RECEPTION
After the service of prayer and dedication there was a reception at the state apartments of Windsor Castle hosted by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The guests mingled in the Grand Reception Room, St George's Hall and the Waterloo Chamber. They drank Duchy champagne and were offered smoked salmon on brown bread sandwiches and roast venison with Balmoral redcurrant and port jelly on white bread, as well as egg and cress granary bread sandwiches, potted shrimp bridge rolls and mini Cornish pasties. Those with a sweet tooth enjoyed miniature ice cream cornets, caramel banana slices, strawberry tartlets, glazed mocha fudge, caramelised lemon tarts and scones with Cornish clotted cream and Duchy strawberry jam. The Prince of Wales personally ordered in 20 fruit cakes from Mrs Ethel Richardson, of Carmarthen, Wales, to add to the buffet. Guests said the Queen said: "I've got two things to announce to you of the greatest importance. The first is that the Grand National was won by Hedgehunter. The second is to say to you that despite Becher's Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles my son has come through and I'm very proud and wish them well." The Prince of Wales is said to have responded in his own speech saying: "I don't think I can compete with my mother on racing allusions."
At 18.05 after a champagne toast, the couple departed for their honeymoon in Scotland via the Castle’s Henry VIII gate. Princes William and Harry had decorated the Bentley which drove the couple away from the castle. The words "Prince" and "Duchess" were sprayed on either side of the windscreen and "Just Married" written on the back windscreen. Bunches of red, white and yellow metallic balloons had been tied to the couple's car. The car drove away in a convoy of cars with police outriders to the RAF Northolt to fly to Aberdeen for the start of their two-week honeymoon.
Upon arriving at Aberdeen Airport, the couple were greeted with music from the Grampian Police Pipe Band, and met dignitaries including Aberdeen's Lord and Lady Provost. Then the newlyweds drove to the privacy of their Highland hideaway Birkhall, on the Queen’s Balmoral estate. Around 100 local residents and tourists gathered by the royal bridge in Ballater to welcome the couple.They attended church at Balmoral on Sunday .
The wedding cake
The wedding cake for the wedding of The Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles was made by Dawn Blundone and Mary Robinson who make cakes for the Highgrove Shop. The cake is a single layered plain white, organic, rich fruit cake, 24 inch square with an octagon dome. The square has detailed lattice work and a small initial ‘C’ in the lattice. The corners of the square are decorated with roses, thistles, leeks and daffodils. The octagon is made up of panels with different designs. One panel has a Cipher of The Prince of Wales picturing a coronet, a garter and the three feathers. Another panel features the Crest of the Duchy of Cornwall and another has the Crest of the Duke of Rothesay. A further panel has a coronet surrounded by a pearl cameo and the initial ‘C’. The remaining panels feature roses to represent England, daffodils and leeks to represent Wales and thistles to represent Scotland. The top of the cake has the Crown of the Heir Apparent.
Sword to cut the wedding cake
The Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles used the Prince of Wales’s Naval Sword to cut their wedding cake. The sword, which originally belonged to The Prince’s great grandfather, King George V, is used for Investitures. The sword was presented in Liverpool to the then Prince George of Wales on the 20th January 1886. Prince George was accompanying his father Edward VII when he opened the Mersey Tunnel. The sword was presented by the Mayor of Liverpool to commemorate Prince George of Wales receiving his commission into the Navy. The sword was made by Rob Mole and Sons of Birmingham. Engraved on the blade are a crown, an anchor and names of ships that George V served on. Some of these names have been added, belatedly, over the years. The handle of the sword is in the shape of a lions head.