May 3, 2011 – Prince William was expected back at work today after he and his new wife Catherine headed back to their secluded island home following a secret weekend break in Britain.
The new duke and duchess of Cambridge were due to return late Monday to Anglesey, northwest Wales, where William was to go back to his day job as a search and rescue helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Their fairytale wedding on Friday was watched by an estimated one million people on the streets of London and two billion on television around the world.
“The chances are if he’s back at work on Tuesday he’ll be getting in to Anglesey on Monday evening,” a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.
“It will be a normal day at work for him after the wedding, nothing special planned.”
Like Friday, Monday was a public holiday in Britain, making for an extra-long weekend.
William’s colleagues at RAF Valley on Anglesey were in action on the wedding day, airlifting to hospital a 12-year-old boy who was rescued by a lifeboat crew after drifting a mile out to sea in a rubber ring.
The newlyweds spent the weekend at a private location, having flown out of Buckingham Palace by helicopter on Saturday.
The couple chose not to depart immediately for their honeymoon — details of which will not be announced in advance — though royal officials have said it will be abroad.
The newlyweds “planned the honeymoon together”, said a spokeswoman for Clarence House, the office of William’s father Prince Charles.
While William gets back to work in Wales, London is still abuzz with royal wedding fever.
Three-hour queues to get into the Westminster Abbey wedding venue stretched around the block, with well-wishers keen to get a glimpse before it is reconfigured back to normal.
Jane Thompson travelled from Windsor, west of London for a look around the historic church, which costs £16 (Sh2,208) to enter.
“I just thought it would be a lovely day to come up to town and hopefully to go in the abbey and see the flowers and feel part of everything,” she told AFP.
Singer Ellie Goulding, who performed at the evening party, told the BBC’s The One Show that singing for the couple had been a “very surreal, incredible experience”.
According to reports, party organiser and best man Prince Harry had a secret pocket sewn into his Blues and Royals military wedding outfit in order to make sure he didn’t lose the all-important wedding ring before the service.
While the couple’s honeymoon dates will not be released, they are due to visit Canada from June 30 to July 8 for their first official overseas visit.
The tour will include Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and the capital Ottawa.