The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, second in the line of succession to Queen Elizabeth II, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, whilst both were studying at the University of St Andrews. Their engagement on 20 October 2010 was announced on 16 November 2010.
The build-up to the wedding and the occasion itself attracted much media attention, with the service being broadcast live around the world, and being compared and contrasted in many ways with the 1981 marriage of William's parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. It was estimated that the wedding would be watched by a global television audience of two billion people.
Much of the attention focused on Middleton's status as a commoner (i.e., not of royal blood or a part of the aristocracy) marrying into royalty. Hours before the service, the Queen conferred the titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus upon William. Upon her marriage, Middleton therefore became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, but is not styled as 'Princess Catherine'.
The build-up to the wedding and the occasion itself attracted much media attention, with the service being broadcast live around the world, and being compared and contrasted in many ways with the 1981 marriage of William's parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. It was estimated that the wedding would be watched by a global television audience of two billion people.
Much of the attention focused on Middleton's status as a commoner (i.e., not of royal blood or a part of the aristocracy) marrying into royalty. Hours before the service, the Queen conferred the titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus upon William. Upon her marriage, Middleton therefore became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, but is not styled as 'Princess Catherine'.
