Homage and rejoicing side by side with glowing pageantry marks Britain's greatest royal occasion since the coronation.
Huge crowds greeted the first royal procession from the palace with Her Majesty the Queen and Princess Margaret in the leading coach.
Down the Mall at Marlborough House a further procession was headed by Queen Mary, a gracious and regal figure.
Over at another royal home, Kensington Palace, the bridegroom, now created Duke
of Edinburgh, was ready to make an early start. As it happened, it was a little too
early, so after a joke with the onlookers, the bridegroom, with his best man, the
Marquess of Milford Haven, returned indoors until the appointed hour.
Soon it really was time to go and the Duke and his groomsmen were quickly on their way.
And now, back at Buckingham Palace, with the crowds at the peak of expectation,
came the long-awaited Cavalcade. Riding in the Irish State Coach, His
Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness the bride, for the sovereign's escort of
household cavalry, magnificent in full dress.
Every yard of the route saw the same tremendous evasion as thousands were
eroded for hours of patient waiting by a smile and a wave from our princess.
Along Whitehall, pass the Cenotaph, into Parliament Square, and then round to the
great west door of the Abbey.
Another shining chapter was added to the abbey's ancient history as the bride and
groom pointed their throat one to another. Two names in the abbey register
Elizabeth and Philip, two happy young people whose story has captured the
imagination of the world. And now to the unforgettable scene within the abbey
after the service was ending. A pageant of solemn majesty yet full of the warmth
of feeling which illuminated this great day.
Side by side they appear, heading the procession down the nave, the bride and bridegroom.
Following their majesties, the King and Queen, came the royal guests from other lands.
Among them, the Queen of the Hellenes, King Haakon of Norway,
the King and Queen of Denmark, King Michael of Romania, and the young King of Iraq.
Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands were followed by the bridegroom's uncle, Earl Mountbatten.
Outside the abbey once more and as the wedding chimes peel forth the bridal
coach awaits the royal pair. Again the princess is helped with her train and
veil this time by her husband before he himself enters the coach.