Royal wedding guests to face security checks at the Abbey

Not really suprising...but will still be frustrating for guests, VIPs and dignitaries who are "dolled up to the nines"...to be body swept and scanned by some sweaty security guard!

It's not the type of welcome most wedding guests expect - ID checks and a tough security sweep before entering the church.

But then again, Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding on Friday is no ordinary affair.

Britain hasn't seen a royal wedding of this size since Prince Charles married Diana in 1981 -- there were actually 200 more police on duty for that wedding, which had a longer procession route and a guest list of some 3,500 people, including foreign royals and heads of state.

Friday's wedding will offer much of the same pomp and circumstance with its 1,900 invited guests. Still, it presents a modern security nightmare for the 5,000 U.K. police officers on duty, who will be on the lookout for Irish dissident terrorists, Muslim extremists, anti-monarchists, protesters and ordinary riffraff who might blight the royal spectacle.

William & Kate: The Royal Wedding - Royal wedding guests to face security checks at the Abbey