The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have met with their Royal counterparts from overseas at a pre-wedding reception.

Royals from across Europe and the Middle East attended central London's Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hyde Park for drinks and dinner.

British royals including the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, and the Earl of Wessex were present, as well as princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall missed the dinner but attended a drinks reception beforehand.

Instead they dined with Prince William at Clarence House, their official London home.

Royal guests arrived through the five-star hotel's back entrance, overlooking Hyde Park and hundreds of eager waiting fans.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, accompanied by her husband, the Earl of Wessex, stunned the crowd with a red floor-length dress.

The Queen was fashionably late and wore a long lilac dress with silver swirls.

Other royal guests included Prince Pavlos of Greece and Princess Marie-Chantal, Queen Sofia of Spain, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain, Queen Margarethe of Denmark, Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia and Princess Katherine, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg, King Harald of Norway and Queen Sonia.