A Wedding to Remember

A Wedding to Remember McGill University

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Home > McGill News > 2008 > Fall 2008 > A Wedding to Remember

A Wedding to Remember

Caption follows
Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly on the steps of St. George’s Chapel following their wedding. Behind them are royal family members (l to r) Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry, Prince Philip and Princess Beatrice.
Rex Features

It's been a busy year for JACQUELINE AUBIE, MA'04, with six weddings to attend. All were special in their own way, but one stood apart from the others. It isn't every day, after all, that you get to rub shoulders with the British royal family at Windsor Castle.

On May 17, Aubie was maid of honour as her lifelong friend, AUTUMN KELLY, BA'02, married Peter Phillips, the Queen's eldest grandchild.

You'd think Aubie's 15 minutes of fame would have been a tad nerve-wracking, but this wedding was "the most fun by far," she says. "The Royals were so welcoming, and everyone was on the dance floor having the greatest time." One of Aubie's duties was to toast the bride to the new in-laws. "I told them they were lucky to have someone as great as Autumn joining their family," she says with a smile.

Although Phillips holds no official title, he is currently 11th in line to the U.K. throne. Kelly's marriage makes her the first Canadian to join the Firm, with access to the view from Buckingham Palace's balcony. Not bad for someone who worked her way through McGill as a bartender and model, and whose main claim to fame had been as a star ringette player in high school.

The couple met in 2003 when both were working at the Montreal Grand Prix. Kelly had no idea she was dating a royal until a few weeks later, when she, her mother and Aubie were watching a TV show about Princess Diana's funeral—and there was Phillips, first cousin to Princes William and Harry. "Oh, Autumn," said her mother. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

Five years later, Kelly got herself a starring role in the first wedding of the royal next generation. "We knew what was coming," says Aubie of the media maelstrom. The British press made much of Kelly's "working class" origins, describing her Pointe Claire home town as "a suburban backwater." Chalk it up to sour grapes, since only Hello! magazine got the coveted interview, as well as unprecedented access to the wedding.

According to Aubie, the tabloids created the proverbial tempest in an English teacup, speculating inaccurately on the amount that Hello! paid the couple, and reporting (also inaccurately, says Aubie) that the Queen was displeased with their arrangement with the magazine. And still more ink was spilled over Kelly's decision to relinquish her Catholicism, so Phillips would retain his right to succession.

The widespread press coverage had no impact on the big day itself, reports Aubie. "It was so wonderful to see Autumn looking so happy and beautiful. She had a smile on her face the whole wedding."

ALLYSON ROWLEY, BA'77

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