Here’s how Prince William and Kate Middleton broke protocol on their royal wedding night

And we had no idea...

And we had no idea...

The past couple of years have seen a lot of royal weddings, with the most notable millennial couples including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, and Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

It is Prince William and Kate Middleton however who truly ripped up the royal rulebook for their wedding, breaking with tradition multiple times during their 2011 ceremony.

There was the fact that Pippa Middleton and Prince Harry were elected Maid of Honour and Best Man - two roles that are not supposed to exist in royal weddings, not to mention the double kiss that the newlyweds performed for the crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony.

However, it recently emerged that there was another tradition broken back on 29th April 2011 - and it’s all to do with where the couple spent their royal wedding night.

According to The Express, royal couples traditionally leave for their honeymoon immediately, taking off on the day of the wedding, but after a long day of festivities, Kate and Wills decided to have a quiet first night as man and wife.

Instead of taking off for their honeymoon, the couple spent their wedding night at Buckingham Palace, breaking tradition of the royals before them.

In fact, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge didn’t actually jet off on their honeymoon to a private island in the Seychelles for ten days after the ceremony.

Well, that's lovely.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.