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 Eugenie, 28, younger daughter of the queen's third child, Prince
Andrew, and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York,
tied the knot with Brooksbank, 32, in a traditional ceremony in
the castle's 15th Century St George's Chapel.
It was the same setting as Harry and Meghan's wedding in May,
and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as the couple are now known,
were among the star-studded congregation.
The 92-year-old queen and her husband Philip, 97, who has
retired from official engagements, were joined by other royals
and celebrities including Hollywood stars Liv Tyler and Demi
Moore, models Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell and singer Ellie
Goulding.
Female guests had to cling on to their hats as a blustery wind
threatened their wedding outfits and a page boy tripped on the
stairs walking into the chapel.
Eugenie’s dress, by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos of the
London-based label Peter Pilotto, had a low back to reveal scars
from surgery she underwent to correct scoliosis when she was 12.
"It's a lovely way to honor the people who looked after me and a
way of standing up for young people who also go through this,"
she told ITV's "This Morning" ahead of the wedding.
The couple, while showing clear signs on nerves, beamed happily
during the hour-long service.
"This is meant to be a family wedding," Eugenie’s father Andrew
said earlier.
"There will be a few more people than most people have, there
are a few more than Harry had, but that's just the nature of
Eugenie and Jack - they've got so many friends that they need a
church of that size to fit them all in," he told "This Morning"
which broadcast the event live.
CAMILLA ABSENT
Several hundred singing and cheering well-wishers gathered
outside in Windsor in the shadow of the castle, far fewer than
the thousands that crammed into the town for Harry's wedding.
"I'm a true royalist," David Weeks, 77, bedecked in a Union Jack
suit and bowler hat, told Reuters. "I was here for the queen's
90th birthday. I was here for Harry and Meghan's wedding, I
wouldn't miss it, I love the atmosphere."
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The ceremony was conducted by the Dean of Windsor David Conner, and
Eugenie's elder sister, Princess Beatrice, the maid of honor, read
an extract from the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel "The Great Gatsby"
which the bride had read after meeting her future husband in the
Swiss ski resort of Verbier in 2010.
"One particular passage in which Jay Gatsby is described reminded
her immediately of Jack," Conner said. "She decided she wanted
eventually to let Jack know how much those words had brought him to
mind."
One noticeable absentee was Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, the
wife of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, as she was carrying out
an engagement in Scotland.
Princess Charlotte, 3, daughter of Harry's elder brother Prince
William and his wife Kate, was a bridesmaid, and her brother, Prince
George, 5, a page boy.
After the service, the couple took an open-top horse-drawn carriage
tour of Windsor before a reception at the castle, hosted by the
queen.
Eugenie is a director at London's Hauser & Wirth art gallery, and
Brooksbank owns a wine wholesale business and is European brand
manager for Casamigos Tequila, which was co-founded by U.S. actor
George Clooney.
Security around Windsor was tight, with airport-style security
checks and large numbers of police. As Eugenie does not carry out
official royal duties, republicans have said it is wrong that the
estimated 2 million pound ($2.6 million) security bill will be paid
by taxpayers.
Writing in the Times newspaper, commentator Matthew Bell said the
grandeur of the wedding showed Prince Andrew's desire to cement his
family's royal status.
"When it is all over, Eugenie will continue to live with an identity
experienced by a tiny minority: as a fully fledged princess, gawped
at, envied and scrutinized by all," Bell wrote.
"Yet as the years roll by, and her royal status diminishes, as a
peripheral figure of almost no consequence at all."
(Additional reporting by Helena Williams; editing by Guy
Faulconbrige and Robin Pomeroy)
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