Queen's sweet six words of joy to Prince Philip during Prince William …

Queen's sweet six words of joy and approval to Prince Philip during Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding

Published: 17:25, 30 April 2023 | Updated: 17:25, 30 April 2023

The Queen revealed her joy at the marriage of her grandson, Prince William, to Kate Middleton, with words of wholehearted approval to Prince Philip as the newly weds emerged in 2011.

Standing on the steps of Westminster Abbey as the newlyweds set off for Buckingham Palace in the 1902 State Landau, the Queen turned to her late husband and said: 'Well, that was excellent, wasn't it?'

Earlier, the new princess had thrilled doring crowds in her GBP250,000 Alexander McQueen gown as the pair said 'I do' in front of 2,000 guests and a global TV audience of 36.7 million people.

There was further joy as the couple stepped out onto the palace balcony alongside their family and they were received by tens of thousands of fans chanting for them to kiss.

The Queen turned to Prince Philip and said: 'Well, that was excellent, wasn't it?' as they left Kate and William's wedding

Relieved at the sight of a happy marriage, the Queen was said to be 'practically skipping' on the day of the wedding, according to royal biographer Andrew Morton.

In an extract from his book The Queen, published by the Daily Mirror, he wrote that the Queen felt the big day was an important milestone for the monarchy following difficult years where her children's marriages failed.

Of the Queen's four children, three have been divorced with Prince Charles and Princess Anne remarrying.

Morton, who famously wrote Diana's authorised biography, wrote: 'The Queen was positively playful on the day of her grandson's nuptials, "practically skipping" according to one observer, absolutely thrilled at the way the public had reacted to the royal newlyweds.

'She had a sense that the future of the Royal Family, her family, was now secure. The monarchy was once again held in admiration and affection by the masses.'

The royal couple thanked their supporters in 2021 with a video montage to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary, giving an unprecedented glimpse into their family life.

Kate stunned adoring crowds in her GBP250,000 Alexander McQueen gown as the pair said 'I do' in front of 2,000 guests and a global TV audience of 36.7 million people

The clip was posted on Instagram with an accompanying message which read: 'Thank you to everyone for the kind messages on our wedding anniversary. We are enormously grateful for the 10 years of support we have received in our lives as a family.

W & C'

In the short video, Kate, William, and their three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were seen enjoying some downtime in the great outdoors.

Donning co-ordinated casual-wear, the future King and his family climbed the sand dunes on the beach in Norfolk, sat around the campfire toasting marshmallows in the countryside and played in the garden at Anmer Hall.

The family chose London-based filmmaker Will Warr to capture their tenth anniversary video montage, who has created branded content, corporate films and ads for big brands including Tesco, Diageo, Red Bull, Uber Eats and Puma.

The Prince and Princess of Wales shared an adorable video montage to thank supporters on their tenth wedding anniversary in 2021

The pair were joined by Princess Charlotte and Prince George as they sat on hay bales around the campfire toasting marshmallows

The positivity around the wedding was in stark contrast to the tensions revealed by Prince Harry in his explosive memoir Spare, released earlier this year, that surrounded his wedding to Meghan Markle.

During an ITV interview in advance of the book's release, Harry opened up about his family's initial reaction to his relationship with Meghan Markle to interviewer and friend Tom Bradby.

Although the Duke claims the Prince and Princess of Wales were 'religious viewers' of Suits, he agreed with Tom Bradby that it was 'fair' to say that his family 'didn't get on' with his wife 'almost from the get-go'.

He explained: 'There was a lot of stereotyping that was happening, that I was guilty of as well, at the beginning.'

He said the 'stereotyping' of Meghan, in part by William and Kate, was causing a 'barrier' to his family, preventing them from 'welcoming her in.'

At first, the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the newly engaged couple were dubbed the 'Fab Four' by the British press.

However, Prince Harry said during his ITV interview that it was a challenge adding Meghan into the dynamic he already shared with William and Kate.

When asked why Meghan 'didn't get on' with his family from the 'get-go-', he explained: 'Lots of - lots of different reasons but I - look, as I again detail a lot, I had put a lot of hope in the idea that, you know, it'd be William and Kate and me and whoever.

'I thought the - you know, the four of us would, you know, bring me and William closer together, we could go out and do work together, um, which I did a lot as the third wheel to them, um, which was fun at times but also, I guess slightly awkward at times as well.

'But um yeah, I think - I don't think they were ever expecting me to get - or to become - to get into a relationship with - with someone like Meghan who had, you know, a very successful career.'

What's more, Prince Harry backed up Meghan Markle's claim that her sister-in-law made her cry ahead of their May 2018 wedding in his memoir.

In October 2018, it was reported that a conflict over Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress had left Kate in tears. One unnamed friend claimed Kate wanted to follow 'protocol', with the bridesmaids, including Charlotte, then three, wearing tights - but Meghan disagreed.

In his book Revenge, Tom Bower claimed unnamed sources told him the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex disagreed over the length of Princess Charlotte's hemline and the fit of her dress.

He also claimed Meghan's 'insistence' was 'supported' by bridesmaid Jessica Mulroney, adding: 'Some would say that Meghan compared Ivy [Mulroney's daughter] favourably against Charlotte'.

Harry opened up about his family's initial reaction to his relationship with Meghan Markle to interviewer and friend Tom Bradby

The Duchess of Sussex later disagreed in her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, claiming it was the other way around and adding: 'She [Kate] was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers'.

Asking Harry about Kate and Meghan's disagreement, Tom Bradby said: 'Your version of it in this book is it was the other way round, Meghan was the one left in tears, Kate came round the next day with flowers to apologise and you're careful to say there's a witness.'

In response, Prince Harry admitted that 'tensions were high' at the time and blasted the Palace for not issuing a statement about the story.

He continued: 'They were more than happy to put out statements for less volatile things.

My understanding is the reason they didn't want to come out and say it wasn't true would therefore lead to 'Well if it wasn't that, was it the other way round?' When in fact you didn't need to confess that it was the other way round.

Right, tensions were high.'