Newport Celebrates Royal Wedding at 5 A.M.

From a champagne reception at the at Thursday night to an elegant breakfast and big-screen broadcast at 6 a.m. this morning at the , Newport celebrated twelve hours of the royal wedding in style.

First came the Redwood’s elegant reception with miniature Brighton Pavilions and flowers decorating the library.

Mary Riggs, the co-chair of the program committee, presented the short film “A Royal Romance; William and Kate,” which introduced the now-wed couple to the enthusiastic crowd. Afterwards, Cynthia and Casper Roose led  their own version of a wedding song set to the tune of “God Save the Queen.”

Everyone joined in singing, “Welcome this royal pair, Stalwart and strong and fair, May their love grow!”

Champagne and the groom’s cake finished the evening. The cake, baked from the recipe Princess Diana’s own chef created, was a chocolate cake with shortbread cookies inside. Organizors said it is one of Prince William’s favorite treats and will be served as the groom's cake in London today.

A determined and rugged crowd came through the fog and mist for the 5 a.m. breakfast and ABC broadcast of the wedding events at the Jane Pickens Theater. According to Kathy Staab, owner of the Jane Pickens Theater, 200 tickets had been sold before the doors even opened.

“We decided to do this because we like doing big events on the screen, like the inauguration and the Academy Awards, and we thought this would be a great way to celebrate the wedding as a community," she said. Several people can group together because they don’t want to get up that early by themselves. There’s also a strong British community in Newport who would enjoy this. ”

Camilla de Rochambeau is Newporter with British roots. De Rochambeau said she brought her son John to experience a real royal wedding along with her friends. One of them, Judy Boss, who is Canadian, explained that she felt most Canadians were enthusiastic about royal events and was delighted to have the chance to see it in this special atmosphere.

Dress code for the early morning festivities ranged from top hat and tails to bathrobe and slippers, but was heavily in favor of elegantly-hatted women. 

“I like to be with other people who are as crazy as I am,” said one woman as the crowd cheered during their first sight of the Queen on the screen. They laughed when they saw she was dressed in yellow, since they'd just learned that London bookies had set heavy odds on her wearing that color.

Newport may have been in the forefront of the Revolution, but during the majestic event at the Jane Pickens, hundred  became “royal watchers."