we knew the fight was ahead of us. We had been told by our neighbours that they would take the barriers down and we would be allowed onto the Mall to walk up to the Palace, but we started walking up towards the palace on our side of the barrier and fairly quickly ground to a halt as the crowd became too thick. When they let down the barriers it was like forcing a river through a crack in a dam. There was so much pushing and crushing and we held each other’s hands tight in an effort not to be separated. We made it onto the Mall and pretty much began running. We ducked and weaved through the crowds, something Claire and I being small are very good at, and we pulled the boys along behind us. The crowd stopped and started, we thought we weren’t going to get into the roundabout in front of the palace and then suddenly everyone would surge forward some more, then our view was blocked by the statue in the middle, but we heard someone say that the right side was open and we ran wide to find clear ground for moving. It was that last rush that got us into our prime positions. Claire and I stood on our tiptoes and others around us yelled at people to put their banners down. The crowd was hushed but murmuring, everyone was craning their necks toward that little balcony in the middle of the palace, robed with red and gold and high above a huge standard was fluttering in the breeze. For most of the day we had been freezing (Claire and I decided on beauty before comfort) but now the sun had broken out and everyone was crushed together so tightly that it was sweltering. And then there was a rustle in the curtains and they came out and the crowd exploded.

Kate and Will were out first but closely followed by the rest of the extended royal family. The Queen’s canary yellow (or as the newspapers like to put it, primrose) stuck out but she didn’t seem to do much, Pippa and Harry on the other hand were chatting with the page boys and flower girls, as was Kate. They had their official kiss, which was frankly a letdown. Newly-weds should kiss with more than just a peck no matter how royal they are or how many people are watching. When they went back inside was when it really got hectic. The crowd moved and we had no choice but to go where they went. It happened to be in the opposite direction to where we wanted to be and then Mitch and I got separated from Claire and John and we agreed to meet at Piccadilly Circus. It took Mitch and I a lot of work to get there with all the crowds, then St James park was shut down because it had full occupancy  and in the end we caught two trains to get to Piccadilly and from there we went back to Kings Cross and home. We had collected the souvenir editions of the paper and on the way home I devoured it. The others fell asleep even though it was only 3pm, they were all tuckered out!

At home Claire and I went through the experience together then watched the ceremony on YouTube so that we really got the full experience. Then we crashed. What a day though. History was made and we were there!