Shoes hitch for Sophie

The couple at an interview in the grounds of their future home

There was a last-minute panic in the preparations for the royal wedding, when Sophie Rhys Jones's bridal shoes turned out to be the wrong colour.

The size five court shoes were "too pink", according to shoemaker Arty Achilleous, who had just 24 hours to change them to match Miss Rhys-Jones's dress.

The shoes were sent by motorbike courier to Mr Achilleous's company Baboucha Shoes, in Barnet, north London, on Thursday so he could replace the fabric on them.

Samantha Shaw at her own wedding last month

He put a new cream-coloured material on the heels and uppers, before returning them to dress designer Samantha Shaw in south west London on Friday.

Mr Achilleous said: "It was a minor thing and we took it in our stride, but obviously everything had to be just right for the wedding.

"We had a phone call from Samantha Shaw saying that the shoes that were made for the wedding looked the wrong colour, looked too pink.

Home transformed

"It was not a problem. We are quite used to working fast for people who decide to go to Ascot at the last minute, that sort of thing."

He said Miss Rhys-Jones's shoes, worth about £250, were "sensible" with a three-inch fluted heel.

Meanwhile, readers of an American magazine have been given an insight into the house in which Prince Edward and Miss Rhys-Jones will live after they are married.

Bagshot Park: The royal home

House and Garden magazine says Bagshot Park, the mock-Tudor estate in Surrey, has kept many of its traditional features in keeping with the architecture of the building, but has a "contemporary twist".

Interior designer Mary Montagu, daughter of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, has helped to transform the home, where between 50 and 60 workman have been working every day to make sure it is ready on time for the royal couple to move into.

Ms Montagu, who is based in London, told the magazine that Prince Edward and Miss Rhys-Jones had wanted to have a strong input into the interior design of their new home.

She is quoted as saying: "I think the reason Prince Edward and Sophie chose me is they knew I wouldn't stamp too much of my own style on Bagshot."