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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Royal Wedding, Royal Parties; Storm Aftermath: Death Toll Rises

Aired April 29, 2011 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And good evening, everyone. It's been an extraordinary day here in London. And tonight it's now 3:00 a.m. They're still celebrating, not just in homes across the country, but behind me in Buckingham Palace, where the lights may be dimmed and off, the external lights. But inside, several hundred friends of William and Catherine are drinking and dancing the night away. There were fireworks a few moments ago, the happy couple of course now called the duke and duchess of Cambridge.

On this day in which so many in the Southern United States are suffering and so many in Syria and elsewhere are struggling, a global audience joined together today for a few moments to pause and watch a young couple start their new lives together. An heir to the throne and his college sweetheart exchanging vows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROWAN WILLIAMS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: Will thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her so long as ye both shall live?

HRH PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES, UNITED KINGDOM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE: I will.

ROWAN WILLIAMS: Will thou love him, comfort him, love him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him so long as ye both shall live?

HRH PRINCESS CATHERINE ELIZABETH MIDDLETON, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: I will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Ms. Middleton not vowing to obey, a word Princess Diana also chose to eliminate from her service. It all went off flawlessly today. There was one shaky moment however for Prince William with the ring. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: With this ring...

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: But as Shakespeare said, all's well that ends well. They stepped out, the coach and crowds waiting, a chorus of church bells ringing. From Westminster a profession to Buckingham Palace, the newlyweds waving from their century old open carriage.

Then from the balcony, the kiss seen around the word. Disappointing to the crowd who called for another. The happy couple consented. The crowd was satisfied with that. The newspapers here calling it a fairy tale wedding and storybook day, the likes of which they haven't seen Charles and Diana in 1981, overhead a World War II Lancaster Hurricane and Spitfire roared over the crowds.

Then they rode off from the palace into the history books in a car straight out of 1969, an Aston Martin, no less, a DB6 given to Prince Charles on his 21st birthday. Dad it seemed let him borrow the car for the day.

Of course, we will bring you more of the wedding later on, including some moments you might have missed that are particularly special.

But we want to begin our broadcast and give extensive coverage tonight to the breaking news back home. A local official in Alabama releasing some heartbreaking information this evening. The rubble down there that you're about to look at is Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Just a short time ago, the mayor released figures that made us all catch our breath. The death toll in the city, in this city alone is now 39. Nearly 1,000 people hurt, more troubling, 446 people still unaccounted for at this hour, 446 unaccounted for, and that is just in this one single city block after block. The overhead pictures you're seeing are just extraordinary.

The tornadoes, including this rare double twister taking at least 238 lives in Alabama, 34 in Tennessee, 33 in Mississippi, and 15 in Georgia. Expect all those numbers to change and some perhaps all to rise. President Obama visiting some of Tuscaloosa's hardest hit neighborhoods today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have got to say I have never seen devastation like this. It is heartbreaking. We were just talking to some residents here who were lucky enough to escape alive, but have lost everything. They mentioned that their neighbors had lost two of their grandchildren in the process.

What you're seeing here is the consequence of just a few minutes of this extraordinarily powerful storm sweeping through this community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It is hard to believe. We have reporters on the ground across the South this evening. Let's start with Reynolds Wolf with the latest from Tuscaloosa.

Reynolds, so stunning to hear that 39 lives have been now confirmed lost in Tuscaloosa.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Every single one of them precious. It is an amazing thing. We're two days away from when the tornado struck and still the state of Alabama is still reeling. Also here in Tuscaloosa, it's the same story. We have got destruction everywhere.

Homes ripped apart, trees all over the place. In the background, Anderson, you might hear a little bit of a siren. We have been hearing lots of those on and off throughout the day, but we have also been hearing something else. What we have been hearing, hammers. We have been hearing chain saws. Roads slowly beginning to clear out, some things beginning to repair, people trying to get this city, this state back to life. But I'm not going to lie to you, I'm an Alabaman. I grew up here.

I can tell you that many people have a very, very heavy heart. You mentioned the lives lost, 39 in Tuscaloosa. Across the state of Alabama, you have over 200, well over 200. And that number may extend, not just in the state, but across the region as we find more people.

We have been talking about how we're hoping for rescue missions, but with every hour, with every day that passes, it's going to go from a rescue mission more to a recovery mission, Anderson.

COOPER: We have also heard so many amazing stories just of people of how they got through the storm, those incredibly horrific minutes that seemed to go on for an eternity. I know you spoke to someone earlier about how he weathered the storm. I want to play just some of that for the viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I went outside and looked this way, the tornado just filled the horizon, horizon. There was just a spot of daylight on either side and the rest of it was just a wall of tornado. You couldn't see anything. It was literally coming directly at me.

And that's when I ran back into the house and attached the dogs to me, I grabbed the motorcycle helmet and put it on and I got in the tub. The ground was rumbling and then the house started to shake violently. And I knew at that point I was going to get just directly hit. It's a surreal thing because I couldn't believe it. It's like, I am not in a tornado.

It just doesn't seem like that should happen. But being inside the bathroom, which had no windows, and I thought I'm going to get trapped in this little room. I didn't know if it was the right thing to do, but I thought maybe if I opened the door, I will have some kind of escape hatch. But when I opened the door, the front of the house flew away and then that Krispy Kreme truck sailed right through upside down right through the living room and then the roof blew off.

And I dug down and I pushed the dogs down as best I could inside the tub. But at that point, the back of the house also blew out and the dogs got sucked out. They were just -- they were like a kite on a string, but they were tethered to me on their leashes and I was able to hang onto them and push them down. And then the rest of the house just fell on us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Reynolds, where are people staying tonight? People have had their homes destroyed, are their enough shelters for them?

WOLF: There are places of shelter, but I will tell you that the number one way that people are finding refuge is with relatives.

In Alabama, everyone is family. So they will find places in some of their neighbor's' homes that are still standing. They will stay in other communities that are close by. Everyone is going to share the best they can. But it is a very difficult, very trying time. For many people, they will never be able to go home because those homes honestly don't exist.

COOPER: Reynolds, appreciate that. We will talk to many of our reporters tonight.

As we said at the top, 446 people still unaccounted for at this hour in that state. With power out, gas pumps, getting around is very difficult. Drivers trying to cross northern Alabama are being advised to fill up before they even enter the state.

Joining us now is Walter Maddox, the mayor of Tuscaloosa.

Mr. Mayor, thank you for being with us. I'm so sorry for all your losses and certainly our thoughts are with you at this hour. At this point, what are the biggest needs that you're trying to meet?

WALTER MADDOX, MAYOR OF TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA: Right now it's search-and-rescue, Anderson.

As you alluded to earlier, we have a number of people that are listed still as missing. We're hopeful, we're prayerful that a large majority of that is just duplicates within our dispatch system. However, we are putting cadaver dog teams throughout the city in a frantic search to find everyone who is unaccounted for.

COOPER: And obviously time is of the essence for that. Do you have the resources you need?

MADDOX: We're getting the resources. The governor has granted all 14 requests we have made of the state EMA. In talking to the director of FEMA, I believe that FEMA in the next few days will be putting a lot of resources into Tuscaloosa.

We have got thousands of people who are without homes. We're facing a humanitarian crisis in the days ahead if we're not able to find temporary and then permanent shelter for everyone that's displaced.

COOPER: How many people do you have displaced right now who are still in need of shelter? Because obviously this is going to go on for some time.

MADDOX: Well, we estimate that there's thousands of individuals who either had their houses destroyed or severely damaged.

And if that is the case, we're going to have to really work hard to find temporary housing and then transition into permanent housing. This is a catastrophic event. We're talking about a 5.9-mile path that in some parts was a half mile to mile wide. Over 15,000 people in the path of this storm experienced some sort of damage to their home.

COOPER: It's hard to wrap your mind around. Mr. Mayor, I know you're incredibly busy. I appreciate your time tonight. And we will obviously continue to check in with you in the days and weeks ahead. Mr. Mayor, thank you very much.

When we come back, the clues that weather detectives are now looking for to try to determine how powerful these storms actually were. The early estimates it just takes your breath away. Let us know what you think. We're Facebook. Follow me on Twitter @AndersonCooper. I will be trying to tweet tonight, as well, if I have time.

And later, of course, the royal recap, including the kiss so nice they tried it twice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Again, we're bringing you breaking news, new figures from the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 39 killed this that city, chillingly, more than 400 people still unaccounted for, though he was saying just moments ago that may be duplications in their system that they haven't confirmed yet.

But let's certainly hope that's the case. It speaks not only to how many tornadoes hit the South, but how powerful some of them were. F-5s, the worst of the worst, that kind that wipe out neighborhoods, entire small towns. Right now a team of weather experts is looking through the devastation. They are literally on the ground there in many of those places trying to determine what hit them.

Rob Marciano spent time with some of those storm detectives. He joins us now. He was Birmingham a lot today. He joins us tonight from Tuscaloosa.

Rob, you spent the day with a National Weather Service team assessing damage and trying to determine tornado strength. What did you learn?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I learned that it's a slow and arduous process. Forensic meteorology, they really have to get their hands dirty and get in there and see how a structure is built before they can determine how it was ripped apart by these storms.

I went out with Tim Marshall. He's considered to be the rock star of this field of work. He's a structural engineer and tornado expert at the same time. He helped develop the enhanced Fujita scale, which is the scale we use today.

He doesn't have official word as to what this tornado was, which came from Mississippi, through Tuscaloosa, just barely missed Birmingham up towards the North and headed into north Georgia. Likely an EF-3 if not an EF-4. We have determined that there is an EF-5 with winds of 200 miles an hour across Smithville, Mississippi. So it's been quite an outbreak, a historic one with so many large, powerful storms, Anderson.

COOPER: Rob, this is obviously the third night we have been covering this storm extensively and I have had it explained to me. But if you can, just try to explain it again why so many tornadoes were taking place so close to one another.

MARCIANO: An extraordinary event, no doubt about it.

Most people know by now that this time of year you get that hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico. You still get pushes of cold air that come in from Canada. You get dry air moving in there and you still have a fairly strong jet stream, which we had and we have had all year with this La Nina.

All those ingredients came together. And what made this particular instance different was that in the morning, there was a squall line that came ahead of the front, and that knocked out a lot of power to a lot of folks around here. They didn't really get the warning because of that power outage.

Later in the day, these supercells developed individually. And when they develop like that individually, they have the ability to take their own form and develop as a storm system in and of themselves and that's when these supercells can drop these powerful twisters. And a record day of over 200 tornadoes across several states, making this the worst one we have seen since we have been keeping records -- Anderson.

COOPER: Wow. Just devastating.

Rob, appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

Late word tonight from the White House, President Obama just moments ago signing papers declaring a major disaster exists in the state of Mississippi, including Smithville, which as Rob just mentioned was hit by one of the strongest tornadoes.

Martin Savidge joins now from Smithville tonight.

Martin, what's the scene there?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can see it's absolute devastation. At least this half this town is devastated or destroyed, that according to public officials here. This is the post office. And it's just one of many public buildings here that were destroyed completely. Right next door, city hall, wiped out. Next to that is the play station beyond the railroad tracks. It too is wiped out.

The only funeral home in town is gone. The only gas station in town is gone. The general store is gone, as is the only grocery store right across the street, that too has been destroyed. So what you have seen is that the seat of government and basically the commercial heart of this community has been ripped out.

On top of that, you have got 13 people dead and 24 that are missing. Maybe not significant numbers, but we're talking about a town of only 850 people. So, really, the guts of this town have been torn out, and many people are wondering if they will, in fact, be able to rebuild, whether this city will be able to recover.

The federal money coming in now no doubt will help them to some respect. It's going to clear out the debris and it will allow them to put up either FEMA trailers or FEMA cottages as they call them for those who have no insurance or are unable to put a new roof over their head for the roof they lost.

COOPER: Are they still searching for people who may be trapped in the wreckage in Smithville?

SAVIDGE: They are, they are. In fact, the coroner, who I was speaking to, outlined a rather horrific scenario.

In this part of the country here, it's not really practical, and many people don't have basements in their homes. So, instead, what they do is they build storm shelters and you put them out in the backyard or you put them in somewhere near the house. And there are a lot of people that have them and a lot of people use them.

The problem is, this storm kicked up so much debris, as you say, it was a Category 5 here, so much debris tossed over such a great distance. They fear that there are some people who may still be trapped inside of the shelters they went to, to try to save their lives because debris has fallen on top and they simply were unable to get out. They are sifting through, they are using heavy equipment. More is coming in by the hour. They usually work during the daylight, but they are still searching at this hour in this town.

COOPER: So many relatives in Mississippi. It's just an unbelievable tragedy for so many people in so many different states tonight.

Martin Savidge in Smithville, Mississippi, thanks very much.

Coming up next, our coverage of the royal wedding, the kiss, the second kiss and all the details you might have missed, plus the ongoing party that is happening right now at Buckingham Palace. And Kate is changing into her party dress. Isha Sesay has all the latest on that.

Also tonight, Donald Trump dropping multiple F-bombs during a speech. We will tell you what made -- well, we will show you what he said. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, it was certainly a night for parties and after parties here in London for the royal family and their guests. It's now 3:25 a.m. here in London and in Buckingham Palace, the party still continues.

We will get details from Isha Sesay in a moment, including a look at Catherine, duchess of Cambridge's evening dress.

(NEWS BREAK)

COOPER: The royal wedding was just the beginning of a very busy day for William and Kate and their friends and family.

After the ceremony, the couple went to Buckingham Palace, behind me, along with about 650 guests for a lunch reception hosted by the queen. It was billed more as a wedding breakfast, actually.

And then the new duchess of Cambridge changed into a second dress for the parties to follow. Here's a look. The maid of honor, Kate's sister, Pippa, also changed into another second dress, I'm told.

More on the parties that the Middleton sisters changed dresses for.

Isha Sesay joins us live.

Isha, so what do we know now about all the doings after the wedding?

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that this was the hardest ticket in town to get an invite to the evening festivities at Buckingham Palace.

Anderson, I should tell you, in the last couple of minutes, since we have been here, we have seen a number of buses and cars coming out, so we don't know whether the party is wrapping up. It kicked off at around 7:00 p.m. local time. It was an invite for 300 of Prince William and Catherine's closest friends and family.

This was the party to be at, because this was the one where there was going to be dinner, there was going to be dancing, and Prince Harry had been heavily involved in how things panned out.

We heard that one of the rooms in Buckingham Palace was being turned into a disco. By some accounts, there might even be a disco ball hanging from the ceiling. That has not been confirmed.

But, certainly, we know that this was a party hosted by Prince Charles that everyone wanted to be at, because this is where they were going to get the speeches, the speech from Prince Harry, the prince's brother, which we heard was going to probably make Prince William blush.

The queen is not in residence. She's left, along with Prince Philip, for the weekend. So the kids have the full run of the place, Anderson.

COOPER: So, I thought this was going to go like well -- I guess it's 3:30 a.m. in the morning. I guess, if the party is winding down, it's not too shabby.

SESAY: No, not too shabby. As you say, it's about almost 3:30 in the morning here. As I say, we don't know whether -- what the state of things are, because at the end of the day we haven't been able to see into those buses and cars coming out.

There are still paparazzi outside the gates. They're snapping at any vehicle that comes through.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: But there is a survivors breakfast for those who do keep it going.

COOPER: Survivors breakfast. I never heard that term before.

Do we know if they served, what do they call them, bacon buddies?

SESAY: The bacon buddies are for the survivors breakfast, Anderson, seriously. I need to teach you these things.

The bacon buddies -- the bacon buddies are what you get if you make it through all the drinking and all the debauchery, if there is debauchery in the palaces. I have no idea. But, anyway, you get a bacon buddy at the end. It's a kind of trophy for surviving.

COOPER: I was forced to eat a bacon buddy earlier in the day. Maybe we will find that video and I will show it to you a little bit later on. Believe me, it's -- I don't recommend it.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: Isha, thank you.

Coming up: the royal wedding moments you might have missed or perhaps didn't notice, really some great little moments, like that Prince Henry said to his brother as Kate was -- what he said to his brother as she was walking down the aisle -- or the little bridesmaid -- I don't know if you saw this picture -- who was not at all interested at -- the kiss on the balcony.

Do we have that picture? Look at that -- look at that face.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: Just wanted some peace and quiet.

The greatest moments you might have missed coming up -- as our coverage continues from London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: This, of course, was right after the ceremony as they left Westminster Abbey, heading across to Buckingham Palace, in the 1902 Landau coach they call it, a coach originally built for Edward VII back in 1902, meant for his coronation. Really a wonderful moment. The bride saying to -- whispering to her husband as she got into the carriage, "I'm so happy."

Here in London, it was a day full of tradition, full of joy, and really an iconic moments. But we also wanted to take a look at some of the other details, the little moments that you might have missed, the surprises and some of the details that made it such a very sweet day and sort of a very personal day in many ways, even though it was such a big, public event.

The wedding cake, for instance, take a look at this. It's an eight-tiered traditional fruitcake with 900 iced flowers. There was also a groom's cake, specially requested by Prince William, a chocolate biscuit cake. Mmm, chocolate. A favorite, apparently, that he grew up on.

The couple ditched the carriage and left Buckingham Palace in an Aston Martin convertible owned by William's father, Prince Charles, which was a 21st birthday present from his parents. The car has been converted to run on bioethanol made from English wine. Prince Charles converted it in 2008 to be better for the environment.

And you can see the license plate: "Just Wed."

And the front of the car, and "L." That's a learner's tag, a nod to the newlyweds just starting out their life together.

Before they hopped in the Aston Martin, the couple enjoyed a remarkable day full of ceremony and tradition and a few unscripted moments, as well. Again, here's Isha Sesay.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY (voice-over): It's one of the most anticipated moments: when a groom sees his bride for the first time. But with all eyes on Catherine, you might not have noticed Prince William standing with his back to the congregation, wanting to be the last one to see her.

He waited for his cue from his brother, Harry. As she approached the final stretch, he whispered, "She's here now."

The best-kept secret, her dress, was revealed to the world and her prince, designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. It was the perfect mix of modern and traditional. But there was some things that you couldn't see. A blue ribbon was sewn inside the dress to represent something blue. Her earrings were something new, a gift from her parents. They were custom made with a diamond-encrusted acorn in the middle to represent the Middletons' new family crest.

And surprisingly, the something borrowed was from the queen: a diamond-entrusted tiara called a Cartier halo, made in 1936 for the Queen Mother. Although we couldn't hear him, the groom melted hearts around the world, when he leaned over and said to his bride, "You look beautiful." Then he seemed to relax and crack a joke to his soon-to- be father-in-law, saying, "Just a small family affair."

The ceremony went off without a hitch. Sorry for those of you who bet on Prince Philip falling asleep, but you may have missed the moment of nervous laughter when the prince had to wrestle Kate's wring onto her finger. Rest assured: he got it on.

The happy couple left the abbey and made their way into the 1902 state Landau carriage, where it appeared Princess Catherine said to her prince, "I'm so happy."

She wasn't the only one. One of the clergymen forgot all about the cameras in the Abbey and did a series of cartwheels up the aisle.

Even the queen was pleased. Upon arriving at Buckingham Palace, she was overheard on camera saying, "The wedding was amazing."

When the newlyweds were introduced to the country on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, you have to watch closely as the princess must have been taken aback as she mouthed, "Oh, wow."

But then there was the moment that sealed the deal, as the hundreds of thousands chanted, "Kiss." Prince William appeared to ask his wife, "Are you ready? Shall we kiss?" The crowd erupted with cheers, except one young girl.

With all eyes on the newlyweds, many missed 3-year-old bridesmaid Grace Van Cutsem. She didn't seem to care as she had the best seat in the house for a kiss that would go down in history. She just wanted some peace and quiet.

Many thought the excitement was over. But then the couple did the unthinkable. The prince appeared to ask his princess if she'd give one more kiss. She obliged, giving the crowd what they wanted, a historic second kiss.

As the royal family made their way inside, the bride and groom were the last ones to say adieu. As Princess Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, turned around one last time to take it all in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Really some remarkable moments. Isha Sesay joins me again, along with Richard Quest and "Vogue" editor at large, Hamish Bowles.

Let me just start off by -- by what was your favorite moment, Richard?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For me, it was when they're in the Abbey, and the first time they looked t each other, and you just realized this was a couple in love. The next generation of monarchy, that this was the restoration, if you like, of the House of Windsor. COOPER: Did it reenergize the monarchy in a way?

QUEST: There is no question that is what has happened. To quote or paraphrase, the torch has been passed. It may have to go through Charles before it gets to William, but the monarchy has been given a new lease of life by what we saw today.

COOPER: Hamish, you were with us for part of the day, having a front-row seat here. What was for you the most memorable iconic moment?

HAMISH BOWLES, EDITOR AT LARGE, "VOGUE": You know, I think the most extraordinary moment was actually sitting here when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had just left the Abbey, and we had this prime position and saw all the carriages and just that sense of pageantry.

COOPER: To actually see them in real life, there's something kind of shocking about it, actually. I was actually really getting into it. Once you actually see them in person, you're like, "Wow, they're actually real people, and they're right there."

SESAY: Yes.

BOWLES: It was an absolutely heart-soaring moment.

COOPER: Isha?

SESAY: The exchange of the vows. It was so -- it was so touching. And it felt like such an intimate moment between the pair of them. Bear in mind, they're being watched by 1,900 people and almost 2 billion people around the world.

COOPER: Right.

SESAY: The sense that you felt that it really was, and it gets down to the fact that it's a man and a woman taking this momentous step. They just happen to be a royal and a commoner, so to speak.

QUEST: I have to tell you, that point you just made about when you see them, because that was obviously when they -- when she walked out, and she had the dress. That never goes away. Every time you see the queen, every -- I've covered the queen for over 20 years, and every time you see the queen or Charles, you think, "They are real."

SESAY: And the boys are taller than I thought. When I was at the Abbey and they came out.

COOPER: You just don't see people in, you know, such regalia.

SESAY: Yes.

COOPER: These uniforms, these ridiculous hats. I mean, there's something kind of surreal about the whole thing. I say ridiculous, as well. Ridiculous affectionately.

SESAY: They looked -- I thought they looked smashing. COOPER: I'm sorry, Prince Andrew's daughter had, like, like antlers on her head. It was very strange.

QUEST: That looks well on the Greek (ph).

COOPER: That's the hat I'm talking about. Hamish, what was that? What is that?

BOWLES: Well, it was Philip Treacy's -- one of his more whimsical moments. I think -- I think British women can get away with a little bit of fantasy on the head.

COOPER: So let's talk about the dress, which was amazing that they were able to keep it secret this long. Hamish, did it live up to what you had hoped?

BOWLES: It was superb. It was so pitch perfect, perfect for the occasion. It was so majestic in the Abbey, but it had a little bit of modernity. The fabrics had a lightness to them. So it had that incredible silhouette.

But When she first came into the abbey, it had that poetry in motion to it. It was exquisite in every way.

COOPER: And the way they were able to keep the secret. I understand the woman you work for, Anna Wintour, who's sort of the -- I mean, the head of the fashion world in the United States, at least probably globally, she was lied to. Is this true?

BOWLES: Well, dissembled, I would say. You know, I think -- I think that if Sarah Burton wasn't a brilliant designer, I might suggest a career on the stage.

COOPER: Anna asked her -- asked her point blank.

BOWLES: Anna asked her point blank, and she denied it. And I must say...

COOPER: So Anna asked her, "Are you designing the dress for the wedding?" And she said...

BOWLES: Something like that. And she denied it. And I mean, it's incredible, because, you know, Anna staring you down is enough to turn most designers -- most designers to jelly. So I mean, chapeau to her.

And -- and actually, I must say, I loved the excitement. I love the idea that you felt like the groom not seeing the dress until it finally arrived. It's just incredible.

SESAY: To speak to the -- the utility of it, and the woman -- being the woman on the panel, it felt very perfect and also she could move very easily, because she had to kneel and stand.

COOPER: Her dress was obviously very different than Diana's dress. And I think we have sort of a comparison just to give you a sense, for those who haven't been following it as closely.

SESAY: Sometimes it feels bad to, you know, beat up on the Diana dress, because it was appropriate at the time.

COOPER: I'm not beating up on the dress. I'm just saying it's different.

SESAY: No, no, no.

COOPER: It was sort of a Grace Kelly dress...

SESAY: Absolutely.

COOPER: ... which I think we also have a picture of.

BOWLES: Yes. When she first appeared and you saw her in the car, sort of fish tank windows, you were very much aware of the Grace Kelly similarities.

Actually, when she got out of the car, I thought it was very evocative of Princess Margaret's dress, the queen's sister, who was married in 1960. Very similar fabric and very, very similar car.

QUEST: Which I think I forecast exactly on this show. I said it was going to be like Princess Margaret.

COOPER: I just want to show Pippa, the bridesmaid, the sister of Kate's dress. Some people in America -- I got some tweets from people saying, "Why is she wearing white, because I thought only the bride was supposed to wear white at a wedding?" Apparently, in England, that's not the case.

QUEST: She's not the part of the bridal part.

SESAY: Yes.

COOPER: That's fine. OK.

Well, Isha, Richard, Hamish, stick around. Up next, the kiss or kisses, William and Kate making history on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Ahead, the star-studded guest list. David and Victoria Beckham. See who else was there and what sort of hats they wore. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. So that was the newlywed's first royal kiss on the balcony. The crowd below, though, half a million people, were not satisfied. They began chanting, "Kiss again, kiss again. Kiss." Apparently, they thought the first kiss was too quick. Piers Morgan certainly did. There was much dissension in our coverage.

William and Kate were good sports. Take a look. They gave the crowd what it wanted: a second kiss, not dramatically different from the first, but actually kind of better and longer. There you go. The crowd was satisfied like that, and because people want to see it again, let's replay them side by side. Shall we? You can judge for yourself which was better.

SESAY: And he went beet red. Did you see that? In the first?

COOPER: They looked remarkably relaxed, considering it was being broadcast around the world to goodness knows how many people.

Back with Isha Sesay, Richard Quest, and "Vogue" editor at large Hamish Bowles joining me again.

There's a photo, which is on -- on a lot of the front pages of a lot of the British papers. I just want to show it to our viewers. We showed it at the top of this program. But it was taken as William is driving Catherine away from Buckingham Palace in the Aston Martin that his father was given on his 21st birthday. Let's put that photo up. It's a great shot. It's sort of -- it's a very kind of youthful, exuberant shot.

QUEST: And that sets the tone of what this was all about. A modern couple, who have fallen in love, who got married and have lived together and happy together, and that says it all. The fact they drove out of the palace on their own, with a few security guards behind them. But, you know, by and large, they did it on their own, and they -- that was really the tone that they wanted to set.

COOPER: They drove to Clarence House and they drove ultimately -- got back to Buckingham Palace, where we believe a party may still be going on. We don't know if it's over. There were fireworks at the top of this hour.

But Hamish, you pointed out, we were kind of looking at Buckingham Palace, and it's very dark on the front. And we were kind of looking, thinking, well, maybe the party is not happening any more. But this is just a facade.

BOWLES: The facade is mostly administrative. And then the back is where all the state rooms are.

COOPER: OK. So they don't want commoners seeing what's going on.

QUEST: They want the lovely view of the garden.

COOPER: OK.

QUEST: They're probably all jumping into the lake.

COOPER: We also had two other photos, because there was a change of dresses. Kate Middleton -- I know you want to talk about it, because I have no idea what to say about either of these dresses. Kate Middleton changed into a dress I think we have a picture of. And also Pippa, her sister, changed into a new dress, as well. That was the second dress. That's Pippa's dress. And that's, I guess -- is that Kate Middleton?

SESAY: No, that's Pippa. That's Pippa.

BOWLES: Kate was in -- actually, it's the same silhouette as her wedding dress but, you know, strapless with a little shrug.

COOPER: Which was also white, I guess.

SESAY: Yes, and also (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but also with her hair down, literally, as she goes off to the party. And William wears black tie.

You know, very much, they're going to party. They're really going to be set to have their knees up, as we say here in England.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: Their knees up.

QUEST: A party. A party.

COOPER: You call it a knees up?

QUEST: He doesn't get out much.

SESAY: You go dancing and you pick your knees up.

COOPER: OK. People, I have no idea what you all are -- wow, you guys are racy here. Wow.

The other thing I don't understand -- I've been learning a lot of new words. There's supposed to be this after party that Prince Harry was throwing where they're serving bacon butties.

SESAY: Butties.

COOPER: I was forced to taste a bacon butty earlier. I think we have the video of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Treat yourself, Anderson.

CAT DEELY, HOST, "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE": Take just a bite. Come on. There you go.

MORGAN: Have a butty.

Yay! A momentous day. Which is a thrilling climax.

DEELY: He's had some hearty pudding in his time, but that just about takes the biscuit, right?

COOPER: Wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The funny part was actually before that video, when I actually was showing you what's in the bacon butty. Because it's actually quite disgusting. It's just a big slab of pork in a bun. SESAY: But did you get brown sauce in it?

QUEST: It's delicious. It depends on the time -- the time.

SESAY: Yes.

QUEST: Or a sausage sandwich, or whatever. It depends on the time of day.

COOPER: Five a.m. when you're drunk?

QUEST: They will be gagging -- they will be gagging for a bacon butty in there at 5 a.m. I promise you that.

BOWLES: It's a preemptive strike against a hangover.

SESAY: It is.

QUEST: Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: It's just a big slab of pork.

SESAY: A cultural difference going on.

QUEST: Her majesty doesn't find anything unpleasant in the garden. Most regrettably if she did.

SESAY: Well, she's not here, thankfully.

QUEST: Well, thankfully.

SESAY: Thankfully, she's gone for the weekend.

BOWLES: And the Union Jack is...

QUEST: She's at Windsor with her feet up.

SESAY: Not her knees up.

COOPER: I was going to say it, and then I thought, "No, just let that past."

SESAY: No.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: I want to show some of the celebrities that we saw. David and Victoria Beckham showed up. I think he actually had a top hat which he didn't wear which he was wearing. His Order of the British Empire. Though Piers medal -- Piers Morgan kept saying it was on the wrong lapel. There's that couple. What do you think of that hat?

QUEST: ... be worn on the... BOWLES: I think she looks wonderful. I think she looks incredibly chic.

SESAY: Really?

COOPER: How many hats can Philip Treacy design? Because everybody says, "Oh, that's a Philip Treacy."

QUEST: It's the only one that anyone can remember.

BOWLES: Steven Jones made some beautiful hats, too. He was -- I think Philip must have been working through the night for the last few months now.

COOPER: How many -- in a non-wedding year, what do they do? I mean, how many people buy hats?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Absolutely. There's the gold staff.

BOWLES: ... any other wedding you need to have them.

QUEST: There's investitures.

COOPER: I need to get -- I need to get out of this country. This is the weirdest place. I've never been to any place where they're so fascinated with hats. They're not even hats.

SESAY: They're fascinating.

QUEST: They're creations.

BOWLES: You can have a bit of fantasy. You can be playful. I mean, you know, you throw them off (ph), the clothes are actually fairly sober.

COOPER: Right.

BOWLES: And then they have this crazy thing going on on their head. They can't reuse these hats, can they? Once you've worn the antler hat or whatever that was, it's hard to wear it again. You can't even dress it up.

QUEST: ... is known to reuse these hats.

COOPER: Once she's worn the antler hat, or whatever that was, Next year, go to lady's day at ascot. That's the home of the big hats.

COOPER: Is that right?

SESAY: The big and the ridiculous hats, and the big and ridiculous outfits.

QUEST: I can't believe we're here discussing this. COOPER: It's 4 a.m. Why not?

I want to thank you all for being with us. Richard, you've been doing extraordinary work around the clock, and I appreciate you staying up late with us.

And Hamish, as well. I'm so glad were able to share this with you. And Isha, as well.

SESAY: Going back to the states.

COOPER: Back to the "States." Thank goodness.

No, England has been fantastic. Although I will say, I tweeted this, on the way over here, 20-minute walk down Bond Street. I picked a street with no bars, no pubs or anything. I saw 20 drunk people yelling. I saw, I think it was four people passed out, one of them in a pool of vomit. And I took a picture, and I'll show it to you during the commercial break.

QUEST: Thank you.

COOPER: Four people urinating on the street.

SESAY: ... a medieval thing.

COOPER: I mean, the amount of public intoxication in this country is extraordinary. And it's not just because it's a special event.

SESAY: No.

QUEST: You Americans are so puritanical.

COOPER: All right. The wedding we saw today was full of tradition. It was also modern, a royal wedding for the 21st century, breaking new ground while honoring the past. We want to leave you with a look at the most memorable moments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

ROWAN WILLIAMS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God and in the face of this congregation to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony.

I, William Arthur Philip Louis...

PRINCE WILLIAM, UNITED KINGDOM: I, William Arthur Philip Louis...

WILLIAMS: ... take thee, Catherine Elizabeth...

PRINCE WILLIAM: ... take thee, Catherine Elizabeth...

WILLIAMS: ... to my wedded wife...

PRINCE WILLIAM: ... to my wedding wife...

WILLIAMS: ... to have and to hold from this day forward...

PRINCE WILLIAM: ... to have and to hold from this day forward...

WILLIAMS: ... for better or for worse...

PRINCE WILLIAM: ... for better or for worse...

WILLIAMS: ... for richer or poorer...

KATE MIDDLETON, BRIDE OF PRINCE WILLIAM: ... for richer or poorer...

WILLIAMS: ... in sickness and in health...

MIDDLETON: ... in sickness and in health...

WILLIAMS: ... to love and to cherish...

MIDDLETON: ... to love and to cherish...

WILLIAMS: ... till death us do part.

MIDDLETON: ... till death us do part.

WILLIAMS: With this ring I thee wed.

PRINCE WILLIAM: With this ring I thee wed.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And we certainly wish them all extraordinary happiness in the years ahead.

That's our report tonight from London. Thanks for watching. I'll see you back home next week.

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