After the banquet the Queen retired to her apartments to rest awhile, and then robed for her wedding. At seven o'clock in the evening all the ladies belonging to the two first ranks of the Danish nobility (namely, the countesses and baronesses), and the ladies who had taken part in the royal procession into Copenhagen, assembled in the ante-chamber of the Queen's apartments. At half-past seven the Queen appeared, a beautiful vision wearing a robe of white silk brocaded with silver, a veil of priceless lace and a crown of pearls and diamonds. The ladies made a lane for her to pass, and curtsied their obeisance. The Queen, who, despite her tender years, bore herself with great dignity, proceeded to the knights' hall, where the wedding procession was marshalled. All the members of the royal family joined in this procession with the exception of the Queen-Dowager, Juliana Maria, who pleaded illness as an excuse for not appearing. The King and Queen came last of all, and walked under a canopy to the royal chapel of the Christiansborg, where the marriage ceremony was performed by Bishop Harboe of Zealand. The chapel was brilliantly illuminated, and thronged with the chief personages in Denmark, clad in rich attire, and covered with orders and jewels. During the ceremony the King and Queen stood, or knelt, on a _haut pas_ before the altar, which was covered with cloth of gold and decked with silver candlesticks bearing large wax tapers. At the conclusion of the marriage service the procession was re-formed, and the King and Queen were conducted from the chapel to the ante-room of their apartments, where the company dispersed. In honour of the marriage day a silver medal was struck, and numerous orders and titles were distributed. At night the city of Copenhagen was illuminated, and people paraded the streets all night shouting and singing for joy. The young Queen had won all hearts, and the popular enthusiasm evoked by the marriage augured well for the future of the monarchy.