Prince William Reportedly Complained to Queen Elizabeth About This Important Part of His Wedding to Kate Middleton—And Actually Got His Way

Your wedding is an opportunity to celebrate the love and commitment between you and your partner. And while your big day is unique to your partnership, there are a few experiences that almost every couple goes through in the planning process—from picking out the perfect outfit to figuring out how to manage your guest list. The British royals are no exception to these pre-nuptial stressors. In the BBC documentary, Royal Wedding: A Day to Remember, Roya Nikkah, a royal expert, said Prince William wasn’t happy with the proposed guest list for his and Kate Middleton’s nuptials, according to the Daily Mirror. 

“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,’” Nikkah said in the documentary. “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.” William wasn’t the only one having discussions with the Queen before his nuptials. Kate also reportedly presented her one requirement to the Queen and King Charles III before tying the knot: assurances that she would be allowed to prioritize her family above her royal responsibilities. 

Ultimately, the couple invited their preferred guests to the occasion, including friends from university and William’s time in the Royal Air Force. Some celebrities also received invites to the nuptials, including David and Victoria Beckham, Elton John, Guy Ritchie, and Joss Stone. Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton, served as her maid of honor for the celebration, while Prince Harry stepped into the role of William’s best man. Other members of the royal family, including William’s goddaughter, Grace van Cutesem, were the princess’ bridesmaids. 

Nikkah added that William also broke with tradition on the day of his wedding, arriving early to mingle and chat with friends and family before the nuptials began, the Daily Mirror reports. “You could see how nervous William was, which I thought was very endearing,” the royal expert said. “Harry playing that wonderful role of jokey side-kick but also very loving brother and trying to keep him calm and distract him.” 

These nontraditional elements weren’t the only ones the couple integrated into their celebration on April 29, 2011. According to royal biographer Robert Jobson, the newlyweds surprised their guests with a performance at their post-nuptial reception. “They stood holding hands in the middle of the dance floor, grinning,” Jobson writes in his new book, Catherine, The Princess of Wales: The Biography. “Then, suddenly, the opening bars of the song, ‘You’re the One That I Want,’ from the musical Grease came booming out. William and Catherine then began dancing around, pointing at each other, and mouthing the words with the style of the lead characters Danny and Sandy. It brought the house down.” And that wasn’t even the last surprise of the day: Following the unexpected rendition of the iconic musical moment, the bride and groom joined guests on the lawn for fireworks.