>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. mcarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from

small businesses, to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> sealed with a kiss. prince william and his bride kate middleton celebrate an extraordinary day after the spectacle of their royal wedding. the world watches as the second in line to the british throne marries his sweetheart at westminster abbey. >> i william arthur philip louie wee take catherine elizabeth. >> take thee william arthur philip louis. >> as my weded husband. >> as my weded husband. >> the royal couple are now the key figures driving an and gent monarchy into the 21st century. a million well wishers on the streets of central london. many more attend street parties across the u.k.

>> look at william looking at her. >> it's magical. it's absolutely magical. >> the party continues into the night at buckingham palace, as william and catherine begin married life together. >> welcome to "bbc news." wedding celebrations are continuing at buckingham palace tonight after a day of which a royal romance that began nearly a decade ago culminated in the marriage of prince william and catherine middleton at westminster abbeach. police estimate that one million people were on the streets of london for the event and we have the full story of the ceremony,

the crowds, and that dress. our royal correspondent reports on a truly memorable day. >> no one talks about fairytales at a royal wedding anymore. that among many things has changed his william's mother stepped on to this balcony on her wedding day. but this was a day when a young couple displayed their obvious love and a young woman was taken to many people's hearts. she'd emerged carefully from the hotel where she had been staying, giving the world its first glimpse of that oh so secret dress. a gown of lace and silk with a tiara lent by the queen. at westminster abbeerk her husband to be was waiting. he had sprung his own surprise, dressed not in the uniform of

the r.e.f. in which he serves, but as a colonel of the irish guards. the bride showed barely a flicker of nerves when she arrived at the abbey. she stood inside the great west door, her dress was adjusted, she took a deep breath, and then it began. ♪ >> she walked the hundred yards of red carpet on the arm of her father. perhaps he couldn't entirely hide the emotions of a father giving away his daughter in marriage. the bride, though, was nothing but composure itself. at the alter, harry, brother and best man, was offering reassurance.

william offered compliments. you look beautiful, he said, as kate took her place beside him. >> dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of god and in the face of this congregation to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. >> the marriage ceremony was performed by the archbishop of cant bury. >> i, william arthur philip louis take thee catherine elizabeth to my weded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse. >> i catherine elizabeth take thee william arthur philip louis

to my weded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. according to god's holy law and thereto i give thee my troth. >> there was one moment of anxiety. the ring appeared to be too small. william persevered and on it went. a moment later, the couple knelt by the high altar and the archbishop pronounced them married. >> a pronounce that they be man and wife together in the name of the father, the son, and the

holy ghost. >> within the abbey the cheer of the crowds outside could clearly be heard. catherine middleton smiled briefly. but, of course, from that momed, she was no longer catherine middleton. the queen had opted for tradition and made william the duke of cambridge. and so she joins the royal family as her royal highness the duchess of cambridge. the marriage register signs, prince william and his wife the duchess of cambridge went forward to pay their respects to the queen before making their way from the abbey to the coronation anthem crowning. and with the formalities over, it was a chance for some of the other principal players, best man and maid of honor, father of the groom and mother of the bride, to exchange views on how

it had all gone. that's certainly something all the guests will have been discussing as they took their tales of the wedding home with them. for william and catherine, it was time to face the wider world. it was a slight pause and a deep breath and they were out to face the waiting crowds for the ceremonial crargee ride back to buckingham palace. hundreds of thousands of people had been waiting for this. many of them had camped out overnight. mercifully the weather had stayed dry. finally here was what they had come to see, william and katherine together. >> the queen's verdict, it was amazing, she said, as she returned to the palace.

the crowds were allowed to fill in preparation for what they knew had to come. wow, said this royal duchess, as she steps for the first time on the palace balcony and looked out. but this is a recruit who knows the ropes. they kissed once. she seemed game for a replay. he a little less certain. but after encouragement from below, it happened again. inside the abbey earlier and now at the palace, you would have to be very cynical not to be struck by that sense of hope, both for the couple and for the institution which for all its ups and downs remains at the core of british life. in the skies above, there was a fly-past, led by the aircraft of the battle of britain memorial flight.

then after a lunchtime reception, the couple reappeared, not quite ordinary newlyweds. the car was prince charles' aston martin and the journey was just a short skip to clarence house. and there was also a search and rescue helicopter overhead. tonight they are back at the palace for dinner, some serious celebrating, and prince harry's best man's speech. for the couple then, a day of happiness. for the monarchy, sure foundations for the future. >> many flocked into central london for the festivities and in fact camped out for the night, all crying to grab the best spots they could. our special correspondent spent the day with the crowds. >> the cheers and flags are still in place. the end of a party that involved half a million people.

the hearty overnighters packed away their tents and waited for the people to arrive. five deep quickly became 15 deep. per scopes, peering, and patience. >> on row seven. >> with every marching band and soldier in place, the excitement shifted a notch. and soon, all that waiting was over and the wedding presession had begun, as the family and guests departed, the cheers grew louder, the biggest for the bride-to-be. >> very special occasion. >> the ceremony was played live

to the malibu, hundreds of thousands sang along with the hymns and waited for the big moment. >> i pronounce this lady man and wife together in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. >> what people wanted now was the newlyweds. and within an hour, a wave of rolling rolled down the mal. an experience as this, it's so much to see. when the presession passed, the mal was handed over to the crowd. there are hundreds of thousands of people marching, and all they want is a prime position in front of buckingham palace. the moment the royal wedding dream demanded, a balcony kiss.

>> it was exhilarating. >> the vast crowd got what it wanted, the spectacle, the fairytale, and a moment of history. richard bilson, "bbc news." >> in the united states, president obama sent his best wishes for the royal couple. however, it's not clear if he was up at the crack of dawn to tune in to watch the ceremony. many new yorkers certainly were, as laura found out when she went along to a party in brooklyn. >> gren itch village in manhattan watched the royal wedding. the new world adopting the tradition of the old for a day, especially fancy headgear. >> we love wedding. this is special.

>> i think just the romance of the monarchy. the longevity. what they stand for i think is amazing. >> with the bunting and the union jacks, this could be a street party in britain, but we're 3 1/2 towns away in the heart of new york city where they're having a celebration of the royal wedding. a real life pearly king and queen, symbols of london serenading new york party goers. what lies behind america's fascination with this royal couple? >> they seem very much in touch with the way things are if society. i don't think that they're going to be the kind of couple that's going to be out of touch and waited on hand and foot all the time. they just seem very down to earth. >> the organizer isn't remotely surprised by the number of americans turning out.

>> i think the tragedy of princess diana, i think everybody would really like to see a fairytale for real this time. >> that's the hope. in a country which once rebeled by rule against a british king, they're partying william and catherine. >> you can find out plenty more of the details on the bbc website. certainly the best-kept secret of the wedding was the dressed and it was fully revealed when catherine middleton emerged from her limousine. she was wearing an ivory gown with long lace sleeves and a deep neckline. its creator, sarah burton, the head designer at the fashion house alexander mcqueen, said the whole experience for her had been an incredible honor. our culture correspondent has more.

>> it was the moment the secret was out. the handmade hampton court lace. the ivory and white satin. the fitted silhouette. the inspiration, an opening flower. for many, today was all about the dress. >> it couldn't have been more perfect. it was very classic. very grace kelly. very simple elegance. >> when she was walking down, it looked as if it was floating in mid air. >> and briefly, we saw the designer, sarah burton, the woman who now leads the alexander mcqueen fashion house. the inspiration, have a look at this. another middle class girl who became a princess. >> grace kelly will become the bride of the prince of monaco. >> as soon as you look at her, you can see styling from grace kelly.

you could see it completely. that wonderful style of the high neck, the long sleeves. it was a total breath taker. >> it wasn't just mcqueen. this was for a host of british designers an extraordinary globaled a vert, and as soon as the dress appeared, sketching began. susie bringings will have hers in the shops by tuesday. this dress will travel far. >> this is "bbc news." the headlines, the second in line to the british throne prince william and his long-term sweetheart have married in a glittering ceremony at westminster abbey. the couple kissed twice on the balcony of buckingham palace. they were watched by a million well wishers on the streets of central london.

the royal wedding has been hugely popular all across the globe, including in the united states. we have, of course, seen laura's report from new york, but right across the states, audiences tuned in at home. they threw celebratory breakfasts. they also watched on big screens. pat morrison is the royal correspondent for the "los angeles times" newspaper. i put it to her that even tinseltown couldn't really have done a better job. >> absolutely. >> absolutely. we are used to celebrity. even a little blase. >> i'm wondering if americans got the same feel good feeling that the u.k. got. >> for you, it was quite a family wedding. for us, i think we vacillated between over-the-top enthusiasm and an aggressive indifference to what was going on. but at the heart of it, people thought it was lovely.

they think a royal family is a wonderful idea. but they don't understand the idea of a constitutional monarchy. they say yes, it's very pretty, but what is it all about? >> tell us about the tv coverage in the united states, the three main networks, is their coverage still continuing now? and how was it when the event was taking place? >> they have wallpapered the coverage. there was a moment about two weeks before the wedding where there was some thinking, well, we're going to scale it back a little, people really aren't that interested. but i think as you saw the run-up to the wedding, people were absolutely enthralled by this. and i can't imagine that the coverage in britain was any more intense than what we saw here. we saw occasional break-ins to the news with updates of breathless importance. >> and how many pages will you be devoting to it in saturday's edition? >> the advantage of the web is you can throw in anything. and of course, i've written blogs about this, writing about the history of the royal marriages. we have a photo gallery, an

immense photo gallery. i think people's curiosity can be satisfied. >> what's your top line on the whole day? is it possible to have one top line? >> i think without a hitch would probably suggest itself to me. a little pun there, hmm? just like the red tops. >> absolutely. let's talk about the happy couple. let's talk about kate first of all. she looked fantastic. she's the newest addition to the royal family. the man she's married, his mother was also an icon. could she become as big as princess diana, do you think? >> i think that because she's an older woman, i don't know how much that youth and appeal is going to work. but kate is the model of a hollywood star. she's fit, she's gorgeous, she's glamorous, she can wear clothes, and she has a great sense of self-possession. people talked about the grace kelly dress.

i think she also has a grace kelly presence to her. someone who knows herself and understands herself very well. >> how has interest in this wedding, william and kate, compared to interest in the united states 30 years ago when diana married prince charles? >> 30 years ago, i think that we only had television, of course, and radio and newspapers. now you've got twitter and facebook. my goodness, the engagement ring has its own facebook page. so you can find almost anything and you can have apps sent to your phone, news alerts at every second of the day. i think that people are so absorbed by the multi-media aspect of this and trying to understand that this is a commoner. this is something that resonates with the americans. one of the people who becomes one of the exalted. >> and do you think the u.s. media will scrutinize them as much as they did diana? >> you know, i think that the american media are much more reverential about the royals and certainly the tabloids than britain has been in the past.

anything they do, anything they say is pretty much something that the american media would love to cover, and if they were to come to the united states, you couldn't hold back the crowds. >> and how do the americans feel about prince william? >> he is seen as a very glamorous young man, a young man who's doing his duty. he may not have the matinee looks of his wife, but the fact that he's going to be king one day, that overcomes a lot, including the unfortunate hair. >> and it is just like a fairytale, isn't it? because quite often, royal marriages are by arrangement. but this was so different. >> yes. this is a very realistic young couple. they've spent years together. prince william's line about, well, they've had a lot of practice. it's realistic but at the same time it has the glamour and appeal of any royal wedding. >> that was pat morrison at the "l.a. times" newspaper speaking to me a little earlier. more than 60 protesters are

reported to have been killed during another day of anti-government demonstrations across syria. human rights campaigners say many who died were shot by the security forces as they tried to reach derra. the u.n. human rights council in gentlemen near have a has condemned them for using deadly force. nato has accused colonel gaddafi's forces of breaking international law by laying mines off the coast of the rebel held city of miss ra ha. libya's state media has reportedly said any boat which tries to enter the harbor will be attacked. the president of yemen is expected to sign an agreement on saturday, one which will confirm

that he will relenquish power in a month's time. the deal offers immunity in return for him stepping down, after nearly 33 years in office. opposition representatives will countersign the agreement in the saudi arabia capital on sunday. the number of people killed in thursday's bomb explosion in morocco has now risen to 16. a 10-year-old child was amongst those killed in the blast that appeared to target foreigners. it bore all the hallmarks of al qaeda and that those responsible would be brought to justice. president obama has been visiting the area worst affected by storms which killed more than 300 people in the southern united states. in alabama where 238 have died, mr. obama said he had never seen such devastation. it's expected to cost insurance companies up to $5 billion.

nasa has delayed the launch of the space shuttle endeavor for at least 72 hours because of a technical failure with the heating unit. the shuttle was due to launch on saturday. three quarters of a million people were expected to gather to watch what will be one of the shuttle fleet's final blastoffs. a royal wedding presented plenty of pageantry. we will leave you now with some images of an historic day. ♪ ♪

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>> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was >> "bbc world news" was