Royal Wedding Draws a Worldwide Crowd

People around the world watched Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton get married. The royal wedding broke records for live streaming on the Internet. It also produced more than two million tweets on Twitter.

The ceremony took place Friday at Westminster Abbey in London.

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KATE (AFTER ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY): "I, Catherine Elizabeth, take thee, William Arthur Philip Louis, to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward ... "

Kate wore a flowing white gown designed by Sarah Burton, the creative director of Alexander McQueen. William wore a red military uniform.

Hats were a big fashion statement. Many of those invited wore them.

Kate's sister, Philippa, was her maid of honor. William's brother, Harry, was his best man.

WILLIAM (AFTER ARCHBISHOP): "I, William Arthur Philip Louis, take thee, Catherine Elizabeth, to be my wedded wife ... "

It was Britain's biggest wedding since William and Harry's parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, were married in nineteen eighty-one.

AP

Charles, Prince of Wales, and Princess Diana kiss at their wedding in 1981

Nearly two thousand guests filled the church on Friday. Westminster Abbey was where the funeral for William's mother took place after Diana died in a car crash in nineteen ninety-seven.

Hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets and parks of London to watch the wedding on video screens.

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Among the wedding guests were English football star David Beckham and his wife Victoria, British Prime Minister David Cameron, the king of Norway and singer Elton John.

Bahrain's crown prince was invited but decided not to attend because of unrest in his country. Britain withdrew an invitation to the ambassador from Syria over violence against protesters there.

After the ceremony, the royal couple traveled to Buckingham Palace. Crowds cheered when the newlyweds appeared on a balcony and shared a short public kiss, and then a longer one.

Later, William drove his wife out of Buckingham Palace in an open-top Aston Martin car.

William and the newest member of the royal family will now be known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Kate is twenty-nine year old. William will be twenty-nine in June. His grandmother is Queen Elizabeth. His father, Prince Charles, is first in line to become king. William, as the older son, is second in line. Kate would not become queen, however, since she is not in the royal blood line.

There was a big celebration at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. That was where William and Kate first met as art history students in two thousand one.

Many Americans woke up before sunrise to watch the wedding. And thousands of people traveled to Britain to join the celebration, including this Australian woman.

WOMAN: "We’re all part of history. It’s just a wonderful experience."

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

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Contributing: Selah Hennesy.
From the VOA.