At 7pm on the evening of the Royal Wedding, 300 of William and Kate's closest friends and family arrived for a booze-fuelled knees-up that would have had Queen Victoria turning in her grave.
The reception started quite calmly as the guests in one of the Palace's state apartments found their tables - each named after locations linked to the couple's life including Anglesey, St Andrews, Bucklebury and Highgrove.
The top table was named after a village near Wills and Kate's Welsh home: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
Shortly after 8pm, guests were ushered into the Palace's Ballroom - with two thrones at one end and an organ at the other - for dinner.
One guest said: "It looked stunning. There must have been at least 30 round tables, with ten people on each, decorated with beautiful white flowers and candles."
As every guest was deemed "equally important" to the newlyweds, the tables were a mix of royalty, family members and friends.
They tucked into a meal created by legendary chef Anton Mossimann - a crayfish, crab, salmon starter and a main of Sandringham lamb with veg from the estate, followed by a mix of small puddings.
The bride's father Michael Middleton then delivered a measured speech filled with anecdotes about the couple and Kate's childhood.
A guest revealed he joked about an "awkward" conversation with William when the Prince asked for his daughter's hand in marriage.
Mr Middleton recalled the day William landed a helicopter in the garden at his family's home in Bucklebury and nearly blew his roof off.
And he spoke of how brilliantly William fitted into HIS family.
The future king praised his bride in his speech - saying she "made him whole" and was his "rock".
But any thoughts this was to be a dignified evening typical for Buckingham Palace vanished as Harry, 26, stood up to give his speech.
Placing a Tommy Cooper-style fez on his head, he launched a tirade of mickey-taking at the groom. Addressing the couple as the "Dude and Duchess", Harry ribbed his brother with swipes at his thinning hair. He suggested that when Wills becomes King he rename Sandringham "Baldringham".
For the time being he said the newlyweds should be known as "Duke and Duchess of Hairlosshire" - with his brother being known as the Balding Baron.
As if this wasn't enough, Harry then said sorry to Kate for the fact she was marrying such a bald man.
Harry then turned his attention to William's military career - a constant source of lighthearted rivalry between the two serving brothers.
In a reference to his brother's stints in the three services, Harry went on: "He has served in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force - but only for a week."
He added: "Now that he is a helicopter pilot he thinks he's a real-life Rambo." Harry even cracked a close-to-the-knuckle gag about William "looking great in a thong".
A guest said: "He played it perfectly. He made jokes about being beaten up by William and shot with air rifles - it was a classic."
Another friend said: "Harry was so unbelievably funny that by the end he had most of the room crying with laughter."
Then William's two best mates James Meade and Thomas van Straubenzee delivered a surprise SECOND best man's speech - mocking him for his love of dressing up.
And, in a reference to his love of water polo, pal "Vans" added: "She beats him at everything - especially sports - except when he adores getting dressed up in tight Speedos and playing in a pool full of boys."
From then on the evening descended into a drinking binge worthy of the fun-loving princes.
The state apartment next door had been transformed into a nightclub, supervised by the Royal brothers' "court jester" Guy Pelly.
The room had been decked out with a huge circular bar covered in Haribo sweets and candles.
Instead of sipping champagne, Harry reached straight for the jaeger-bombs - shots of the spirit dropped into a glass of Red Bull.
The Palace rocked as revellers - led by cheeky Harry - quaffed Laurent Perrier champagne, knocked back mojito cocktails and downed sambuca slammers.
Wills, 28, and Kate, 29, had their first slow dance to a live performance of Elton John's Your Song, by chart star Ellie Goulding, 24.
Harry barely waited for the first verse to finish before pulling Kate's sister, bridesmaid Pippa Middleton, 26, on to the dancefloor.
With his on-off girlfriend Chelsy Davy looking on, he held Pippa in his arms and shuffled his feet to the romantic classic.
Even Charles and Camilla were spotted enjoying a smooch to the tune. They left around midnight. Harry was later seen on the dancefloor with one of Ellie's blonde backing singers - and dancing on the window sills.
A source at the reception said: "Harry was on fire all night. He couldn't wait to get Pippa on to the dance floor. He dragged her on to the floor within a few chords of the song. Later he looked very drunk and spent ages dancing with one of the girls from the band.
"He barely spoke to Chelsy and because he was best man they didn't even sit together. By the end of the night she was sitting at the bar looking sorry for herself."
At one point a DJ played the Beatles' classic All You Need Is Love - and Wills and Kate were surrounded by guests who chanted: "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!" During another tune they were hoisted on to pals' shoulders and paraded around the room waving their arms.
At 2.45am cheers could be heard as guests were treated to a fireworks display in the back garden.
At 3am the party drew to a close before guests piled into mini buses.
Harry sat just in front of Pippa gripping a microphone and pretending to be a tour guide.
The gang headed off to London's Goring hotel, which had been hired out by the Middletons, where the party continued until dawn.
Additional reporting: SEAN HAMILTON and DAVID WILLETTS
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Ellie Goulding sang for Prince William and bride Kate Middleton at Buckingham Palace
Ellie Goulding