The Royal Wedding Service

The Royal Wedding service was a grand affair attended by state guests, royalty and rock royalty. Visit Westminster Abbey to see where the service conducted by the Dean of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury took place. Kate may have omitted to say the word 'obey' but she did promise to 'love, comfort, honour and keep' and the happy couple even wrote their own prayer.

Westminster Abbey

Dean's Yard, SW1P 3PA
When Catherine and William chose Westminster Abbey as the venue for their wedding they followed in the footsteps of Queen Victoria's grand-daughter Princess Patricia of Connaught, who married the Honourable Alexander Ramsay in 1919. Theirs was the first Royal wedding at the Abbey for 650 years and marked the start of a trend for royal marriages at Westminster. For their service Kate and William chose traditional hymns including 'Guide me, O thou great Redeemer' (one of a number of references to William's mother - it was the last hymn sung at Diana's funeral) and 'Jerusalem'. The newlyweds departed from the Abbey to the sounds of the well-known orchestral march Crown Imperial by William Walton, which was also played at Charles and Diana's wedding. During the service conducted by the Dean of Westminster Abbey and the Archbishop of Canterbury Kate did not promise to 'obey' her new husband in her vows but instead to 'love, comfort, honour and keep' him. The Bishop of London gave the sermon while Kate's brother James Middleton read the only reading, 'The Lesson' (Romans 12: 1-2, 9-18) from the Bible. If you are visiting Westminster Abbey to see the places significant to the Royal Wedding be sure to locate the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor to the east of the Sanctuary at the heart of the abbey, this is where Kate and William had a private moment away from the television cameras to sign the wedding register.

More info: Westminster Abbey Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

The Wedding Music

For the service, a fanfare by The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry marked the arrival of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and the beginning of the proceedings at Westminster Abbey. The trumpeters were one of several groups tasked with providing the music for the Royal Wedding ceremony. The London Chamber Orchestra (LCO), the UK's oldest professional chamber orchestra was also blasting out the music which had a largely British theme, performing alongside two choirs (The Choir of Westminster Abbey, and The Chapel Royal Choir) and The Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force. With its Music Director Christopher Warren-Green conducting, the LCO played a selection of organ pieces followed by seven orchestral pieces. You can download the soundtrack of the ceremony which was recorded and released digitally for the first time ever, by Decca Records, one of Britain's historic record labels. But even better than that, you can listen to the London Chamber Orchestra live when they play at St John's Smith Square or at Cadogan Hall, two London venues where the orchestra regularly appears. Following the service, at the reception at Buckingham Palace guests enjoyed their canapés and champagne to the strains of harpist Claire Jones. Later, for the evening's entertainment the music went up tempo with Ellie Goulding singing her hit song 'Starry-Eyed' as the royal couple's first dance as well as a cover of Elton John's 'Your Song'... "it's a little bit funny, this feeling inside".

Current events at Cadogan Hall

Rob McGibbon In Conversation With John Humphrys: Talk event Thursday 31st May
TIMES Thursday 31st May 2012 - 7.30pm PRICING £20
Journalist McGibbon and presenter Humphrys discuss Humphrys' career, followed by a question and answer session.... More about this event

Academy Of St Martin In The Fields event Thursday 7th June
TIMES Thursday 7th June 2012 - 7.30pm PRICING £10-£36
Violinist Anthony Marwood directs Beethoven's String Quartet No 11 In F Minor, Mackey's Four Iconoclastic Episodes For violin, Electric guitar And S... More about this event

Hamed Nikpay event Saturday 9th June
TIMES Saturday 9th June 2012 - 7.30pm PRICING £20-£50
World music from the San Francisco-based vocalist and multi-instrumentalist.... More about this event

Royal College Of Music/String Sextet event Tuesday 12th June
TIMES Tuesday 12th June 2012 - 7.30pm PRICING £10, NUS £5
The ensemble performs Messiaen's Le Merle Noir, Alexandre Tansman's Sonatine, Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No 6, Britten's Cello Suite No 1... More about this event

London Chamber Orchestra event Wednesday 13th June
TIMES Wednesday 13th June 2012 - 7.30pm PRICING £10-£25, under 16s Free
Christopher Warren-Green conducts Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending, Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante For Winds and Dvorak's Symphony No 8. With v... More about this event

All events at Cadogan Hall

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

Household Cavalry Museum, Horse Guards, Whitehall, SW1A 2AX
Around 186 horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment paraded through the streets of London on the day of the Royal Wedding, escorting the newly married couple from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. You may not be able to see them in quite the same way but once a day, you can see them in action at the Changing of the Queen's Life Guard which takes place on Horse Guards Parade at 11am, in addition to the daily inspection at 4pm. You can also visit them at the Household Cavalry Museum where visitors can see the troopers in action, working with their horses in the original 18th century stables (which can be viewed via a glazed screen). At different times of the day there's always something to see, whether it's the horses being fed and watered or having their hooves oiled and checked. Within the museum children can make believe they're part of the cavalry with the dressing up area where they can try on helmets, combat jackets and other military uniforms. There are also children's trails and a fun touch-screen horse quiz. The museum has an outstanding collection of treasures from ceremonial uniforms, Royal Standards and gallantry awards to musical instruments, horse furniture and jewelled boxes by Faberge. These have been amassed over the centuries and each exhibit has its own compelling story to tell, brought to life using a mix of graphics, audio visual and interactive displays.

More info: Household Cavalry Museum Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube