The Queen was said to be ‘practically skipping’ on the day of Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding – but she did make one disapproving comment, according to a lip reader
Over her 96 years of life, her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II went to a lot of royal weddings.
But perhaps there was none more important than her grandson William’s to the person that would become Queen in the years after her death – Catherine, Princess of Wales.
The Queen revealed her joy at the marriage of the couple, with words of wholehearted approval to Prince Philip as the newly weds emerged on April 29, 2011.
She turned to her husband after the ceremony and told him: ‘It was excellent’, according to a professional lip reader for CBS News.
However, while standing outside Westminster Abbey, the Queen also reportedly voiced one thing to Prince Philip that she wasn’t too keen on – the carriage the happy couple rode away on.
‘I wanted them to take the smaller carriage,’ she reportedly told him, to which Camilla, replied with: ‘It all went very well.’
The newlyweds set off for Buckingham Palace in the 1902 State Landau, which is the largest and most splendid horse-drawn carriage used by the sovereign.
Built by Messrs Hooper for the Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, it is drawn by six horses and has no coachman.
The Queen is allayed to have said she wished William and Kate took the smaller carriage at their wedding in 2011, according to a lip reader
The late monarch is alleged to have made the comment about her carriage preference to the other royals while they waited outside Westminster Abbey
William and Kate set off for Buckingham Palace in the 1902 State Landau (pictured), which is the largest and most splendid horse-drawn carriage used by the sovereign
It is upholstered in crimson satin and laces, and its door panels, back and front panels, bear the Royal Arms.
The carriage has a flexible leather hood, making it perfect for warm weather, as it gives the crowds a clear view of the people inside.
It was the same carriage that Prince Charles and Princess Diana took to leave St Paul’s Cathedral after their wedding 30 years prior in 1981.
It was also used by Sarah Ferguson for her 1986 marriage to Prince Andrew.
The carriage was only used at Kate and William’s wedding because the weather was dry, if it was wet the Palace team would have prepared the Glass Coach to be used instead.
It seems the Queen might have been referring to that carriage when she said she wished they had used the smaller one.
Built in 1881, before being purchased for use at King George V’s Coronation in 1911, the Glass Coach is an iconic grand carriage.
The Glass Coach has carried previous royal brides to their weddings, such as Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the Queen mother) in 1923, Princess Alexandra in 1963, Lady Diana Spencer, the then Princess of Wales, in 1981 and Miss Sarah Ferguson in 1986.
Kate most recently rode in the Glass Coach with her family at Horse Guards Parade for the King’s birthday parade Trooping the Colour in London on June 15, 2024
Princess Diana on her way to the State Opening of Parliament in November 1981 in the Glass Coach
The late Queen Elizabeth’s beautiful yellow dress and matching coat that she wore to William and Kate’s wedding were made by her dresser Angela Kelly
Prince William and Kate Middleton pictured on their big day on April 29, 2011
Kate and William wave to the crowds as the travel in the 1902 State Landau horse drawn carriage
But perhaps most importantly, it might have carried sentimental value for the Queen after it carried both her and Prince Philip at their wedding in 1947.
The Glass Coach was used again when Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973.
In the leadup to Kate and Will’s wedding, Martin Oates, the Senior Carriage Restorer at the Royal Mews, who is responsible for the upkeep of all the vehicles, said the Glass Coach was the one ‘everybody wants to see’.
But unfortunately for everyone, and perhaps most of all the Queen, the Glass Coach went unused and the 1902 State Landau was wheeled out.
Despite the letdown, the day still proved to be a success, according to the Queen.
The new princess had thrilled adoring crowds in her £250,000 Alexander McQueen gown, which included a lace bodice hand-stitched by seamstresses from the Royal School of Needlework.
The ceremony, was performed by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the pair said ‘I do’ in front of 2,000 guests and a global TV audience of 36.7million people.
There was further joy as the couple stepped out onto the palace balcony alongside their family and they were received by tens of thousands of fans chanting for them to kiss.
Relieved at the sight of a happy marriage, the Queen was said to be ‘practically skipping’ on the day of the wedding, according to royal biographer Andrew Morton.
The Glass Coach might have sentimental value to the late Queen, as she rode in it with her new husband on her wedding day in 1947
Following the ceremony, the bride rode with her new husband in the Glass Coach
The crowd of thousands of people waving British flags as they wait for Britain’s Prince William and his wife Catherine to appear at the balcony of Buckingham Palace
The Queen riding in the 1902 State Landau carriage as she leads a procession through central London, en route to Buckingham Palace for her Diamond Jubilee on June 5, 2012
In an extract from his 2022 book The Queen, published by the Daily Mirror, he wrote that the Queen felt the big day was an important milestone for the monarchy following difficult years where her children’s marriages failed.
Of the Queen’s four children, three have been divorced with both Prince Charles and Princess Anne remarrying.
Morton, who famously wrote Diana’s authorised biography, wrote: ‘The Queen was positively playful on the day of her grandson’s nuptials, “practically skipping” according to one observer, absolutely thrilled at the way the public had reacted to the royal newlyweds.
‘She had a sense that the future of the Royal Family, her family, was now secure. The monarchy was once again held in admiration and affection by the masses.’
However, a royal wedding is not just for the Royal Family – it is an event of national significance.
Thousands of people lined the streets of the Mall to watch William drive his bride out of Buckingham Palace in a vintage Aston Martin after the glittering ceremony.
The Queen turned to Prince Philip and said: ‘Well, that was excellent, wasn’t it?’ as they left Kate and William’s wedding, according to a professional lip reader
The most iconic moment of the couple’s wedding day came perhaps when they shared their first kiss as a married couple on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, much to the delight of cheering onlookers outside the Palace gates and beyond.
Moments earlier, stepping onto the balcony, Kate had appeared to gasp ‘Oh my’ as she caught sight of the thousands of people who’d streamed into the public spaces around Buckingham Palace to share in the joy of the newlyweds.
Just hours before, she’d heard the same crowds drum up the loud chant ‘We want Kate, we want Kate’ in the moments before the bride had arrived at Westminster Abbey.
Although there was pomp and ceremony aplenty on that extraordinary day, the carriage ride has perhaps unexpectedly become the cause of some of the most memorable moments – despite the late Queen’s alleged disapproval.
