Kate and William's wedding mingle with the exes

Many would rather chew off their arm than gather at an event with an ex, unlike the astute royal couple who attended a wedding with no fewer than four of their former flames in attendance. Photo / AP

Some couples would go out of their way to avoid an awkward encounter with an old flame.

But it seems the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's marriage is made of sterner stuff than most.

The couple attended a wedding where their fellow guests included no fewer than four of their former partners.

The ceremony, in a picturesque Somerset village, was for the marriage of Alice St John Webster, a friend of Kate's from Marlborough College, and Gerald Alvenel.

Kate's sister, Pippa, also attended - as did Prince William's former girlfriends Olivia Hunt and Rose Farquhar, and Kate's previous love interests, Henry Ropner and Willem Marx.

Aspiring actress Miss Farquhar, 28, dated William, 30, after he left Eton in the summer of 2000. Miss Hunt, 28, a writer, dated the duke briefly at St Andrews, before he began seeing Kate.

Mr Marx, 29, a journalist, was 30-year-old Kate's first boyfriend at Marlborough. Baronet's son Mr Ropner, 30, is rumoured to have dated Kate when she and William separated in 2007.

For Saturday's wedding, the duchess wore a £490 (NZ$958) blossom print silk chiffon dress by ethical fashion company Beulah, while her sister chose a £380 (NZ$743) pale pink and black embroidered dress by Alice Temperley.

- DAILY MAIL