They had billions of eyes on them during their royal wedding ceremony on Saturday, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle saved some of their biggest surprises for behind closed doors – as they invited their guests for a wild and emotional reception party.
According to multiple reports, the bride stood to address her guests in her father’s absence, after he was forced to miss the day to undergo heart surgery in the US. It was a big break from tradition, however, Meghan’s words reportedly had a huge effect on her guests.
According to the Daily Mirror, the new Duchess of Sussex thanked the royals for welcoming her into the “firm”, while The Sun reports she also directly thanked Prince Charles for accompanying her down the aisle. She’s then claimed to have thanked the wider family for such a “warm welcome”, and her close friends for supporting her in recent weeks.
She reportedly ended it by saying: “I have found my prince.”
However, the bride wasn’t the only one to surprise everyone with some moving words, as according to the Mirror, Harry told guests: “You are the people that make ‘me’ me in my Harry life, which as you know is the backbone to Prince Harry.”
The Sun claims he also revealed how much he’s looking forward to “spending the rest of my life” with his wife, and said they “make such a great team”.
While his best man Prince William reportedly had the crowd in stitches with a funny speech of his own, joking about Harry’s “growing bald patch” and even paying tribute to their mum Princess Diana, it was their father Prince Charles who is said to have brought guests to tears with his own emotional speech, reportedly saying: “My darling old Harry, I’m so happy for you.”
Suits star Gabriel Macht’s wife Jacinda Barrett praised the speech on Instagram shortly after, writing: “Congratulations Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. What a beautiful and joyous day today was with your lovely family and friends. I danced when @eltonjohn sang, laughed at Prince Charles fantastic speech and am honoured to witness your commitment and love for each other. Wishing you a long and happy life together.”
Elsewhere during the festival-themed reception, multiple news outlets report the couple broke into an unexpected dance off with Prince Charles, William and more joining in – all led by The Late Late Show host James Corden. The couple are also said to have danced together to Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
“James Corden did his best to entertain and it went down an absolute treat,” a source told The Sun. “He even compered a dance-off between Harry, Charles and William.”
Meanwhile a source added to the Mirror: “It wasn’t traditional in the slightest. They went into a bit of a jive and a lindy hop.”
Elsewhere, the publication reports Hollywood actor George Clooney even whisked bride Meghan as well as William’s wife Catherine off for a dance. Surprisingly, it’s claimed Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson turned him down when it came to her turn to show off her moves.
It got even better as the night went on, as tennis pro Serena Williams is said to have taken part in a beer pong competition, while Harry paid tribute to his time in the forces with cocktails with military names such as the Apache, the Brimstone, the Rapier and the Hellfire.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was Meghan’s special gift for guests, as they each got a pair of slippers to change into when their feet began to hurt – every woman’s dream on a night out.
Actress Troian Bellisario, wife of Meghan’s former on-screen husband Patrick J Adams of Suits, shared a photo of guests wearing them on Instagram and wrote: “How amazing is this? Because these shoes have come off. They have slippers for us. Slippers! I’m so ready.”