Why Prince William, Kate Middleton Almost Didn’t Take Their Iconic Wedding Photo

Prince William and Kate Middleton posed for an iconic wedding photo during their nuptials on April 29, 2011. But it has now been revealed that they almost didn’t star in one.

On their eighth wedding anniversary, royal wedding photographer Hugo Burnand shared with Town & Country what it was really like taking photos of the royal couple.

April 20, 2011 was the day when Kensington Palace announced that Burnand has been chosen to take the official photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The decision didn’t come as a surprise since the photographer has also taken snaps of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles during their civil wedding in 2005.

But Burnand just revealed that he almost didn’t accept the job because he was traveling in South America with his family at that time. One night, everything that Burnand and his family owned was stolen, including his camera equipment.

When he finally got access to the Internet the next day, he saw an email from Camilla herself asking Burnand if he’s available to take some photos in April.

“I thought it be a shame to miss out on photographing the future king of England’s wedding and future, the future king of England who would be there too,” he said.

Prior to the royal wedding itself, Burnand participated in a three-week pre-production organization. Three days before the wedding, he and his team set themselves up at Buckingham Palace’s Throne Room.

“We wanted it to look like a spring day and, of course, no one knew if it would actually be a spring day so we lit it through the windows so it would, regardless,” he said.

During the actual pictorial, Burnand said that there was one particular wedding photo that stood out for him. Before taking a spontaneous picture of Middleton with her hand carefully placed on Prince William’s knee, the photographer first had a discussion with the Duchess of Cambridge.

Their last photo appeared to be quite candid with Middleton sitting down the steps of the palace and with a huge smile on her face.