It may be hard to believe but today marks 14 years since the nation came together to celebrate Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding day.
As we celebrate Kate and William’s wedding anniversary, there are so many moments from the royal wedding that stick out in our minds, but there are also some parts of the celebration which may have slipped to the back of your mind.
Take a walk back through history back to the big day and reminisce on those moments you may have forgotten...
Kate's second dress
Of course, the image that we have in mind of Kate’s dress from her wedding day is the iconic long-sleeved white number designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, made from ivory and white satin gazar.
But the dress Kate wore to her reception is worth space in our memory too. Also designed by Burton, Kate wore the strapless satin evening gown with a jewelled belt and a white shrug.
Victoria Beckham’s bump
It comes as no surprise that the wedding of the future King and Queen of England was attended by everybody from royals from across the world, politicians, and even singer Joss Stone.
And David and Victoria Beckham were in attendance at Westminster Abbey on the big day, with former Spice Girls singer Victoria being six months pregnant with her fourth child – and first daughter – Harper Seven, now 13.
There was a sweet moment from before the ceremony started which saw the footballer resting a hand on his wife’s bump and grinning.
Pippa Middleton carrying Kate’s train
Ok, so maybe you didn’t forget this one as her big sister’s wedding day was something of an ‘a star is born’ moment for Pippa, who found herself in the press the next day after helping to carry Kate’s almost nine-foot-long train. Pippa caught the attention of many as cameras captured her now-iconic bottom in her very well-fitted dress.
The grumpy flower girl
One moment to go viral from the wedding was the image of William and Kate kissing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their nuptials, but not for reasons you would expect.
One of the couple’s flower girls, Grace Van Cutsem, who was aged three at the time, became an instant meme when people spotted her resting on the balcony next to the couple, covering her ears and frowning.
William struggling to put a ring on it
There was a slight moment of the ceremony where William seemed to struggle to get the ring on Kate’s finger during the exchange. Kate patiently smiled at her husband-to-be as he finally pushed the ring past her knuckle and on to her finger.
He was then seen whispering to his bride, ‘You look beautiful, you are beautiful’ before they exchanged vows.
Prince Harry making Kate Cry
Tears are a given when it comes to a wedding day and royal correspondent Katie Nicholl shared at the time how an emotional speech given by her brother-in-law Prince Harry moved the new addition to the royal family tear up.
Katie said, ‘It was affectionate, warm and funny and touched William deeply. The speech was peppered with Harry's classic sense of humour, and he ribbed his brother: “William didn't have a romantic bone in his body before he met Kate, so I knew it was serious when William suddenly started cooing down the phone at Kate”.’
Referencing his romance with then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, Katie added, ‘When he said the couple’s decade-long romance was his inspiration, there was a shy smile from Chelsy, while Kate shed a tear.’
Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice’s hats
Again, this one may be burned into your brain but one part of the day we have to discuss is Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice’s headwear choices.
Eugenie wore a blue cap with an arrangement of flowers and feathers while Beatrice donned a pale pink headpiece that saw the internet comparing it to everything from a pretzel to an Easter egg.
But the infamy of the pieces did come to good use in the end as Beatrice auctioned them off for charity in May 2011, raising £94,241.
The cartwheeling clergyman
In a moment that we definitely did not see during the ceremony, following the big day, footage emerged of one of the clergyman who oversaw the proceedings performing cartwheels down the aisle of Westminster Abbey ahead of the event.
The video, which was uploaded to Channel 4 News’ YouTube channel has been viewed over 173,000 times.
Ellie Goulding’s performance
Another unaired scene from the wedding saw Ellie Goulding performing at the reception, when William and Kate took to the floor for their first dance.
Ellie performed her version of Elton John’s Your Song at the reception, telling Vanity Fair in 2016, ‘I did their first dance and like, talk about scary. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking.’
Ellie was then reported to be dating Prince Harry in 2016, but the rumours were never confirmed or denied.
The Queen’s comments about doors being removed from Buckingham Palace
William and Kate’s wedding cake was so large that a door had to be removed from Buckingham Palace for it to be transported from the kitchen. The cake – baked by royal cake maker Fiona Cairns – was a fruitcake decorated with 900 sugar paste flowers.
Discussing her brief conversation with the late Queen Elizabeth II in the ITV documentary The Day Will And Kate Got Married, she explained, ‘I was told that her majesty would be coming through the doors of the picture gallery at midday. So, no pressure of course...
‘When the Queen came to see us the cake wasn't completely finished. I can remember her saying, "I hear that you've been dismantling my house" and I said to her, "Well, we had to take a door down from the room below for the trolley to go through with the cake." But it was all put back in the end so it was fine.'
Samuel McManus is a senior content creator for Bauer Media, writing celebrity news and features across five of the company’s brands – heat, Closer, Grazia, Bella and Yours. Samuel has worked at Bauer Media since November 2024.