Let's Get This Party Started

After the pomp and ceremony of the service it was time for the couple and their glamorous guests to let their hair down and hit the dance floor

- Kim Abrahams

THE party to end all parties. That’s what the evening reception is being called – and by all accounts that’s no exaggeration.

It certainly got off to a fabulous start with an entrance by the newlyweds worthy of a James Bond movie. The groom was dapper in a tux, the bride was breathtaking in a bespoke Stella McCartney dress and the car was something 007 himself would’ve sacrificed the olive in his martini for.

And when the sleek E-Type Jaguar, the number plate bearing the date of the couple’s wedding, glided away from Windsor Castle towards Frogmore House you just knew: fun was going to be had.

Insiders say there were two “halves” to the night – the more sedate early part and the raucous later part.

“The party was hosted by Prince Charles so guests waited until the older royals left at around 10.30pm before they really let their hair down,” a source says.

There were plenty of touching moments in the early half of the night. Charles made a sweet speech, talking about how he’d changed his son’s nappies and ending by telling his youngest, “My darling old Harry, I’m so happy for you.”

Meghan broke with tradition and made a speech too – highly unusual for a royal bride – and thanked the royal family for making her feel so welcome.

When it was Harry’s turn he praised his new wife for “navigating everything with such grace” – a reference to the family turmoil Meghan had endured in the weeks leading up to the wedding – and saying they made a “great team”.

“I just can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” he added.