The Met Police Gold Commander from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding day has recalled fears a car bomb was outside the Goring Hotel where Kate was staying on the morning of her big day.
In 2011, the duchess, 39, spent her last night as a single woman at the London hotel, near Buckingham Palace in Belgravia, in a £5,000-a-night Royal Apartment on the top floor along with her mother Carole Middleton and sister Pippa.
But in the morning of April 29, just 20 minutes before the bride-to-be was scheduled to leave for her ceremony to Prince William at Westminster Abbey, police discovered an unknown vehicle close to where she was staying.
Appearing on ITV’s new documentary, The Day Will and Kate Got Married, to mark their tenth anniversary, Met Police Gold Commander Bob Broadhurst recalled how a car had entered the secure zone set up by officers.
‘This is a potential bomb, in a car, it’s so close to the entrance and exit from the Goring that we probably might not be able to get Kate and her party out on time’, he explained.
Thankfully, it turned out the car wasn’t an explosive, and instead belonged to a tourist, who was no doubt shocked to find ‘his vehicle with no windows and doors, alongside a parking fine,’ joked Broadhurst.
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The Met Police Gold Commander (pictured) from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding day has recalled fears a car bomb was outside the Goring Hotel where Kate was staying on the morning of her big day
In 2011, the duchess, 39, spent her last night as a single woman at the London hotel, near Buckingham Palace in Belgravia, in a £5,000-a-night Royal Apartment on the top floor along with her mother Carole Middleton and sister Pippa (pictured together)
Speaking on the programme, the police commander recalled: ‘We had a secure zone around the Goring Hotel.
‘I don’t know how it happened, and I don’t really want to know how it happened to this day, but somebody in a car got through the secure zone, drove up close to the Goring, just around the corner, got out the car and legged it and joined the crowd.
‘Now, we have a real problem. This is a potential bomb, in a car, it’s so close to the entrance and exit from the Goring that we probably might not be able to get Kate and her party out on time.
‘It was 15, 20 minutes before her due departure time. All the while, the clock is now ticking, and at that very moment, the door opened and in came my boss with a party of dignitaries from the International Olympic Committee, showing them how the Met works.
But in the morning of April 29, just 20 minutes before the bride-to-be was scheduled to leave for her ceremony to Prince William at Westminster Abbey, police discovered an unknown vehicle close to where she was staying (pictured)
‘You could cut the silence with a knife as we’re trying to solve this issue, and then a little voice from the corner, one of the tactical advisers, let’s put it that way, says “Here governor, I hear Paddy Power are putting 10,000 to one that she doesn’t make the church on time, do you want me to put some money on?” and that kind of broke the ice.
‘At which time, our explosive officers had turned up. It wasn’t a bomb, and we were able to not only downgrade the threat but also say stick with plan A, let’s go for it,’ he explained.
‘I think that poor individual, who was at the end of the day just a tourist, came back to find a car with no doors or windows, and a parking ticket,’ joked the officer.
Prince William and Kate leave Westminster Abbey following their Royal Wedding on April 29, 2011 in London
Elsewhere on the documentary, the baker behind Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding cake has recalled having to remove an entrance door at Buckingham Palace to get the creation safely inside.
Appearing on The Day Will and Kate Got Married, Fiona Cairns reveals how the Queen remarked on the ‘dismantling’ of her house ahead of the couple’s big day.
The programme airs tonight at 9pm, and sees the baker recall the struggles she had with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s eight-tiered, 3ft-tall fruit cake design.
‘I can remember [the Queen] saying, “I hear that you’ve been dismantling my house”, and I said to her “Well, we had to take a door down from the room below for the trolley to go through with the cake,” said Fiona.
The baker (pictured) behind Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding cake has recalled having to remove an entrance door at Buckingham Palace to get the creation safely inside
Fondly known as the Queen of Cakes, Fiona was responsible for baking the most famous cake in recent history – for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011 at Westminster Abbey.
The spectacular eight-tiered, 3ft-tall creation weighed nearly 16st and took Fiona and her team six weeks to make.
Recalling the moment the cake was brought in from her bakery to Buckingham Palace, Fiona said: ‘I was told that Her Majesty would be coming through the door at the top of the picture gallery to chat at midday.
Appearing on ITV’s new documentary, The Day Will and Kate Got Married, Fiona Cairns reveals how the Queen remarked on the ‘dismantling’ of her house ahead of the couple’s big day. Pictured, the couple’s cake
‘So no pressure, of course, never having built this cake,’ admitted the designer, who has also baked creations for bands Pink Floyd and Simply Red in the past.
Fiona continued: ‘When the Queen came to see us, the cake wasn’t completely finished.
‘I can remember her saying, “I hear that you’ve been dismantling my house”, and I said to her “Well, we had to take a door down from the room below for the trolley to go through with the cake.” But it was all put back so in the end it was fine.’
The Day Will and Kate Got Married is on tonight at 9pm on ITV.