Paul enjoys his Palace duty

Paul Stevenson was one of 20 Irish Guards hand-picked to add a splash of colour to the proceedings at Buckingham Palace. Another 21 were on duty at St James’s Palace, where Princes William and Harry left to make their outward journey to Westminster Abbey.

“We started duty at 11.30am on Thursday, and worked right through until 5pm on Friday. It wasn’t that bad really, we got a bit of time off. We have accommodation at the Palace with bedrooms, a kitchen, TV room and gym, so we were quite comfortable .

“I was stationed in the centre of Buckingham palace forecourt and we came out whenever the Royal Family left and saw them in The Mall and when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge came back we saw them again. I actually saw myself on the telly,” he said, adding: “I am on the extreme left wearing white gloves when you see the couple leave in the sports car.”

Brilliant

Describing the atmos-phere at the Palace as “brilliant”, Paul continued: “The crowds had gathered in The Mall three days beforehand, and people were cheering and there were air horns being let off. There was a constant general buzz of lots of people having a really good time. It was really nice to have been there and to have been part of it and to have seen it up close, too.”

“Whenever the Royal procession came back I was watching it on the telly before I had to go out, and I had a first hand view of the procession over my shoulder as they entered Buckingham Palace.

“I got to watch the wedding on the TV in the guardroom, and to be honest it was a bit bizarre watching it on the telly and also seeing it when I looked over my shoulder.

“I thought Prince William looked really well in his Irish Guards tunic, or course he is now an honorary colonel of the Regiment, while the Queen is the Colonel in Chief of the Regiment,” he said.