‘Unhappy’ Prince William complained to Queen about guest list for wedding to Kate

Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton was a global celebration, watched by millions of people around the world. Given William’s position as the future King, there was great excitement surrounding the grand nuptials – but at its heart were two people very much in love.

Despite the huge royal significance of their special day, the couple were determined to add their own personal touches. And there was one aspect of the formalities that William wasn’t at all happy with – so much so, he went to his grandmother the Queen to complain. Speaking on BBC’s documentary Royal Wedding: A Day to Remember, royal expert Roya Nikkhah said that William was baffled when he was handed a suggested guestlist and realised he and Kate didn’t really recognise any of the names.

She explains: “When the guest list was drawn up [William] was very bemused and had a conversation with the Queen to say ‘I don’t know any of these people’. He wasn’t very happy about it. The Queen just said to him, rip that list up and start where you want to start from and invite who you want – and that’s what they did.”

Indeed, William and Kate instead filled Westminster Abbey with their friends, family, old colleagues, school pals and people who had supported them over the years. That included John Haley, the landlord of The Old Boot Inn in Kate’s hometown, and the Middleton family’s local pub. Speaking on the programme, John said: “It was great that Kate and William were allowed to invite all their own friends. Friends from the village, from uni, friends that she grew up with. She invited me, I’ve known her 15 years or so. It was fabulous.”

Celebrity guests included Sir Elton John, David and Victoria Beckham, Rowan Atkinson and Joss Stone. Kate and William also invited 80 representatives from charities close to the couple’s hearts, including the CEO of homeless charity Centrepoint, Seyi Obakin. Recalling the day, he said: “I was excited, who wouldn’t be? The second in line to the throne is getting married, this is a future king. I was over the moon.”

Given that so many of his friends and family were in the Abbey, William broke with tradition and arrived for the ceremony early so he could mingle and chat to everyone before it started. Roya added: “You could see how nervous William was, which I thought was very endearing. Harry playing that wonderful role of jokey side-kick but also very loving brother and trying to keep him calm and distract him.”

While William and Kate got their way with the guestlist, there was one request that the Queen overruled. The groom had wanted to wear his Household Cavalry military uniform for his big day, but his grandmother had other ideas. “The military is everything to William and to Harry. The Queen said no, you’re wearing your Irish Guards. You are the new Colonel of the Irish Guards. That’s the one thing he didn’t get his way on, and he deferred to granny.”