Wedding guests in elegant attire filed into Westminster Abbey and royal fans lined the streets of London by the thousands, hoping to snatch a glimpse of history as Prince William weds Kate Middleton in a marriage expected to revive Britain's beleaguered monarchy.
A third of the planet was forecast to be watching Friday as the future king and queen of England start their lives as husband and wife with the two simple words "I will," ending months of buildup and sealing their love with the most public of spectacles.
All the clamoring over every detail — the wedding dress, her hair, her title, the romantic kiss on the Buckingham Palace balcony, the honeymoon — finally will be answered. But the biggest question of all won't be answered for years: Is this one royal couple who will live happily ever after?
Will their union endure like that of William's grandparents — Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, now in its 64th year — or crumble in a spectacular and mortifying fashion like that of his own parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana?
Recent history augurs badly: The first marriages of three of the queen's four children ended in divorce. But the couple's chemistry brings confidence that this one will work.
Royal enthusiast from Bedfordshire poses at the junction of the Mall and Horse Guards Road for the Royal Wedding in London Friday, April, 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Bogdan Maran) CloseWilliam and Kate look fantastic together, seeming to glow with happiness in each other's company, and unlike Charles and Diana they've had eight years to figure out that they want to be together.
But the fate of their marriage will depend on private matters impossible for the public to gauge. A beautiful bridal gown, an eye-popping sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring do not guarantee a happy ending. Any wedding is fundamentally about two people. Will their lives together, starting with such high hopes, be blessed by good fortune, children, good health, productive work?
Much will depend on whether 28-year-old William and 29-year-old Kate can summon the things every couple needs to make a marriage work: patience, love, wit and wisdom. But they face pressures most of the world doesn't: the twin burdens of fame and scrutiny. Money, power, beauty — it can all go wrong if not carefully nurtured.
These are the thorny issues upon which the fate of the monarchy rests, as the remarkable queen, now 85, inevitably ages and declines.
With just hours to go, dedicated royal watchers camped outside got an unexpected surprise — a visit from Prince William. The groom-to-be emerged from his residence Thursday night to greet the hordes of well-wishers gathered along the processional route. Dressed in khakis and grinning broadly, William shook countless hands as his photo was snapped on cell phones and digital cameras.
By dawn on Friday, crowds were awake and waving flags for television cameras under steely gray skies and cool temperatures. Technicians ran last-minute checks on huge television screens broadcasting the ceremony at Trafalgar Square. Cheers erupted in Hyde Park when the television broadcasts began.
Brenda Mordic, 61, from Columbus, Georgia, clutched a Union Jack, with her friend Annette Adams, 66.
"We came for the excitement of everything," Mordic said. "We watched William grow up. I came for Prince Charles' wedding to Diana and I came for Princess Diana's funeral. We love royalty England and London."
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