By Lylah Alphonse | Shine – May 6, 2011
Royal bridesmaid Eliza Lopes, 3, holds a bright pink wiggle worm in the official royal family photograph taken after Prince William married Kate Middleton last week. (Photo: Hugo Burnand/Clarence House-WPA Pool/Getty Images)
While Prince William's goddaughter Grace van Cutsem stole the show with her famous frown on the balcony of Buckingham Palace last week, another tiny royal bridesmaid, 3-year-old Eliza Lopes, had a little help getting ready for her closeup.
In the official family photograph from Prince William and Kate Middleton's lavish royal wedding, the little girl can be seen clutching a fuzzy, neon-pink "wiggly worm."
It stands out in stark contrast to her white silk dress but, according to her grandmother, Duchess of Cornwall (a.k.a. Camilla Parker Bowles), people have only just noticed it—and it's too late to do the photos over.
"Did you see the wiggly worm? That was the funniest thing," she told the Daily Mail. "I can’t believe no one has spotted it."
"I was so worried about Eliza. She is such a lovely little thing and looked so gorgeous in her dress, but it was a very big occasion for a child of her age," Camilla said of Eliza, whose mom is Camilla's daughter, Laura Lopes. "Harry pulled this wiggly worm out of his pocket in the carriage to keep them amused. Eliza loved it so much that she wouldn’t let go."
"Can you believe it? She was holding onto my finger but in her other hand was this worm," Camilla said during a charity event yesterday.
The official royal wedding photographer, Hugo Burnand, came prepared with a few of the popular toys—as well as plenty of jelly beans—to ensure that all of the youngsters would be smiling in the family portrait.
The photos were shot in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, and feature the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, their parents, siblings, bridesmaids, and pages. The shots were taken just after the ceremony, and just before the now-famous royal kisses on the balcony.
"We had spares of everything — cables, lights, cameras, lenses — and spares for the spares," Burnand told WWD.com. "Before the day, we staged dress rehearsals with stand-ins and stop-watches. We knew that if everyone had sprinted back from Westminster Abbey, we would only have had 44 minutes to shoot."
Seven staff members helped things go smoothly, as did Sarah Burton, the creative director of Alexander McQueen who designed the bride's wedding dress. "In the end, we did everything in 26 minutes," Burnand said. "I promised the kids jelly beans and wiggle worms, and it worked out.”
The portrait photographer, who also shoots pictures for Tatler magazine, is a familiar sight at royal events: He photographed the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. Burnand also shot Prince Charles’ 60th birthday portrait, and says that he met the latest royal newlyweds a few times before at various events.
