A million people lined the procession route from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, many crying with joy. Cheers went up as the couple exchanged the traditional kiss on the balcony, followed by chants of, “One more kiss!’’ The couple waved and smiled and, to a frenzy of delight, obliged.
An estimated 2 billion people tuned into the live broadcast in what may have been the most-viewed event in history.
The security operation was the largest since Charles and Diana’s 1981 wedding, and the day went off without a hitch. Police dispersed scattered protests from antimonarchists and anarchists and arrested 55 people for offenses including drunkenness, breach of peace, and theft, but the mood was overwhelmingly celebratory.
“Everybody’s happy, everybody’s united,’’ said Sabry Darwish, 61, who was in the crowd watching the parade route. “Everybody is behind the bride and groom.’’
Many praised the couple’s rare combination of humility, humor, and grace. Catherine was a commoner from a wealthy but middle-class family who actually worked for a living after university; William has long had his mother’s touch in connecting to the public, and surprised fans who slept on the pavement overnight by personally thanking them Thursday for braving the cold.
The 28-year-old prince even displayed a quality almost never seen among royalty: humor. Surveying the 1,900 guests filling the abbey in their wedding finery, he turned to his father-in-law, Michael Middleton, and quipped: “We’re supposed to have just a small family affair.’’
After a reception at Buckingham Palace, he took his new wife for a spin, driving a dark-blue Aston Martin Volante festooned with ribbons, bows and balloons — and a license plate that read “JU5T WED.’’
It was the kind of display that made some wonder whether the couple just might bring the British monarchy back from the abyss.
