William's wedding day blunder: driving father's prized car with handbrake on - The Guardian

Many fathers may have doubts about handing the car keys to their sons, perhaps with good reason.

When Prince William borrowed his father's beloved old Aston Martin to drive his new wife away from Buckingham Palace on their wedding day, the excitement apparently made him forget a basic rule of motoring. Release the handbrake.

The slip-up on the couple' big day was revealed by the Sun's royal photographer Arthur Edwards on the BBC's Desert Island Discs programme on Sunday.

Edwards, recounting the background to the bride and groom's brief pootle down the Mall to Clarence House, said: "I was talking to Prince Charles about that. I said: 'Did you mind him borrowing your car?' Because he loves that car. It was a birthday present from his mother on his 21st birthday.

"He said: 'Oh, no. He asked me if he could use it.'?" But when Edwards pointed out there seemed to be a problem with the 41-year-old sports car, Prince Charles apparently answered: "Yes. Because he didn't take the handbrake off."

Edwards also revealed that William had made sure he got a shot of the couple's kiss on the Buckingham Palace balcony despite his original press pass giving him a spot outside Westminster Abbey.

He said he had wanted a position outside the palace with a view of the balcony "because great things have happened" there.

But William had ensured he got a prime spot at the palace – because the couple wanted copies of his photos for themselves. "That was a pleasure to do that," he said.