Prince Harry Reveals Surprising Details About Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Royal Wedding
The revelations from Prince Harry's memoir, Spare, just keep coming, from
details of what life is really like in the royal family to Princess Diana's favorite perfume. One small chapter is even devoted to Prince William's 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton. When Prince Harry isn't writing about how his penis was frostbitten for the occasion, he shares his impressions of William on the eve of his nuptials, and the day itself.
Spare
Spare
Now 38% OffOne surprising thing readers learn: Prince Harry was not Prince William's best man.
William's friends, James and Thomas, were the best men. The James and Thomas he refers to are James Meade and Thomas van Straubenzee.
"The public had been told that I was to be best man, but that was a bare-faced lie. The public expected me to be best man, and thus the Palace saw no choice but to say that I was.
In truth, Willy didn't want me giving a best-man speech. He didn't think it safe to hand me a live mic and put me in a position to go off script. I might say something wildly inappropriate.
He wasn't wrong," Harry writes.
James Meade (right) with William and Kate in 2016.
Chris Jackson//Getty Images
Prince William and Thomas van Straubenzee in 2014.
Max Mumby/Indigo//Getty ImagesHe adds, "Also, the lie gave cover to James and Thomas, two civilians, two innocents. Had they been outed as Willy's best men, the rabid press would've chased them, tracked them, hacked them, investigated them, ruined their families' lives. Both chaps were shy, quiet.
They couldn't handle such an onslaught, and shouldn't be expected to. Willy explained all this to me and I didn't blink. I understood.
We even had a laugh about it, speculating about the inappropriate things I might've said in my speech."
He did, however, give brief remarks to intro the best men, and talked about their childhood and read notes from letters sent by the public.
Prince Harry walking into Westminster Abbey with Prince William
Chris Jackson//Getty ImagesPrince Harry also writes about how William didn't want to wear the uniform he did. William apparently wanted to wear his Household Cavalry uniform, which Queen Elizabeth rejected, and had him wear the red uniform of the Irish Guards.
Harry writes, "I assured [William] that he looked bloody smart in the Harp of Ireland, with the Crown Imperial and the forage cap with the regimental motto: Quis Separabit? Who shall separate us? It didn't seem to make an impression.
I, on the other hand, did not look smart, nor did I feel comfortable, in my Blues and Royals uniform, which protocol dictated that I wear. I'd never worn it before and hoped not to wear it again anytime soon."
The morning of the wedding, Harry recounts, William's "face was gaunt, his eyes red." He reeked, Harry shares. Inside Westminster, as they waited for Kate, William started pacing.
But Harry doesn't write much of the ceremony.
"I recall Kate walking down the aisle, looking incredible, and I recall Willy walking her back up the aisle, and as they disappeared through the door, into the carriage that would convey them to Buckingham Palace, into the eternal partnership they'd pledged, I recall thinking: Goodbye."
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Emily Burack (she/her) is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects.
Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site.