Lip reader reveals the cheeky comment Zara Tindall made about Prince Harry’s wedding as they sat together in church at Princess Eugenie’s big day later that year

It is well known that even the most intimate weddings can be a chance for extended families to get together and gossip.

But for royal weddings, where each move is documented by the watchful public eye via dozens of cameras, the stakes are heightened.

It has been nearly seven years since Harry and Meghan’s tied the knot in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, with their anniversary coming up on May 18.

In October the same year, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank married at the same venue, meaning the public were bound to start drawing comparisons between the two celebrations. 

Even Eamonn Holmes commented on the difference between the weddings on ITV‘s This Morning, saying on live television: ‘It’s not quite the same as Harry and Meghan…’

At Eugenie’s wedding, Zara Tindall, daughter of Princess Anne, joked with Harry as she leant across the pew to whisper in his ear.

Lip readers believe she said: ‘It’s very quiet compared to the screaming at your wedding.’

Harry retorted: ‘Mine?’ 

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank married on October 12, 2018 in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle

Comparisons were drawn between Eugenie and Jack’s wedding and Harry and Meghan’s

Harry is pictured after his cousin Eugenie’s wedding following Zara’s quip 

The cousins spent time together as children and it appears their cheeky banter with each other continued into adulthood. 

Harry is said to have introduced Zara to her husband Mike and the couple have also stood by Harry and Meghan on their rare return trips to the UK.

Zara never publicly said what she meant by her quip, but it could be in reference to the 100,000 well-wishers who lined the streets of Windsor on the day of Harry and Meghan’s wedding five months prior.

People travelled across the world to be at Harry and Meghan’s wedding, even camping outside the gates and sleeping on the streets the night before.

On top of this, 2,640 people were invited into the grounds of Windsor Castle, with a policing cost between £2million and £4million. 

As the couple passed in the grand Ascot Landau carriage, Meghan waved and smiled to the crowds and said ‘wow’ to Harry.

He reportedly said back: ‘I’m ready for a drink now’. 

The Sussexes wanted their wedding day to allow members of the public to feel like part of the celebrations too, according to Buckingham Palace. 

At Eugenie’s wedding Zara Tindall, daughter of Princess Anne, joked with Harry, leaning across the pew and whispering

Zara and Mike Tindall are pictured at Eugenie’s wedding

People travelled across the world to be in Windsor for Harry and Meghan’s marriage, even camping outside the gates and sleeping on the streets the night before

Pictured: Crowds outside Windsor Castle during the wedding of Harry and Meghan holding up phones in the hope of capturing the royals in photos 

But according to Harry, the crowds felt overwhelming.

Harry and Meghan exchanged symbolic vows in a private ceremony three days prior to the grand royal wedding, which the public learned in the couple’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. 

In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote of his public wedding: ‘The first thing we saw upon walking back up the aisle and out of the church, other than a stream of smiling faces, were snipers.

‘On rooftops, amid the bunting, behind the waterfalls of streamers. Police told me it was unusual, but necessary due to the unprecedented number of threats they were picking up.’

The televised coverage attracted a record viewership, with people tuning in from across the world. 

At its peak it was watched by 27.7 million in the UK and around 29 million in the United States – with a global audience estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.

Harry added: ‘We were grateful for every person in and around St George’s, and watching on TV, but our love began in private, and in public had mostly been pain.

‘Magical as the formal ceremony was, we’d both come to feel slightly frightened of crowds.’

In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote of his public wedding: ‘The first thing we saw upon walking back up the aisle and out of the church, other than a stream of smiling faces, were snipers.’ The wedding procession is pictured 

As the couple passed in the grand Ascot Landau carriage, Meghan waved and smiled to the crowds and said ‘wow’ to Harry. He reportedly said back: ‘I’m ready for a drink now’ 

Crowds gather behind the barrier ahead of Eugenie’s wedding. Around 1,200 members of the public were admitted to watch from the castle’s Lower Ward with an estimated 3,000 gathering on the streets

The Duke of York said there were ‘a few more people than most people have’ at the ceremony but only because Jack and Eugenie have ‘so many friends’

The relatively low-key atmosphere of Eugenie ‘s big day where the crowds were much more demure than Harry and Meghan’s 

Later that year, Eugenie’s big day had a much more low-key atmosphere, relatively. 

Around 1,200 members of the public were admitted to watch from the castle’s Lower Ward with an estimated 3,000 gathering on the streets. 

Prince Andrew described his daughter’s wedding as a family event rather than a public one – despite the £2.5million of taxpayer’s money which was spent on the occasion.

The Duke of York said there were ‘a few more people than most people have’ at the ceremony but only because Jack and Eugenie have ‘so many friends’. 

In a move that sent shockwaves across the media, the Duke and Duchess used the joyous get-togethers surrounding Jack and Eugenie’s marriage as an opportunity to share their own good news – their pregnancy. 

They told Prince Charles shortly before Eugenie and Jack’s drinks reception at Windsor while he was in his study.

The Duke and Duchess also informed Prince William later on, after the drinks reception, and then Princess Kate who congratulated them.

MailOnline reported at the time how the Queen and Prince Philip were also told in person at the wedding celebrations.

However, the news coming at the same time as the bride and groom’s celebrations was not welcomed by everyone in the Royal Family.

Prince Andrew described his daughter’s wedding as a family event rather than a public one despite the £2.5million of taxpayer’s money which was spent on the occasion

Prince Philip is photographed with Meghan, Harry, William and Kate at Eugenie’s wedding 

Harry and Meghan chat with William and Kate inside St George’s Chapel ahead of the wedding of Eugenie

In a move that sent shockwaves across the media the Duke and Duchess used the joyous get-togethers surrounding the marriage as an opportunity to share their own good news – their pregnancy 

‘Many wondered why Meghan chose to reveal her news on the bride’s big day,’ Tom Bower wrote in his book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors.

Eugenie and her mother, Sarah Ferguson, were particularly displeased by the timing and were said to be ‘furious’. 

The family paid for the wedding itself, which had more than 850 guests, but the taxpayer was left with a hefty security bill.

The royal wedding was shown on ITV’s This Morning with an average audience of 3 million people.  

Price Andrew added: ‘There are a few more people than most people have. There are a few more than Harry had.

‘But that’s just the nature of Eugenie and Jack. They have got so many friends that they need a church of that size to fit them all in.’

Among the non-royal guests were Naomi Campbell, Demi Moore, Ellie Goulding, the Delevingne sisters, Ricky Martin, Pixie Geldof, Robbie Williams, Stephen Fry, Kate Moss, James Blunt and Jack Whitehall.

William and Kate’s wedding was much larger with 1,900 people present and an estimated £6.35million spent on security.

It is estimated their wedding head a peak audience of 26.3million viewers and a total of 36.7 million watching at least some part of the wedding coverage in the UK.

In the United States the wedding drew an average audience of 22.8million with over 60million tuning in at some point to watch some of the coverage. 

Bishop Michael Bruce Curry gives a reading during the wedding ceremony of Harry and Meghan

As she entered the church, Jessica Mulroney looked striking in blue against the white dresses worn by the flower girls

Jessica’s twins Brian and John served as page boys at Harry and Meghan’s wedding, carrying her veil as she made her way into the chapel

The wedding guests included world leaders, politicians, diplomats and religious leaders.

The couple also reportedly desired a ‘people’s wedding’ and nearly a million people descended on the streets of London watching on giant screens in Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square and at many more gardens, squares and street parties.

Zara has shared a close relationship with both Harry and William since childhood – and now their kids are friends. 

Harry and William were were raised in Gloucestershire, just a few miles from where Zara and her brother Peter Phillips grew up.

The four royal cousins were often spotted chatting and joking at royal events, with William previously revealing how it was ‘hard to keep a straight face’ when sitting opposite his cousins in church.

Both Peter and Zara have been described as ‘peacemakers’ between William and Harry in the past, with the new Prince of Wales asking his cousin to strand between the pair during Prince Philip’s funeral procession. 

Hopefully it won’t take another royal wedding to bring the family together again.