Prince William and Kate Middleton had a special surprise on their wedding day that’s still being talked about.
The Prince and Princess of Wales said “I do” in 2011, and their nuptials were among the most watched royal weddings of all time. But once cameras stopped rolling for the public, the newlyweds channeled their inner Danny and Sandy.
“For the evening’s finale, Prince William and Kate had a special surprise up their sleeves,” Robert Jobson wrote in his new biography, “Catherine, the Princess of Wales,” according to People magazine.
Prince William and Kate Middleton smile following their wedding at Westminster Abbey April 29, 2011, in London. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
“They stood holding hands in the middle of the dance floor grinning, then suddenly the opening bars of the song ‘You’re the One That I Want’ from the musical ‘Grease’ came booming out,” Jobson wrote. “William and Catherine then began dancing around, pointing at each other, and mouthing the words with the style of the lead characters Danny and Sandy.
“It brought the house down.”
According to Jobson’s book, 1,900 guests attended the wedding ceremony, but fewer people made the cut for the celebrations afterward. A reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth II had 650 guests. And a second one hosted by the former Prince Charles had 300 guests. Jobson also noted that there was a live band led by Ellie Goulding, one of the couple’s favorite artists.
Prince William and Catherine talk with Ellie Goulding backstage after the Earthshot Prize 2022 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway Dec. 2, 2022, in Boston. (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
The singer performed Elton John’s “Your Song” for the couple’s first dance, followed by her hit “Starry Eyed” and a cover of “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, one of the couple’s favorites.
“I was so nervous,” Goulding recalled. “My hands were shaking.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales have come a long way since they met as students at the University of St Andrews in the fall of 2001.
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The couple’s engagement was announced Nov. 16, 2010. The pair were together for eight years. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
“Among the student community, it was an open secret that they were a couple,” Jobson wrote, according to People.
Jobson wrote that they walked to class together, browsed the local grocery store or spent nights at home listening to music.
WATCH: PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON ARE CRAZY ABOUT ONE ANOTHER, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT SAYS
The budding romance “remained shrouded in secrecy,” Jobson wrote, until “a revealing moment occurred during a dinner party with friends attended by Carly Massy-Birch,” an ex-girlfriend of William’s.
Prince William with Kate Middleton in 2006. They met as students at the University of St Andrews. (Indigo/Getty Images)
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According to Jobson, the partygoers played “Never Have I Ever,” a drinking game in which one confesses to various experiences.
“Perhaps unwittingly, Carly exposed William’s secret love affair with Catherine, much to the prince’s chagrin,” Jobson wrote.
But there were no hard feelings. People magazine reported that the couple invited several exes to their wedding.
“Perhaps unwittingly, Carly exposed William’s secret love affair with Catherine, much to the prince’s chagrin.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton leave Buckingham Palace en route to Clarence House, driving Prince Charles’ 1969 Aston Martin DB6 Volante decorated with L plates, bunting, ribbons and balloons after their wedding reception in London. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Williams’ reported first love, Arabella Musgrave, received an invitation, as well as Jecca Craig, Olivia Hunt and Massy-Birch. Kate’s exes, Rupert Finch and William Marks, were also in attendance.
During the couple’s engagement interview in 2010, William described how he and Kate lived together as roommates.
“We moved in together as friends,” William said at the time. “We lived with a couple of others, as well, and it just sort of blossomed from there, really. We just saw more of each other, hung out a bit more and did stuff.”