Having watched videos of Princess Diana and Prince Charles Royal Wedding a few times during my childhood, I felt so much envy for those who were alive at the time to see it in person. It took place before my time and I had waited a long time, thinking we would never see such a grand wedding in my lifetime in London. When the news broke out last year that there would be a public wedding, I felt overwhelmed with excitement. Being born in this city and having lived here all my life, I dreamt of seeing this city getting gripped by the Royal Wedding fever. It is quintessentially British affair and did not disappoint. The Union Jack flags were on display all through-out the city. For once we saw this city proudly display some real patriotism. It was a very proud moment.
On the day of the wedding, I had left home about 4.30am because having visited Westiminster and Buckingham Palace only 4 hours before, I noticed how madly busy it was with so many people already there. The amount of campers I saw securing most of the good spots with FOUR full days to go was astounding, and they almost entirely foreigners. Americans, Canadians, Australians, Europeans. Most Britons came on the day of the wedding. I never slept that night. Did not even take a nap. By the time the wedding was over near 2pm on the day, I had been awake for over 31 hours. Anyway, here are some photos and a video!
A group of Britons next to me, who had camped overnight.
A young girl, waving her Union Jack flag, waiting in excitement for the Royals:
A very warm and polite police officer who kept us company for several hours, sharing jokes and engaging in banters with us. A true gentleman. It made the occasion even more special:
The Ceremonial Guards make their way down The Mall from Buckingham Palace:
The finest professional photographers get busy. Also note, in the background, well wishers and spectators sat and stood anywhere they could find space:
Ceremonial Guards spread out, standing a few metres apart all the way down The Mall:
I really like this one:
Later on, I was one of the very, VERY lucky people to be amongst the people near the front as we made our way towards Buckingham Palace after Prince William, Kate Middleton and The Royals had returned to Buckingham Palace for the balcony appearance and flypast. I still cannot believe I was next the front out of a million who were there! Just click here to see what I am getting at.
Here we were all waiting patiently for them to come to the balcony:
Here is my video of The Royals and the Middletons coming to the balcony! It was very difficult to keep the camera still as everyone raised their arms to take photos, obscuring my view, so I had to hold the camera as high as I possibly could, right on the top of my fingers. The footage includes the kisses and flypast:
