The guestlist is always one of the most important aspects of planning a wedding.

And despite the fact there is room for 2,000 at Westminster Abbey, royal ceremonies are no different.

So when Prince William invited four old flames to watch Kate Middleton walk down the aisle towards him 14 years ago, a few eyebrows were raised.

It might seem obvious that William, as the friendly and handsome heir to the throne, would have his fair share of female admirers before Kate stole his heart. 

But the fact that the Prince of Wales invited so many of his former partners to the grand occasion seemed to puzzle a large chunk of the public.

However, it was not just William who invited his exes to the wedding.

With her natural poise, it is no surprise that Kate turned heads before she landed her prince charming.

Indeed, on the day William and Kate got married, at least half a dozen people in the hall had one thing in common: a past fling with one of them. 

Prince William and Kate Middleton pictured on their big day on April 29, 2011. Watching the royal couple on the day at Westminster Abbey were at least six of their former flames

The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla with a youthful-looking Prince Harry sat in the front row to watch Kate and William take their vows

The soon-to-be-newlyweds pictured from above with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, as they prepared to take their wedding vows

Kate invited both of her ex-boyfriends. Rupert Finch, whom she dated at St Andrews before she started seeing William, and her Marlborough friend Willem Marx, with whom she was rumoured to have had a relationship while at sixth form there. 

As for William, he invited his four serious former partners. This included Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, whom the prince is said to have pursued during the summer of 2004, and Arabella Musgrave, who dated him the summer before he went to St Andrews.

His first girlfriend Rose Farquhar was also invited, alongside Jecca Craig, who was said to be William’s first true love and one of his closest friends.

The slew of exes were not invited so that the royal couple could awkwardly make eye contact with them as they walked down the aisle. 

In fact, the reason they were all there was fundamentally due to a more peculiar upper class British tradition.

Although it may seem alien to regular Britons, the Royal Family follows rules of etiquette established hundreds of years ago, which state that inviting exes is okay. 

The social circles of the Royal Family are small and for better or worse, exes in their society are expected to get along. Or act as if they do, anyway.

William Norwich, a special correspondent at Town and Country magazine, told The New York Times at the time: ‘I think it is one of the determining details of the upper-class species that they keep friendly with their exes, once the pain of the breakup heals. 

Kate invited both of her ex-boyfriends. Rupert Finch (left), whom she dated at St Andrews before she started seeing William, and her Marlborough friend Willem Marx (right), with whom she was rumoured to have had a relationship in the sixth form

William invited his four serious exes. This included Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe (left), whom William is said to have pursued during the summer of 2004, and Arabella Musgrave (right), who dated him the summer before he went to St Andrews

His first girlfriend Rose Farquhar was also invited, alongside Jecca Craig, who was reportedly William’s first true love and one of his closest friends.

That kiss! Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a very public display of affection on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following their wedding at Westminster Abbey

‘It is custom of the class. Sustaining hostilities is too down-market.’

Due to the fact that all of the exes run in the same general social circle as the royal family, there’s definitely more incentive to get along.

The world of the British royals is tiny, so falling out with them can mean social suicide. 

Mr Norwich added: ‘You may split up, but if you want to stay in the club, you better get along. You still want to get invited to Ascot.’

And of course, in the era of rampant social media gossip and fake news, it is considered shrewd to be very considerate to your exes to keep angry sources to a minimum. 

But the truth is that William and Kate were simply following tradition when they extended an invite to their exes.

When Prince Charles got married to Princess Diana in 1981, his ex, Camilla Parker-Bowles, was among the guests. 

And when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018, he followed the family tradition by inviting both his serious exes, the jewellery designer Chelsy Davy and model Cressida Bonas.

More poignant since the loss of Prince Philip and the Queen: the couple’s wedding photo, with both sides of their families present, taken by Hugo Burnand in the throne room at Buckingham Palace

When Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018, he followed the family tradition by inviting both his serious exes, the jewellery designer Chelsy Davy and model Cressida Bonas

Tootle pip! The happy couple pictured leaving for Clarence House in William’s royal blue vintage Aston Martin DB6 MkII festooned with balloons and a ‘JU5T WED’ number plate

However, a royal wedding is not just for the bride and groom – it is an event of national significance.

Thousands of people lined the streets of the Mall to watch William drive his bride out of Buckingham Palace in a vintage Aston Martin after the glittering ceremony. 

The ceremony, performed by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was watched by 36.7million people worldwide as Kate Middleton, then 29, wore a £250,000 gown by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton, which included a lace bodice hand-stitched by the world’s best seamstresses at the Royal School of Needlework.

The most iconic moment of the couple’s wedding day came perhaps when they shared their first kiss as a married couple on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, much to the delight of cheering onlookers outside the Palace gates and beyond.

Perhaps some of the many exes in attendance looked up at the gloriously happy couple and wondered if they could have been standing up there instead. 

Moments earlier, stepping onto the balcony, Kate had appeared to gasp ‘Oh my’ as she caught sight of the thousands of people who’d streamed into the public spaces around Buckingham Palace to share in the joy of the newlyweds. 

Just hours before, she’d heard the same crowds drum up the loud chant ‘We want Kate, we want Kate’ in the moments before the bride had arrived at Westminster Abbey.

There was pomp and ceremony aplenty on that extraordinary day… but some of the more unexpected moments became some of the most memorable. 

Hard to believe: Crowds gathered all day long on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace on the couple’s wedding day, waving union jacks and cheering as the newlyweds appeared on the balcony

Love train: Kate Middleton arriving at Westminster Abbey with her father Michael and sister Pippa, offering the crowd a first glimpse of her beautiful designer gown, which included a bodice hand-stitched by the world’s best seamstresses at the Royal School of Needlework

The page boys and flower girls seen arriving at the wedding in 2011. Pictured: Tom Pettifer laughs as he arrives with Master William Lowther-Pinkerton, Lady Louise Windsor and Margarita Armstrong-Jones

Pippa Middleton gently holds the hands of Kate’s flower girls – including characterful Grace Van Cutsem, left, as they arrive at Westminster Abbey

The sight of the Duke of Cambridge’s then three-year-old goddaughter Grace Van Cutsem clapping her hands over her ears to escape the noise of the cheering and whooping outside Buckingham Palace saw her win column inches galore in global newspapers.

Six children were lucky enough to be picked to be bridesmaids and pageboys, and they were largely the epitome of good behaviour – until the big kiss on the balcony, at least.

Grace – who is the daughter of the couple’s friend Hugh van Cutsem – is now 17 and has remained out of the public eye since stealing the limelight 14 years ago.

Other highlights included sister-of-the-bride Pippa Middleton’s show-stealing entrance to Westminster Abbey, which later saw the now mother-of-two quickly dubbed ‘Her Royal Hotness’.

Kate’s sibling did have quite a task on her hands though, as the bridal train measured two metres.

The sight of Prince William driving his new bride from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House in an open-top vintage blue Aston Martin DB6 MkII, decorated with love heart balloons and a ‘just wed’ number plate, was another moment fondly etched in history.

The car, which has been updated to run on eco-friendly fuel, was lent to William by Prince Charles, who was gifted the now 55-year-old Aston Martin at his 21st birthday party. 

Earlier in the day, the couple had arrived at Buckingham Palace from Westminster Abbey in a 1902 state Landau that was used by Charles and Diana on their wedding day 34 years ago. 

Happier times: Prince Harry waves alongside Lady Louise Windsor and Pageboy Tom Pettifer as they arrive at Westminster Abbey

Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex’s daughter Lady Louise Windsor was just seven when she made up part of Kate’s troupe which accompanied her down the aisle. Pictured, arriving at Westminster Abbey

Bridesmaid Margarita Armstrong-Jones and page boy Tom Pettifer wave as they arrive to attend the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011

Then there was the couple’s cake, eight tiers of temptation that featured 900 individually iced flowers and was made by Fiona Cairns.

The stunning creation had 17 different flower designs, all with their own individual meaning, including a daffodil representing Wales and new beginnings.

The cake was actually made from 17 individual fruit cakes – 12 of which formed the base.

A garland design around the middle matched the decorations in the Picture Gallery in Buckingham Palace.

Guests were also able to enjoy a multi-tiered chocolate biscuit cake at the request of Prince William.

The newlyweds commissioned McVities to craft the creation as an alternative to the official wedding cake. It was decorated with white chocolate water lilies and milk chocolate leaves.

At the time, Westminster City Council said the royal wedding was the capital’s largest ever event. Paul Reid, head of operations, said he estimated nearly a million people were on the streets of London.

Despite the huge crowds, police made just 52 arrests among the crowd in a day of unique goodwill.

Over to you William! Michael Middleton pictured giving his daughter away at Westminster Abbey…as she went from Catherine Middleton to future Queen Consort of 17 nations

Eight tiers of temptation: Royal baker Fiona Cairns decorated the royal wedding cake with  individual 

Eliza – the granddaughter of Prince William’s stepmother Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall – was just three when she took on the role of flower girl in front of the nation at the royal wedding

The goodwill even extended to the pack of exes, as they remained on their best behaviour. 

Nevertheless, the planners of the wedding took no chances. In 2021 it was revealed preparations had been made so that a lawyer was ready at Westminster Abbey in case someone spoke up to object to them being married.

The then Dean of Westminster, Dr John Hall, was the one during the service who had to utter the words: ‘If any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace.’ 

Luckily for him, and for William and Kate, the lawyer was never needed. The slew of old flames stuck to their upper class tendency to get on with things without making a fuss.