Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding anniversary was an occasion that reunited a divided nation – but the danger of life-threatening violence was always there.
Police deployed a staggering 5,000 officers at a cost of nearly £ 6.5 million to ensure there were no security threats on the big day in April 2011.
With the nation plagued by recession, unpopular government cuts and civil unrest, London was already on high alert and the royal wedding was seen as the main destination.
“I’m afraid there is some kind of ‘Guy Fawkes-ean’ scheme going on behind closed doors to actually plant a bomb somewhere,” said Bob Broadhurst, The Metropolitan Police Gold Commander on the wedding day.
“The real threat came from the strange person getting through. The fixated folks who for some reason are obsessed with the royal family who could just sneak under your car.”
But all the intense action didn’t stop an unidentified vehicle from pulling up to the hotel where Kate had stayed – creating real fears for her safety.
Kate Middleton traveled to Westminster Abbey in London with her father Michael Middleton to marry Prince William
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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On the subject of matching items
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On the subject of matching items
Just 20 minutes before Kate left the Goering Hotel in Belgravia, after living with sister Pippa Middleton and mother Carole in a Royal Apartment on the top floor for £ 5,000 a night, police were made aware of a worrying development.
In the Scotland Yard control room across from Westminster Abbey, there was concern that the security zone around the hotel had been breached.
“I don’t know how it happened, and I really don’t want to know how it happened to this day,” says Broadhurst in today’s ITV documentary The Day Will and Kate Got Married.
“But someone in a car came through the security zone, drove close to The Goring just around the corner, got out of the car and put it on its feet, and joined the crowd.
“Now we have a real problem. It’s a potential bomb in the car.”
With the car parked so close to the entrance of The Goring Hotel, there were fears that they would have to change their best plans and that Kate would not make it to the altar in time.
Bob Broadhurst, Metropolitan Police Gold Commander of the Royal Wedding Day, reveals their fears
The clock was ticking, and to make matters worse, Broadhurst’s boss came in with a group of International Olympic Committee dignitaries to show them how The Met works in a crisis.
“You could cut the silence with a knife if we try to solve this problem,” reveals Broadhurst.
But the ice was broken when a tactical advisor cracked a joke – claiming that bookie Paddy Power was offering odds of 10,000/1, Kate wouldn’t be on time for church, and asking if he should invest any money.
Fortunately, explosives officers showed up at the scene and found there was no bomb in the car, so they could downgrade the threat and stick to the original plan.
But not all of them got off so happily because the person who parked their car found it had no doors or windows and found a parking ticket.
Unaware of the last minute troubles, Kate got in the car with her father Michael Middleton to go to Westminster Abbey.
Kate was unaware of the drama that had happened minutes earlier
(Image: Getty Images)
Police struggled with a million people on the streets where the procession took place as well as 1,900 guests who attended the ceremony.
Foreign VIPs, celebrities and prime ministers stood side by side with people from the village where Kate grew up.
With the 2012 Olympic Games in London only a year away, the pressure could not have been higher to ensure the police ran smoothly.
But in the winter of 2010 there were strikes against government cuts and unemployment that brought London to a standstill.
Student protests grew fierce, and Princes Charles and Camilla’s car was covered in paint just months before the wedding.
The Met Police had another headache a month before the big day when violent riots broke out during a TUC march on London and the David Cameron-led government panicked.
William and Kate tied the knot in front of 1,900 guests
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Broadhurst admits that there was “a major concern” and clearly remembers the briefing from then Home Secretary Theresa May.
He explains, “Your last comments to me were, ‘Well, Bob, you assure me nothing will go wrong?’
“It’s a bit like a referee. When you have a good game, nobody notices you, but when you have a stinker, everything is to blame.”
The Met carried out a series of raids on prominent anarchists capable of high-end violence and arrested 20 people.
They heard rumors and saw rumors on Twitter that anti-royal protesters would come dressed as zombies throwing maggots and paint in place of confetti.
Fortunately, there weren’t any serious problems on the big day and Kate and William had the happy wedding day everyone had planned.
* The Day Will and Kate Got Married will air at 9 p.m. on ITV tonight
