Members of the Royal Family gathered today at St George’s Chapel, Windsor for the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston. The bride is the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, whose grandfather, Prince George, Duke of Kent, was a son of King George V. You can read more about the family here.
The bride was escorted to the chapel by her father, wearing a gown by Italian designer Luisa Beccaria. She chose to wear a Russian Fringe tiara that was worn by her grandmother, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Kent, on her wedding day in 1934. It was also worn by her mother, Princess Michael, at her own 1978 wedding, so it was a sweet gesture to Gabriella also choose it.
Per one report:
“Flowers in the chapel included coral sunset peonies, coral and white roses, white hydrangea, white delphiniums, apricot stocks and seasonal flowers, as well as the creamy ivory ‘Ella’ rose, by David Austin, named for the bride. The cherry and apple blossom trees and shrubs which stood outside St George’s were from Hillier Nurseries.”
The cake was made by the same baker who did the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding cake last year, however this one featured a Victoria and limoncello sponge, which frankly sounds delicious (to me right now) 🙂
As confirmed earlier this week, the Queen did attend the service, accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. Since he started his retirement in August 2017, it’s always a nice surprise when we see him out and about at family functions.
The other big headliner guest was the Duke of Sussex, who lives nearby on the Windsor estate at Frogmore Cottage. The Duchess, no doubt home with the newborn Archie, didn’t accompany him, but it was certainly nice to see him turn up for his cousin. (Who, I might add, wasn’t invited to the Sussexes’ wedding as far as we know…)
Gabriella’s brother, Lord Frederick Windsor, and his wife, Lady Frederick (born Sophie Winkleman), were there and helped oversee their daughters, Maud and Isabella, as bridesmaids. Unclear who the other bridesmaids and pageboys were, but there weren’t any other Windsor cousins in the mix.
As expected, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge weren’t there thanks to the FA Final Cup. It might have been a nice gesture for Kate to turn up solo, or with Harry, particularly given the presence of other members of the Middleton family, but it’s increasingly rare for Kate to attend weddings post-kids, so not wholly surprising.
Sarah, Duchess of York, the Duke of York’s ex-wife, was at the chapel, as was her eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice. And though widely expected to be there, Princess Eugenie did not attend today (at least as far as the pictures tell us).
As for the Queen’s children, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, and the Earl of Wessex were all among the guests as was Princess Anne’s husband, Timothy Laurence. Not on hand were the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, or the Countess of Wessex.
And as noted, the Middletons also attended. Pippa Matthews, accompanied by her husband, wore a blue Kate Spade midi dress and a velvet hatband (a style increasingly favored by Kate, as well, over the last year.) Michael and Carole Middleton, as well as James Middleton and his girlfriend, walked into the chapel with them.
The reception that followed took place in Frogmore House, but as it’s a private event, there’s unlikely to be any photos or follow up from the rest of the day.
Tomorrow marks Harry and Meghan’s one-year anniversary and I do have a post slated for tomorrow AM to mark the occasion, so look out for that! And Monday is the Chelsea Flower Show preview day, so we’ll likely see yet another mix of royals, including Kate, out for the occasion. In the meantime, Happy Weekend!