Prince Harry organised the weekend featuring surfing and shooting
Prince William at an event in Cornwall(Image: Getty Images)
The Prince of Wales truly enjoyed himself before tying the knot.
Following their engagement announcement in November 2010, William and his future wife, Princess Kate, devoted themselves to organising their fairytale royal wedding. Within four months, they had arranged most of the day’s details, and with just four weeks remaining, they stepped back to allow their team of aides finalise everything.
This gave the couple time to savour the lead-up to their special day. Naturally, it also provided an opportunity to celebrate their stag and hen parties.
In his new biography, William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, the Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers explores the lives of the future king and queen away from the public eye. The book reveals some unexpected details about their private celebrations before the royal wedding on April 29, 2011.
Prince Harry took charge of organising his brother’s stag do, and he threw himself into the task. The weekend-long celebration took place at Hartland Abbey, the north Devon residence of his friend George Stucley, and according to Myers, 20 of William’s closest friends attended, including Eton school friend James Meade, Thomas van Straubenzee, the Prince’s friend from Ludgrove Prep School, and Hugh van Cutsem, one of King Charles’ godsons, reports the Mirror.
William’s friends James Meade, Thomas van Straubenzee and Hugh van Cutsem (left to right)
The group “spent the weekend learning to surf near the secluded cove, Speke’s Mill, whilst Harry later organised shooting on the estate and a range of drinking games.”
There was even a costume for the stag: “William was even forced to dress up in a wig and apron with fake chest hair,” the author reveals.
Kate, meanwhile, enlisted her sister Pippa to plan her hen do. Pippa hosted a gathering at her Chelsea flat, welcoming a select group of Kate’s former school friends for “cocktails and karaoke”.
Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement in November 2010(Image: PA)
One particularly surprising detail of the celebration was later disclosed in Cheryl Cole’s memoir, Cheryl: My Story. The Girls Aloud star recalled encountering the royal couple at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, saying: “William looked at Kate and they both started laughing before Kate confessed that she dressed up as me on her hen night, in a body suit and split trousers and sang Fight for This Love. She even learnt the dance routine and was considered step-perfect by all.”
Elsewhere in his book, Myers discloses the piece of guidance the late Queen offered Kate ahead of her wedding. In December 2010, one month after the couple’s engagement announcement, the monarch invited Kate to Buckingham Palace to discuss plans for the forthcoming nuptials.
“Her Majesty had requested to be kept up to date with the preparations of the wedding committee. But, as they chatted over a light buffet of tea and finger sandwiches, she chose not to ask questions about the finer details, and instead looked to comfort the young woman she hoped would successfully shape the monarchy for the next generation,” Myers writes.
“According to one former courtier, the Queen offered words of encouragement to Catherine regarding her future role as a senior member of the family, as well as guidance in how to deal with ‘headstrong’ husbands.”
The late Queen gave advice to Kate before her wedding(Image: Getty Images)
The Queen also counselled Kate not to become overly preoccupied with the intricacies of the guest list, noting that there would be numerous attendees she wouldn’t recognise and many she would never encounter again.
In a particularly heartfelt moment, the monarch then graciously extended to the bride-to-be the opportunity to consult with royal jewellers about borrowing a piece from her personal, invaluable jewellery collection. “It was a lovely gesture and typical of the Queen to think of how Catherine would be feeling.”