United Kingdom (Great Britain) Elizabeth II 5 Pounds

History

5 Pounds 2011, KM# 1203, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

Obverse. Photo © Numista

Description

The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom. The groom, Prince William, is second in the line of succession to the British throne. The bride, Catherine Middleton, had been his girlfriend since 2003.

Prince William and Kate Middleton met in 2001. Their engagement on 20 October 2010 was announced on 16 November 2010. The build-up to the wedding and the occasion itself attracted much media attention, being compared in many ways with the marriage of William's parents in 1981. The occasion was a public holiday in the United Kingdom and featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry. Events were held around the Commonwealth to mark the wedding; organisations and hotels held events across Canada, over 5,000 street parties were held throughout the United Kingdom, and one million people lined the route between Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. The ceremony was viewed live by tens of millions more around the world, including 72 million live streams on YouTube. In the United Kingdom, television audiences peaked at 26.3 million viewers, with a total of 36.7 million watching part of the coverage.

Obverse	British royal family Wedding Crown, jewelry Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara Person (king, queen, tsar etc.) Elizabeth II Fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage. ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith. Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley ELIZABETH·II·D·G·REG·F·D FIVE POUNDS·2011 IRB
Reverse	Person (king, queen, tsar etc.) Prince William, Catherine "Kate" Middleton Profile portrait of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, legend around, date below. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (born 21 June 1982) is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. He is second in the line of succession to the British throne, after his father. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine Elizabeth "Kate"; née Middleton; born 9 January 1982) is the wife of Prince William. Engraver: Mark Richards WILLIAM AND CATHERINE 29 APRIL 2011
Edge	Reeded (milled)