A year on and this time we're the guests! Kate and Pippa dazzle at friend's wedding, 12 months after the Duke and Duchess's big day

By Rebecca English

Understated: Kate sports a lace dress from last year (left) while Pippa looks pretty in gold (right)

Given that her big sister is the Duchess of Cambridge, sometimes even Pippa Middleton needs a little extra something to dazzle.

And she rose to the challenge beautifully at a friend’s wedding this weekend, sporting a dramatic fascinator covered in golden butterflies which brightened up a dreary day.

Her pretty headgear complemented her gold sequinned dress and jewellery, while she kept out the unseasonable wind and rain in an elegant dark coat with royal blue lining.

Pippa was accompanying her sister and brother-in-law at the wedding of Kate’s former schoolfriend, Hannah Gillingham, on Saturday.

The pair were at Marlborough College together, where they played on several of the same sports teams. Pippa was a couple of years below Kate at the same school and also played sports.

The low-key ceremony in the village of Wingfield, Suffolk, took place the day before the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s own first wedding anniversary.

It was a world away from last year, when a television audience of two billion watched the royal couple say their vows.

Brightening up a dreary day: Pippa sported a dramatic fascinator covered in golden butterflies

Revamped dress: The Duchess wore a blue lace Erdem dress which she first wore during her trip to Canada last year, below, but accessorised it differently by adding a belt and hat

Colour change: For the Canada trip, Kate wore the dress with a nude heels and a clutch, but in Saturday's wetter weather kept her accessories blue

The Duchess was determined not to overshadow the bride on Saturday, choosing an understated blue lace Erdem dress she bought last year for her first royal tour to Canada, teamed with a gold belt and blue fascinator.

Sources said Kate loved catching up with her old friends, some of whom she hadn’t seen for several years.

Big day: Both the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge attended the wedding of close friends Hannah Gillingham and Robert Carter
(pictured). The bride wore a dress similar to that worn by the Duchess at her wedding

As William is due back on duty as a search and rescue pilot early this week, the couple were expected to head back to their remote farmhouse in North Wales yesterday afternoon in time for a romantic dinner together, which Kate is said to have been planning for weeks.

It had been reported that she was attempting to make fish en papillote – in parchment – to celebrate their first anniversary, which is symbolised by paper.

A spokesman for the couple told the Mail: ‘The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge yesterday attended a friend’s wedding. The Royal couple are spending today privately and they are not planning to mark their wedding anniversary in any public way.’