Flawless, Unforgettable and Emotionally Charged

Chiswick's Ian Wylie witnesses the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton

It was magical, flawless and unforgettable. An intimate wedding of two young people in love with just 1,900 guests and the world looking on writes Ian Wylie for the Manchester Evening News.

I was one of 28 reporters from all over the globe invited into the Abbey to witness the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Sitting in the South Transept, near Poet's Corner, behind the Queen and other members of the royal family, we were positioned a short distance away from the bride and groom.

Watched over by a member of Her Majesty's Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. Or a man with a sharp battleaxe and keys to an extended stay in the Tower of London to you and me.

This was the first Twitter, Facebook and YouTube royal wedding, televised in high definition to billions. But to be among the Abbey congregation was to taste the emotional charge in the air that only such an extraordinary British occasion can produce......

Ian's full account of the ceremony can be read on the Manchester Evening News' website here.

April 30, 2011