See William and Kate's "Grumpy Bridesmaid" 10 Years Later
Three-year-old Grace van Cutsem and her frown were the talk of the the royal wedding.
It's not easy to steal focus away from the bride and groom at a royal wedding, but one little member of the bridal party managed to do just that 10 years ago. Then three years old, Grace van Cutsem captured hearts (and became a meme) thanks to her evident distaste for all the pomp and circumstance of Prince William and Kate Middleton's nuptials. Her crowning moment, of course, was when the attendant stood next to the couple on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, frowning and covering her ears against the noise of the Royal Air Force flying overhead as the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared a kiss. So where is the "Grumpy Bridesmaid" from William and Kate's wedding now? Read on to see Grace today and to learn more about her family's relationship with the royals. And to celebrate the couple's 10th anniversary some more, check out William and Kate's 20 Most Adorable Moments Through the Years.
Grace's family and the royals go back a few generations.
Grace scored her spot in William and Kate's 2011 wedding because of her parents' friendship with the royals. She's the oldest child of Hugh van Cutsem and Rose Astor, who also have two sons, Rafe and Charles. Hugh, along with his older brother William van Cutsem, is a longtime pal of both Prince William and Prince Harry. Their grandfather trained and bred horses for Queen Elizabeth, and their father, Hugh van Cutsem Sr., is one of Prince Charles' closest friends.
Prince William is also Grace's godfather.
For more about William and Kate, check out The Romantic Details Behind William's Proposal to Kate You May Not Know.
Grace's expressions basically won the royal wedding.
Grace was one of four bridesmaids in the royal wedding, along with three more children of the couple's friends and family. They all wore matching dresses, tights, shoes, and flower crowns, but Grace stood out for her adorably honest facial expressions. At different moments during the long day, she looked confused, bored, and generally put out by the noise, cameras, and romance of the day.
Her sour mood won her plenty of headlines, with Time calling Grace an "internet sensation" and Vanity Fair saying that she "stole the show."
For more on the behind-the-scenes details of another talked-about royal wedding moment, see why Meghan Markle Revealed the Truth About Her "Feud" With Kate Middleton.
Grace and her brothers love the outdoors.
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Grace hasn't been in the spotlight much since her big day, but she does make an occasional appearance on her dad's hunting-focused Instagram page. In this shot from about four years ago, she and her brothers show off the crayfish that they helped catch for their dinner.
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And she's a full-fledged teenager now.
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The whole family is fairly private, despite both parents coming from well-known bloodlines. Grace's mom Rose Astor is a descendant of John Jacob Astor, the first American multi-millionaire. In a rare interview with The Sunday Times in 2020 (as reported by Today), Rose briefly discussed her three children, saying, "I just want them to be happy, confident and have good manners and a work ethic."
From her dad's Instagram, it certainly seems like 13-year-old Grace is learning to do a lot of things herself. And she seems a lot happier traipsing through the woods than she did facing the crowds at William and Kate's wedding.
For more on the couple, here's How Prince William Stopped the Media From Harassing Kate Middleton.
