Royal Newlyweds Celebrate With Reception at Buckingham Palace

The newly-weds travelled from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace together

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge  celebrated their marriage with dinner and dancing at Buckingham Palace, along with about 300 friends and family.  The bride wore a white evening gown by Sarah Burton, who created her wedding dress, to the event. The couple stayed at the palace after the reception, which lasted into the early hours.

It is thought they may depart for their honeymoon later, though details of their plans have not been made public. The reception, hosted by the Prince of Wales, is believed to have featured Prince Harry's best man speech and Michael Middleton's father of the bride address.

A St James's Palace spokesman said the new duchess had donned a white angora bolero cardigan over her white satin gazar dress, which featured a circle skirt and diamante embroidered detail round the waist.
Her sister Pippa changed for the evening reception into a long emerald green sleeveless dress with a jewelled embellishment on the front and a plunging neckline.The festivities continued until early in the morning Their mother, Mrs Middleton, wore a black capped sleeve dress, cut low at the front and back, with a tiered skirt. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh did not attend, having left for a private weekend away.

Clarence House spokesperson Paddy Harverson told the BBC he believed the duke and duchess could return to a relatively private life in Anglesey, despite the wedding spectacle. Mr Harverson said: "I think it is because it'll be about striking the balance between their public lives and private. "But the most important thing to remember is that he's not heir to the throne, he's second in line, and he's not a full-time royal, he's a full-time pilot working a normal job for the RAF search and rescue. And so he will be doing that most of the time and she, as his wife, will be with him, so in that sense their natural home, their natural place will be up in Wales. And I think people will understand that."

After a very public wedding, the honeymoon will be very private. Whenever it is and wherever it is, Prince William will expect the media to respect his wishes. He will want to spend time, alone with his new wife, the new duchess. Mindful of his mother's experiences at the hands of the paparazzi, William believes he has the law on his side as he strives to maintain a royal right to privacy. The couple's first holiday together as man and wife has the potential to test that.
The desire to witness the Windsors on vacation is not a new phenomenon. Back in 1947, after her wedding, the Queen attended a service at a church in Hampshire. People climbed over tombstones and carried chairs, ladders and even a sideboard so they could peer in through the windows for a glimpse of the then princess praying.

The State Rooms, including the grand ballroom, were used for the reception.The ballroom, measuring over 36 metres in length and 18 metres in width, is the largest of the 775 rooms in the palace. It was added in the 1850s at the request of Queen Victoria and opened in 1856 with a ball to celebrate the end of the Crimean War - a war in which the previous holder of Prince William's new title, the 2nd Duke of Cambridge, served.

On Friday, pubs were allowed to remain open for an additional two hours beyond the conventional closing time; they will be granted the same flexibility on Saturday. Millions of people across the UK marked the royal wedding with street parties, picnics and other festivities. But one party in Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park resulted in 21 arrests as police attempted to disperse thousands of revellers.The organisers described themselves as "royalist/party mad".One police officer was injured and several police vans had their windows smashed in clashes due to "completely unacceptable" levels of drunkenness.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for President Obama said that the White House wished the newly-weds "a lifetime of happiness together". "The United States has no closer friend in the world than the United Kingdom," he added. "On this occasion, the American people extend heartfelt congratulations to the peoples of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and share in their hopes for a bright future for the royal couple.