Holding their hats, guests arrive for UK royal wedding

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Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Princess Eugenie married wine merchant Jack Brooksbank at Windsor Castle on Friday in front of celebrities and Britain's senior royals including Prince Harry and wife Meghan who wed at the same venue in May.

Eugenie, 28, younger daughter of the queen's third child, Prince Andrew, and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, tied the knot with Brooksbank, 32, in a traditional ceremony in the castle's 15th century St. George's Chapel.

Britain's Princess Eugenie of York (R) and her husband Jack Brooksbank (L) kiss as they emerge from the West Door of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, after their wedding ceremony in Windsor, UK, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Among the guests – many of them holding onto their hats in a strong wind – were actress Liv Tyler, model Naomi Campbell, and singers James Blunt and Ellie Goulding.

The daughter of singer Robbie Williams was a bridesmaid, along with Princess Charlotte, 3, daughter of Harry's elder brother Prince William and his wife Kate. Charlotte's brother Prince George, 5, was a page boy.

Pixie Geldof and George Barnett arrive at the grounds of Windsor Castle during the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Pregnant Pippa Middleton arrives ahead of the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine Middleton arrive ahead of the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Holding their hats, guests arrive at the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Heather Kerzner (R) during the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Karoline Copping (L) and Jimmy Carr (C) arrive during the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Singing and cheering well-wishers gathered near the castle where Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle in May. Eugenie, ninth-in-line to the throne, copied much of her cousin's blueprint for her big day.

“I'm a true royalist. I was here for the queen's 90th birthday. I was here for Harry and Meghan's wedding, I wouldn't miss it, I love the atmosphere,” said David Weeks, 77, bedecked in a Union Jack suit and bowler hat.

A royal well-wisher is seen in the doorway of a souvenir shop opposite Windsor Castle in Windsor, ahead of the wedding of Britain's Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Charity guests and 1,200 members of the public were admitted to the grounds for the occasion.

“This is meant to be a family wedding,” Eugenie's father, Prince Andrew, told ITV's “This Morning.”

“There will be a few more people than most people have, there are a few more than Harry had, but that's just the nature of Eugenie and Jack – they've got so many friends that they need a church of that size to fit them all in.”

Guests take their seats as they arrive to attend the wedding of Britain's Princess Eugenie of York to Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

One noticeable absentee was Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, the wife of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, as she was carrying out an engagement in Scotland.

While Harry's wedding featured a fiery sermon from a US Episcopalian bishop and a gospel choir, Eugenie's was more traditional, with a performance by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and the address given by Dean of Windsor David Conner.

Eugenie's elder sister, Princess Beatrice, the maid of honor, delivered a reading, an extract from the novel “The Great Gatsby.”

A general view shows flowers for the wedding of Britain's Princess Eugenie of York to Jack Brooksbank around an entrance to St .George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

After the service, the couple embarked on an open-top carriage tour of Windsor, followed by a reception at the castle hosted by the queen.

Eugenie, a director at London's Hauser and Wirth art gallery, and Brooksbank, European brand manager for Casamigos Tequila, which was co-founded by actor George Clooney, met in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier in 2010.

Armed police patrol on the High Street outside Windsor Castle in Windsor, ahead of the wedding of Britain's Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Security around Windsor was tight, with the public having to pass through airport-style security checks to get near the castle and large numbers of police on patrol.

As Eugenie does not carry out official royal duties, republicans have said it is wrong that the estimated 2-million-pound (2.6-million-US-dollar) security bill will be paid by taxpayers.

Writing in the Times newspaper, commentator Matthew Bell said the grandeur of the wedding showed Prince Andrew's desire to cement his family's royal status.

Princess Eugenie is driven toward St. George's Chapel with her father Prince Andrew, Duke of York, for her wedding to Jack Brooksbank at Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

“When it is all over, Eugenie will continue to live with an identity experienced by a tiny minority: as a fully fledged princess, gawped at, envied and scrutinized by all,” Bell wrote.

“Yet as the years roll by, and her royal status diminishes, as a peripheral figure of almost no consequence at all.”

(Cover: Guests arrive for the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters