A fire extinguisher was used outside the Duke of Westminster’s wedding.
Environmental protest group Just Stop Oil said its activists had been “disruptive” the ceremony at Chester Cathedral as the bride and groom made their way to a Bentley car.
Prince Williamwho served as an usher at the wedding of billionaire aristocrat Hugh Grosvenor, 33, and Olivia Henson, 31, was also leaving at the time.
Two women sprayed orange powder paint into the air with a fire extinguisher while standing in a crowd of spectators a short distance from the scene.
Seconds later, police snatched him from the protesters and escorted them away.
Barbara Williams, 81, from Cheshire, who was alongside protesters in the crowd, said: “I feel a bit shaken after this.
“We stayed by their side all day.”
Her friend Andrea Machin, 56, added: “They were already here when we arrived at 7am, they were bringing shopping trolleys.
“Everyone was watching the bride and groom and then we saw orange and they had what looked like a fire extinguisher.
“The police quickly realized what was happening and removed them. One of them said it was for her grandchildren. It happened just as William was walking out the door.”
A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 1pm on Friday, a colored flare was thrown by two women, believed to be protesting on behalf of Just Stop Oil, in St Werberg Street, Chester.
“Officers immediately arrived at the scene and two women were quickly arrested on suspicion of crimes against public order.
“The 69-year-old woman from Manchester and the 73-year-old woman from Suffolk are both in police custody at this time.”
Rhona Dalziel, 57, said: “One of them was reading a Richard Osman book. It’s bizarre.”
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Prince William served as an usher at the wedding. Photo: PA
In a statement, Just Stop Oil quoted protester Polly, 73, a care worker from Norfolk, who said: “Weddings are a time of coming together in celebration to make a commitment to the future.
“Yet for countless millions of people around the world there is no future unless we unite to end oil and gas.”
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A second protester, Sheila, 69, from Bristol, who worked as an NHS nurse for 50 years, was quoted as saying: “What do we value more? The wealth of billionaires like the Duke of Westminster or the lives of the billions who are being destroyed by the fossil fuel industry?
“Extreme wealth and the climate crisis are symptoms of a broken system that does not serve the majority of ordinary people.”
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