Royals

William reveals sleepless night before wedding

Prince William reveals sleepless night before wedding

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after their wedding ceremony.

He’s known as the calm and sensible royal, but Prince William was so excited the night before his wedding that he slept for just 30 minutes.

William, 29, stayed at Clarence House the night before the royal wedding, and says the crowds outside — combined with his own nerves — made for a restless night.

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“The crowds were singing and cheering all night long, so the excitement of that, the nervousness of me and everyone singing — I slept for about half an hour,” William said.

William made the admission in a rare interview with British TV presenter Alan Titchmarsh for upcoming documentary Elizabeth: Queen, Wife and Mother.

He also spoke about the difficulties of planning a royal wedding, recalling the day he was given the first official guest list, which included the names of 777 people he had never met.

William said he and Catherine were horrified by the list, but received help from an unexpected ally — the queen.

“There was very much a subdued moment when I was handed a list with 777 names on — not one person I knew or Catherine knew,” William said.

“I went to her and said, ‘Listen, I’ve got this list, not one person I know — what do I do?’ and she went, ‘Get rid of it. Start from your friends and then we’ll add those we need in due course. It’s your day.”‘

William also spoke about his grandmother’s famous corgis, complaining that they bark constantly, and opened up about the “amazing” love between the queen and Prince Philip.

“He’s been just the most incredible support to her,” William said. “It’s a real eye-opener for all of us to look at. As he would put it, he’s just the Duke of Edinburgh. She is the Queen.

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“He very much wants to be there to support her, so that she doesn’t get that isolation, that loneliness, but also as a sounding-board.

“And also, he makes her laugh, because some of the things he says and does, the way he looks at life, is obviously slightly different than her, so together they’re a great couple.”

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