But after the ceremony, and when the prying eyes of the cameras were switched off, what went on behind the doors of Buck Palace?
e+ regally reveals all…
All Change!
After wowing in her Alexander McQueen lace gown for the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, Kate slipped into a different frock for the late-night revelry. Sticking with Sarah Burton's McQueen label, she changed into a white satin strapless evening gown with a circle skirt and diamanté detailing around the waist, adding a white shrug, whilst her sister Pippa opted for emerald green to complement her olive skin, donning a full-length Alice Temperley dress with an open back.
And ditching his formal colonel's uniform, William, along with Charles and Harry, rocked black tuxedoes for the late-night party.
The Reception
After the ceremony, some 650 guests were invited to Buckingham Palace for the reception, which has been described by one lucky invitee as "very cosy."
"There was a wonderful relaxed atmosphere," spilled Alex van Straubenzee. "I won't say it was informal, but everyone was having a wonderful time."
Guests dined on a huge selection of canapés, including Cornish crab and quail's eggs, along with champagne toasts and British wines.
"Charles gave a lovely speech about his son, and spoke about him in a very lovely way," spilled a guest, adding that there were two cakes on offer as William had specially requested a chocolate biscuit cake.
Bollywood at the Party
Just 300 guests were invited to the Prince Charles-hosted dinner and dance after the reception, with the newly-weds heading back to Clarence House to change between parties. Held in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace, sources have spilled there was a band belting out hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s, as well as a few Bollywood numbers, and Brit singer Ellie Goulding provided vocals for the first dance - a cover of Elton John's Your Song. And at Harry's insistence, sausage and bacon sandwiches were served late at night, with an ice cream van at the Palace for guests.
Harry's Speech
Having told pals he'd have to tone down his speech if his grandmother, the Queen, was still at the party when speech time arrived, sources were expecting plenty of near-the-knuckle laughs from the Royal joker.
And although he ditched a planned line about his new sister-in-law's "killer legs", another jibe about Kate dwarfing Prince Philip went down a storm. Harry had Kate in tears when he told her he looked upon her as a sister, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room when Harry told William how much of their mother he saw in his big brother. Harry was certainly competing with the other wags in the family - dad Charles and brother William, as in his speech, Charles mocked Will's receding hairline and added he hoped his son would look after him in old age but that he'd probably "push his wheelchair off a cliff"; with William hitting back with a joke about his father's expanding waistline.
"Harry's speech was brilliant," said a source. "We all wished he could have just carried on. It was perfect. He said all the things he needed to say."
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