The Queen's grand-daughter Zara Phillips married England rugby star Mike Tindall today in a simple private ceremony billed as Scotland's royal wedding.
Away from the eyes of the public and waiting media, the couple exchanged wedding vows in Edinburgh's 17th century Canongate Kirk.
The ceremony was reserved for family and friends but hundreds of well-wishers filled the capital's famous cobbled Royal Mile to catch a glimpse of the spectacle.
After the ceremony the couple emerged arm in arm, stood on the steps to the entrance to the kirk and shared a kiss much to the delight of the crowd.
But Zara, 30, broke with royal tradition and did not adopt the surname of her husband-to-be after they became man and wife.
Miss Phillips is a world class equestrienne who is well known across the sporting world by her present moniker. It is understood that the decision to keep her maiden name has been made because of her career as a sportswoman.
The royal is not an HRH but instead a plain "Miss", a decision taken at the insistence of her mother the Princess Royal and her unusual name is Greek in origin and means "bright as the dawn".
A spokeswoman for the Queen's grand-daughter confirmed she would be retaining her maiden name.
Royal brides have always adopted the name of their spouses following the exchange of wedding vows. Even when they marry commoners, members of the monarchy adopt the moniker of their partners.
Lady Helen Windsor, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, took on the name of her husband Timothy Taylor when the pair married in 1992.
And when Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, daughter of Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon, wed Daniel Chatto in 1994 she took on his name.
Zara's decision appears to be based on the fact she wants to preserve her sporting persona and her business interests.The Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips married England rugby star Mike Tindall today in a simple private ceremony.
Zara, 30, married in a beautiful ivory silk gown by designer Stewart Parvin and shoes from Jimmy Choo. The crowd gave an enormous cheer as she arrived to reveal the ivory silk faille and silk duchess satin gown by the British and Edinburgh-trained designer.
Tindall, 32, along with his best man and fellow England player Iain Balshaw - who was sporting a black eye - opted for traditional morning dress, despite speculation Tindall might don a kilt.
The wedding reception is being held in the grounds of the Palace of Holyroodhouse - the official Scottish home of the Queen - which is just a few hundred metres from the kirk.
Staged in the sparsely decorated Scottish church with no extravagant flourishes, the ceremony was far removed from the recent nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge which was a global televised event watched by hundreds of millions.
William and Kate's wedding day on April 29 attracted up to a million people to the centre of London while hundreds packed Edinburgh's narrow Royal Mile to get a glimpse of the happy couple.
The newlyweds arrived back at the palace as the Royal Scots Association pipe band played. They paused briefly outside the main doors for official photographs before going inside.
They were followed shortly afterwards by the rest of the bridal party, the Queen and Prince Phillip and the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
William and Kate, whose titles in Scotland are the Duke and Duchess of Strathearn, arrived with Prince Harry.
They paused outside the palace doors, where William exchanged a brief conversation with the Princess Royal.
Hundreds of well-wishers had also gathered in the sunshine outside the palace gates at the bottom of the Royal Mile to try to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom, the royal family and their guests.
The wedding ceremony ended just before 4pm and the crowds became impatient after seeing close protection police officers leaving from a side door of the church.
A few minutes later, the main doors opened and Tindall and his new wife Zara, both beaming, stepped into the bright summer sunshine to huge cheers from well-wishers.
They posed at the entrance for photographs by their private photographers before walking onto the Royal Mile to claps and cheers from all those watching.
Zara was holding her large bridal bouquet and the couple were followed by best man Balshaw, the four bridesmaids and the page boy Ted Maude, who looked to be around four or five years old.
In a touching moment, Zara's mother Anne watched the couple drive off while linking arms with Tindall's father Phil. Behind them was the bride's father, who was with Tindall's mother Linda.
Members of the royal family then began filing out of the church and were driven back to Holyroodhouse in a fleet of limousines that pulled up and whisked them away as the crowds cheered.
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