Prince William and Kate Didn’t Pick All the Music for Their Wedding; So Who Did?
Millions of people around the world remember when Prince William and the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) tied the knot on April 29, 2011.
The day was quite busy for the couple. After their nuptials in front of 1,900 people at Westminster Abbey, the newlyweds greeted thousands of well-wishers from the balcony of Buckingham Palace before attending a luncheon at the Palace hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II with 600 guests followed by a dinner reception hosted by then-Prince Charles for 300 guests.
Here’s more on William and Kate’s big day including who had a hand in selecting their wedding music and which room of the Palace was turned into a nightclub.
Who chose the music for Prince William and Kate’s wedding?
Some of the high-profile wedding guests included David and Victoria Beckham, Sir Elton John, and Rowan Atkinson. When attendees arrived to see the bride and groom say “I do,” an organ played music by Johann Sebastian Bach and orchestral pieces by Edward Elgar and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. William’s father, now-King Charles, is a lover of classical music and revealed that he selected what songs would be played at Westminster Abbey.
According to Guide for Brides, King Charles confirmed during an interview with Classic FM: “I love trying to organize some interesting, I hope, pieces of music for certain occasions, particularly for weddings if people want. I know my eldest son was quite understanding and was perfectly happy for me to suggest a few pieces for their wedding. I hope that gave some people pleasure, but it’s rather fun having orchestras in for great occasions like that, and why not suggest a few pieces occasionally? Anyway… I do enjoy it.”
When asked about the first time he was exposed to classical music Charles shared: “Well, I suppose various people would play it around me. My grandmother used to play quite a bit of music, so I would hear something there. But I suspect the first time I really became aware of it was being taken by my grandmother, [The Queen Mother], to Covent Garden aged 7.”
Room inside the Palace was transformed into a ‘nightclub’ for the reception
Express noted that for the evening reception guests arrived “through a candle-lit walkway in the Palace courtyard and walked into the sound of bagpipes playing.” During cocktail hour the drinks served were “vintage pink champagne, peach bellinis, and elderflower cocktails.
“Shortly after 8 p.m., guests were ushered into the Palace’s Ballroom for dinner [and] were given envelopes with their table names, which had been personally named after places special to the couple and their friends. Table names included ‘St. Andrews,’ after the Scottish university where the couple began their romance, and ‘Tetbury’ after the town in Gloucestershire which is close to Highgrove.”
The music for the nighttime reception was much different than what was heard during the day as a wedding band led by pop star Ellie Goulding played in the Throne Room, turning it into a “massive nightclub.”
