William and Kate in a final Royal Wedding rehearsal at Westminster Abbey

As predicted Prince William and Kate Middleton were ushered into a side entrance of Westminster Abbey last night to complete a final run-through of Friday's Royal Wedding ceremony.

The couple arrived in a chauffeur-driven car around 7:30 p.m. (GMT) with their wedding party, which included Prince Harry, Pippa Middleton and the rest of Kate's immediate family including her parents, Michael and Carole, and brother James.

With less than 2 days to go until the Royal Wedding...

What's the latest news?

At around 2am (GMT) this morning approximately 1000 British soldiers from the RAF, Navy, Household Cavalry, and the Army (some of whom have served with Prince William) took part in a dress rehearsal. 

The rehearsal followed the planned Royal procession route culminating at 5am with the Rolls Royce phantom in which Kate Middleton is expected to travel in on her way to the ceremony, pulling up outside Westminster Abbey. Later on, seven RAF pilots rehearsed the fly-past in the sky above London. 

There is a full dress rehearsal expected tomorrow, the day before the Royal Wedding, which will take place in Westminster Abbey and involve the whole of the wedding party except Kate, William and the Royal Family. 

A music rehearsal is taking place in the Abbey today, which has been closed off now to the public. And, Kate and William are expected to run through a dress rehearsal at Westminster Abbey later on today but it is not yet confirmed.

The public have already started pitching their tents along the main procession route with some of the people having camped out since Tuesday just to ensure they secure one of the best viewing positions. 

Elsewhere, it has been rumoured that Alexander McQueen maybe the designer behind the Royal Wedding dress (we'll update you further on this). Whilst others have been more concerned with Kate's hairdo, with speculation that she will be wearing it up instead of down after she was spotted today with it uncharacteristically tied up.

Finally, there has been some speculation that Prince William personally snubbed Tony Blair and Gordon Brown by ensuring they both were not invited to the Royal Wedding. In contrast two past Tory leaders, Sir John Major and Lady Thatcher were invited. 

It is no secret that Prince William is not a big fan of Tony Blair after he made political capital out of the death of his mother and Gordon Brown may have just been a victim of convenience as the Palace's official line on it is that neither Tony Blair nor Gordon Brown are Knights of the Realm. They could hardly invite one without the other, could they?

The Royal Wedding flowers

Prince William and Miss Catherine (Kate) Middleton have chosen London-based floral designer Shane Connolly to create the floral displays for their Royal Wedding in 2 days time on 29th April 2011. 

Mr. Connolly has directed a team of florists, including Westminster Abbey's and Buckingham Palace's florists, and florists individually chosen by the Couple, to create the floral displays at the Abbey and for Buckingham Palace.

Mr. Connolly has directed a team of florists, including Westminster Abbey's and Buckingham Palace's florists, and florists individually chosen by the Couple, to create the floral displays at the Abbey and for Buckingham Palace.

Mr. Connolly was chosen by the couple owing to his reputation for producing elegant and unique displays, and for his creative approach which focuses on using seasonal, natural and organic flowers. Mr. Connolly is also well known for his sustainable approach to floristry, which incorporates as much as possible the use of growing, rather than cut, plants and trees.

The Couple have taken a close interest in the designs, which follows a theme that pays tribute to the Language of Flowers.

The floral displays in Westminster Abbey feature a variety of seasonal growing and cut British flowers and trees sourced from Royal Estates and other growers around the country. The flowers and plants include blossoms, azaleas, rhododendron, euphorbias, beech, wisteria and lilac.

The floral displays in the Abbey will include eight 20 feet-high trees: six English Field Maple and two Hornbeam. All the trees will be growing in planters, which have also been designed by Mr. Connolly and which were made by craftsmen at Highgrove, The Prince of Wales's Residence in Gloucestershire.

After the wedding, the flowers and plants will be left in position in Westminster Abbey for the public to view until Friday 6th May 2011. Following this, many of the trees will be taken to Highgrove Gardens, where they will be planted. The Couple's intention is that many of the cut plants and flowers and all the growing plants will be donated to charities or re-planted.

Harry to spend time with William on April 28th

William has already had his stag party out of the way -- so what will England's future King be doing on April 28?

Bro time!

"William asked Harry to spend the night at Clarence House, the night before the wedding," a palace source tells US Weekly of William, 28, and brother Prince Harry.

"It'll be great for the two brothers to be together before the big day. I'm sure Harry can help William with any last-minute nerves."

Prince William to Hang With Prince Harry on Wedding Eve - omg! news on Yahoo!

There's only one Royal Wedding ring

The Wedding ring that Catherine Middleton will wear will be made of Welsh Gold. The gold was given to Prince William by The Queen shortly after the couple were engaged. It has been in the family's possession for some years and has been in the care of the Royal Jewellers. 

There are no further details on which mine the gold was mined from. More information about the ring may be released closer to the Wedding Day.

There will only be one ring, in accordance with the couple's wishes. The ring will be from Prince William for Catherine.

Other Royal Wedding Rings

The wedding rings of The late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Queen, The late Princess Margaret, The Princess Royal and The late Princess of Wales were all made from the same nugget of Welsh Gold, which came from a Welsh mine, Clogau St David’s at Bontddu, North Wales.

In November 1981, the Royal British Legion presented The Queen with 36-grammes of 21 carat Welsh Gold, part of this gold went into the making of the ring worn by Sarah, Duchess of York (1986).

The Wedding rings worn by The Earl and Countess of Wessex are made from Welsh gold, too (possibly from the piece presented in November, 1981).

The Prince of Wales wears his wedding ring under his signet ring.

Diana's ghost will be everywhere on Prince William's big day

Very interesting article in the Telegraph, detailing Prince William's relationship with Diana....and how her memory and spectre will be everywhere throughout the Royal Wedding and indeed in William's relationship with his future wife, Kate Middleton.

Royal wedding: Diana's ghost will be everywhere on Prince William's big day - Telegraph

William and Kate getting married sets a good example

When Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange their vows next week, more than a quarter of the world's population are expected to be watching the ceremony.

As wedding fever goes global, it seems that we could do with a royal wedding boost to our marriage rates. In England and Wales they have recently fallen to an all-time low and 46 per cent of our children are now born outside wedlock. This week, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) released a new report showing that this lack of formal family structures is without historical precedent.

Yet the absence of the marriage ceremony makes a profound difference to the survival of couples' relationships.

The CSJ estimates that children born today have only a 50-per-cent chance of reaching the age of 16 in an intact household.

The main source of this breakdown is not divorce but fragile cohabitation. This parental separation is hard for children to cope with and the increasing rate of family breakdown harms a child's prospects, making it much more likely that they will fail at school, start using drugs and struggle to get jobs.

Family structure is important for children and marriage remains key to the endurance of that structure. David Cameron recognized its importance in his Conference speech last year, but we've heard little since.

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, and his girlfriend, Justine Thornton, whose wedding will take place next month, seem to be late converts to the advantages of marriage. Miliband has firmly rebutted any suggestion that his marriage is politically expedient. But this mark of commitment to the mother of his two young sons will certainly help to offset the bad press he received last year when it was revealed that he had failed to register as the father of his first child. Such an apparently casual attitude toward his family obligations created an impression he has since been keen to counteract.

Last month, Miliband gave a speech to the Resolution Foundation, an organization with close links to Labour whose declared mission is the design of policies to support low-to middle-earning households. These are the families who do not depend on welfare handouts for their main source of income, but who cannot be classed as well off and who suffer from some of the highest marginal rates of tax when they try to improve their earnings.

Traditionally, these are the families who have been wooed by the Conservatives: The strivers who want to improve their lives through their own efforts, provide for their children and stick together to give those children the best start in life. Many of them have already lost out since the Coalition came to power, due to cuts in family-based tax credits and the freezing of child benefit.

Those with only one breadwinner and one stay-at-home parent are being particularly hard hit. They have the least to gain from the increase in personal tax allowances and, if they have incomes of around $60,000 a year, will soon lose their child benefit altogether -a significant cut in the family budget, especially if they have more than one child. By taking up the cause of these families and giving shape and meaning to his previously inept definition of the "squeezed middle," Ed Miliband should be giving the Conservative-led Coalition pause for thought.

To date, the government's response has been uncertain. On the positive side, Iain Duncan Smith's welfare reforms will reduce the current bias in the benefits system which penalizes poor couples who bring up children together.

This should make it easier for some of the worst-off parents to marry and to stay together. But it does not amount to a coherent and sustained family policy.

The Conservative promise of a tax break for married couples, most likely in the shape of a transferable allowance, has yet to be spelled out, or given a date for implementation.

Read More >>

Prince William has sexy hamper for Royal Wedding night

PRINCE William is planning to give bride Kate Middleton a romantic wedding night to remember - with a hamper full of sexy treats.

The eager royal groom bought the basket of sensual, aromatic goodies from posh London store Fortnum & Mason.

Once next Friday's hectic marriage and reception are over, Wills wants Kate to relax and get into the mood for love on their first night together as man and wife.

When they retire to their bedroom at Buckingham Palace, she will find the hamper waiting, packed with passion-provoking gifts all personally chosen by her new husband at a cost of thousands of pounds.

Personally we'd be disappointed if there wasn't some chocolate body paint in there somewhere!


Prince William has sexy hamper for Royal Wedding night | The Sun |News|Royal Wedding

Extreme Royal Wedding hunger strike fan shall go to the Ball

The Mexican teen, Estibalis Chavez (19) who staged a 16-day hunger strike to try to get an invitation to the royal wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William will be heading to London afterall.

But Estibalis Chavez most likely won't be able to get inside Westminster Abbey to watch the vows. Instead, she'll be able to watch from the sidelines as thousands gather in London next week on 29th April 2011 thanks to a donation from Octavio Fitch Lazo, the U.K. Press Association reports.

"It moved me to see that no one understood her very well...I think she is right to fight for what she wants," Lazo said. Lazo, is a private citizen who is a member of a lobbying group that wants Mexico to use silver coins, bought Chavez a plane ticket so she can take part in the festivities.

Chavez staged a hunger strike in February outside the British Embassy in Mexico City. She lost 19 lbs.

The Royal Wedding between Prince William & Kate Middleton receives the Queen's Royal approval.

The Queen gave formal consent to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage yesterday.

Under the Great Seal of the Realm, The Queen signed a notice of approval which proclaimed, in transcribed calligraphy, consent to the union of "Our Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, K.G. and Our Trusty and Well-beloved Catherine Elizabeth Middleton".

Tied to the bottom of the approval by gold braiding is a large red wax Great Seal of the Realm.

The law dates back to the 18th Century. Under the Royal Marriages Act 1772, all descendants of King George II must obtain the Sovereign's agreement before they wed.

The "Instrument of Consent" features decorative artwork chosen by the artist to represent the groom and bride-to-be.

A white lily represents St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast day falls on April 29th and with whom Miss Middleton shares her name.

Beneath it is a Welsh leek surrounded by Prince William's white three-pronged second in line to the throne label and a tiny red escallop from the Spencer family Arms.

There is also a red dragon - the heraldic symbol of Wales, the UK's floral emblems - the rose, thistle and shamrock - and the Garter belt, Prince William's blue and gold Order of the Garter belt, as well as a large gold E for Elizabeth.

The Queen's signature "Elizabeth R" can be seen at the top right of the Instrument of Consent, which is dated "the ninth day of February Two Thousand and Eleven in the Sixtieth year of Our Reign".

It was signed "by The Queen herself, signed with her own hand" at a Privy Council meeting after the Monarch made a formal Declaration of Consent.

Read More >>

Royal Wedding vows - a break from tradition

Kate Middleton will not promise to 'obey' Prince William in her wedding vows. The couple have apparently decided on their own vows which instead will see Kate promising to 'love, comfort, honour and keep' Prince William for as long as they both shall live.

I am sure this will be far less of a controversial issue than it was when Princess Diana refused to use the word 'obey' in her vows back in 1981 but then that was around 30 years ago now and I think it's a good thing that Kate Middleton and Prince William are writing their own vows for the right reasons.

The Royal Wedding Cake

Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton have chosen Leicestershire-based cake designer, Fiona Cairns to create their wedding cake. The wedding cake will be a multi-tiered traditional fruit cake. The cake, which will be decorated with cream and white icing, will have a strong British floral theme using elements of the Joseph Lambeth technique. 

Ms. Cairns was chosen for her creative style and beautifully crafted handmade cakes using traditional British ingredients. Prince William and Miss Middleton were keen to choose a British cake designer and they had seen and tasted some of Ms. Cairns’ cakes in the past.

Ms. Cairns’ business, which started 25 years ago at her kitchen table, is now based at a state of the art bakery in Leicestershire, in the heart of the English countryside. Ms. Cairns was first contacted by St James’s Palace in early February 2011. Like any bride, Miss Middleton did her own research into the cake’s design and met Ms. Cairns to give her specific guidance on what she would like the cake to look like.

The Lambeth technique is derived from a style of decorating that was popular in England where chefs and decorators would use a lot of intricate piping to create 3-D scrollwork, leaves, flowers, and other decoration. The method is still popular today and is frequently used by wedding cake designers and decorators to create ornate wedding cakes.  

The Archbishop of Canterbury on the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton

Speaking in a short film produced by Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury talks about the sense of hopefulness and generosity which lie at the heart of marriage, and what this also tells us about the ‘mystery’ and ‘delight’ which can be found in this life-time commitment. 

Dr Williams, who will be conducting the royal marriage ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Friday 29th April 2011, also describes the sense of privilege he feels about his own role in the royal wedding. 

"Any priest or minister conducting a wedding is bound to feel a huge sense of privilege. You're invited into some intimate places in people's lives. You're invited to take part in a very significant moment, a moment of hope; a moment of affirmation about people's present and future. And I've felt very privileged to be part of this event for those reasons. Here are young people sending a message of hopefulness, sending a message of generosity across the world. And it's my privilege to be able to bless that in the name of God, to witness it in the name of God".

In describing his impressions of the way in which the couple have approached their marriage, Dr Williams says:

"I've been very struck by the way in which William and Catherine have approached this great event. They've thought through what they want for themselves, but also what they want to say. They've had a very simple, very direct picture of what really matters about this event. I think that they have a clear sense of what they believe they're responsible to. They're responsible to the whole society; responsible to God for their relationship. And I think it's impressive that they've had that simplicity about it, they've known what matters, what's at the heart of all this... ... because I think they are deeply unpretentious people"

Finally, the Archbishop urges all those who will be watching on the day to offer their support and prayers to the couple as they take this significant step:

"William and Catherine are making this commitment very much in the public eye and they're sensible, realistic young people. They know what the cost of that might be. They've thought that through. And because of that they will need the support, the solidarity and the prayers of all those who are watching today. We have to be witnesses in an active sense: the kind of witnesses who really support what's going on. To be a witness is more than to be a spectator and I hope that'll be part of people's experience at the time of the wedding."  

Royal Wedding 2011 official Royal Mail stamps go on sale today!

Royal Mail has launched a special sheet of stamps to commemorate the forthcoming Royal Wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine (Kate) Middleton. 

From today, the stamps are available from all Post Office branches. 

The stamps feature the official engagement portraits taken by photographer Mario Testino on 25^th November 2011.

Royal Wedding Schedule Of Events

Clarence House has released the following timings ahead of the big day.

0815-0945: The general congregation arrive at the Great North Door of Westminster Abbey.

0950: Governors-general and prime ministers of realm countries, the Diplomatic Corps, and other distinguished guests arrive at the Abbey.

1010: Prince William and best man Prince Harry leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey. They arrive at the Abbey's Great West Door at 1015.

1020: Members of foreign royal families arrive at the Abbey from Buckingham Palace.

1020: Kate Middleton's mother Carole and brother James leave the Goring Hotel for the Abbey. They arrive at the Abbey at 1027.

1025: Members of the Royal Family (except those listed below) leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey, arriving at 1030.

1035: The following members of the Royal Family leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey, arriving at 1040: The Duke of York, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence.

1038: The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall leave Clarence House, arriving at the Abbey at 1042.

1040: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh leave Buckingham Palace, arriving at the Abbey at 1045.

1048: The bridesmaids and pages leave the Goring Hotel, arriving at the Abbey at 1055.

1051: The bride and her father Michael Middleton leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey.

1100: The marriage service begins and is relayed by speakers along the route.

1215: The carriage procession of the bride and groom with a Captain's Escort of the Household Cavalry, followed by the Queen's procession with a Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry, leaves the Abbey for Buckingham Palace.

1230: The bride's carriage procession arrives at Buckingham Palace.

1240: Members of the Royal Family and members of foreign royal families arrive at Buckingham Palace.

1240: Other guests for the reception arrive at Buckingham Palace.

1325: The Queen and the bride and groom, together with their families, appear on the balcony.

1330: Fly-past by the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

No long honeymoon for Wills and Kate

Don't forget that Wills isn't a layabout Prince, he is a real job - and an important one!

PRINCE William’s honeymoon with Kate Middleton will last just two weeks so that he can get back to his RAF duties.

The break, rumoured to be in Kenya, the Seychelles or the Scilly Isles, will be considerably shorter than his parents Diana and Charles’ honeymoon, which lasted three months.

William, a helicopter pilot based on Anglesey, North Wales, will work up until the wedding, as his rota ­only gives him a short block of time off.

Royal wedding honeymoon will be short as Prince William is due back at work - mirror.co.uk

It's only natural...William's a bit nervous!

The Official Royal Wedding Photographer will be Hugo Burnand

HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton have selected Hugo Burnand to be their official photographer at their wedding on the 29th April.  Mr Burnand will be take the official photographs at Buckingham Palace following the wedding at Westminster Abbey.

Mr Burnand has photographed Prince William privately before and was the official photographer at the wedding of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall 2005.  He also took the official 60th birthday photograph of The Prince of Wales.

A well known portrait photographer, Hugo Burnand has also photographed Lucien Freud, Lady Thatcher, Victoria Beckham and John Magnier. Mr Burnand regularly works with Conde Nast Publications including House & Garden Magazine and Tatler.

Born in 1963, Hugo is married to Louisa and they have four children. Hugo learnt the basics of photography from his mother Ursy, who used to turn their kitchen at home into a dark room in the evenings and started with his first camera at age of seven.

He attended Harrow School and after spending 10 years travelling through America, France and Ireland as a stable hand and a brief job at Lloyds of London.   Hugo became a photographer's assistant to Julian Calder. Hugo later set up his own studio in Notting Hill.

William and Kate....The movie!?!

Oh dear....oh dear....oh dear....can't say we'll be rushing out to watch this one.

Prince Harry knows that stag night strippers are just not sexy

When Prince William chose his brother to organise his stag night, Kate Middleton must have felt apprehensive. How would her betrothed cope with the cold, when he woke to find himself tied naked to a lamp-post in Orkney? And, with only five weeks left until the wedding, would his right eyebrow grow back in time?

Yet now we learn that, far from a bacchanal of whooping yobbery, Prince William's stag do consisted of a blameless weekend at a friend's country estate in Norfolk. Prince Harry's reputation, I fear, may never recover.

Still, good for him. The best stag nights are the quietest: six-a-side football or hill-walking or mountain biking, then a country pub. The old stag favourites – stripper, Vegas, boozy arrest – have become hackneyed. And, more to the point, not much fun.

Prince Harry knows that stag night strippers are just not sexy - Telegraph