Latest Updates

Two weeks more to go and Prince William and Catherine Middleton will say "I do" at Westminster Abbey. So here are the latest updates on the final preparation I read from the official website of the royal wedding, Daily Mail Online and the Royal Forums (where I am a member). Important information like tiara, the wedding dress and the invited guests will only be known on the day of the wedding.

1. April 29, 2011, Friday is declared a national holiday in Great Britain. For British people, this is somewhat a good news.

2. Some branches of the British Armed Forces are now making final touches of the preparations for the said event. The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment will be the official escorts of the British sovereign and her family members, the Cavalry officers will ride on the royal carriages, thus, rehearsing their horses for a long walk from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, will be their primary concern. The Royal Air Force, Navy and army will have its own role at the wedding. Members of the military personnel who will serving the event are expected to wear their service uniform.

3. Wedding guests will be treated with two wedding cakes at the reception: Chocolate biscuit cake and a traditional fruit cake. The Chocolate biscuit cake will be served to the guests during the reception at Buckingham palace, Prince William commissioned McVitie's Cake company, which had been doing business with the royal family since the reign of King George V, to do the job. The traditional wedding cake will be a multi-tiered fruit cake,  decorated in floral homage to the four nations of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. William and Kate have chosen Fiona Cairns Ltd of Leicestershire to create their wedding cake, it will be decorated with cream and white icing using elements of the Joseph Lambeth technique with authentic British ingredients.

4. The identities of high profile guests had been kept secret due to security risks but some names are already confirmed, mostly royals, Prince William's godfather, King Constantine II of Greece and his wife, Queen Ana Marie including some of their children and grandchildren, are attending, Constantine's sister Queen Sophia and her husband, King Juan Carlos of Spain with Prince Felipe and his wife, Princess Letizia will be attending, this is partly because, Constantine and Queen Sophia are nephew and niece respectively of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

5. William's Best Man, Prince Harry, as reported by the Daily Mail online (March 31, 2011) already hinted some "naughtiness" on his speech at the reception. He previously revealed that he is planning to prepare a speech that would "break" few ribs of his brother out of embarrassment, a kind of speech that would make "William lose some hair”, he added. But Prince Harry was quick to say that his speech is not  very rude because his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, is in attendance and he never dreamed to disappoint his grandmother.

6. Guests are advised to be on the church at 8:30 in the morning. The Queen and her family are expected to arrive at the church at 10:40 while the bride and her father, who will be carried by one of the cars of the royal collection (probably Bentley or Rolls-Royce), will arrive at 11:00 o'clock in time for the ceremony.

7. There will be two receptions. One at Buckingham Palace at 3:00 pm hosted by the Queen another at 8:00 pm at St. James's Palace hosted by the groom's father, Prince Charles. Out of the estimated 2,000 invited guests only 600 or less are invited to the reception at Buckingham and only 300 are invited to the reception at St. James's Palace. While in ordinary wedding reception, all guests are invited, in the royal tradition this is not the case.

8. After the ceremony, the couple and the rest of the royal family members will have a traditional wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace. Then the couple will appear on the balcony of the palace for 10 minutes to greet well-wishers and maybe another round of a "kiss" just like what William's parents did in 1981.

9. The Central Band of the Royal Air Force will serenade William and Kate during the signing of register in the church after they will be pronounced husband and wife. The Central Band of RAF is composed of seven trumpeters and one drummer, the wing commander, Duncan Stubbs, will direct the band. The music will last for 30 seconds.

10. Catherine Middleton with her family will spend the night before the wedding at Goring Hotel in London. She will leave there with her father on the day of the wedding and be at Westminster at 11:00 in the morning. According to reports, Kate's parents will pay their bills at Goring Hotel estimated to reach 20,000 pounds.

11. Since Prince William is not yet the heir-apparent, his wedding costs will not be shouldered by the state. Prince Charles will foot the bill with his mother, the Queen, and Kate's parents. The Middletons will pay the bill for their exclusive booking at Goring Hotel, the bride's wedding dress and maid of honor's dress. The British government will only pay the bill for security.

12. Two choirs, one orchestra and two fanfare teams will provide music during the wedding service at the church: The Choir of Westminster Abbey, the Chapel Royal, the London Chamber Orchestra, the Central Band of the Royal Air Force and the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry. The official Harpist of Prince Charles will serenade the guests during the reception at Buckingham Palace.

Visit this site often for more updates on the royal wedding.

Royal Wedding Tidbits

Here are some of the latest updates on the upcoming wedding of Prince William.

Lady Sarah McCorquodale

Lady Sarah is the older sister of the late Princess of Wales, Diana. It was announced that she will be wearing the stunning pair of earrings worn by Diana nearly 30 years ago when she wed the Prince of Wales in July 29, 1981 at St. Paul's Cathedral. The exquisite earrings, a pear-shaped diamond surrounded by almost 50 sparkling diamonds, were once belonged to their mother, the Honorable Frances Shand-Kydd (who died in 2004). The earrings are part of the exhibition tour celebrating Diana's life in America organized by the 9th Earl Spencer to support various charities supported by the late Princess of Wales. The earrings will be carried back to London before the royal wedding so that Lady Sarah can wear it.

Last Official Public Engagement

Since December 2010, a month after the announcement of their official engagement, Prince William and Kate Middleton performed joint public engagement around the United Kingdom to condition his fiancee on the reality of marrying into the royal family, the future role she will embrace and how to endure the difficult life with in the limelight. Last week the couple had their last official public engagement before their big day. They traveled to East Lancashire to grace the opening of a public school and visited a park in Blackburn.

Bridal Attendants

Two months ago, the couple had announced their wedding attendants. This will be the first time that a royal wedding has Maid of Honor. Miss Middleton selected her only sister, Pippa, to do the part while William chose his brother, Prince Harry, as his Best Man. Bridesmaids, are all from the upperclass and they are considerably young, Lady Louise Windsor is only 8 years old, she is the daughter of Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex (brother of Prince Charles), The Honorable Margarita Armstrong-Jones, 9 years old, daughter of Viscount Linley (first cousin of Prince Charles) and Grace Van Cutsem (daughter of William's aristocratic bestfriend).

Who are Invited, Who are not

Up to this time, it is still uncertain if Sarah, Duchess of York, the estranged wife of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York (William's uncle) will be invited, she was once close to Diana but had a fall out towards the end of their marriages to the royal Princes. Though she remained close to Prince Andrew, a video where she was caught granting an access to a reporter in exchange of money and Prince Andrew's privacy, slightly enraged the royal family. The Obamas are not invited and so other foreign dignitaries. Celebrities like David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, are confirmed to be attending and so with the ex-loves of both William and Kate.

Not a State affair

It was reiterated on the royal news that the wedding of Prince William is not a state event, though April 29 is declared a national holiday in Britain. It is not a state affair because William is not an heir to the throne and his wedding cost will not be shouldered by the government but by Prince Charles.

London Residence

Contrary to the previous report of considering Kensington Palace as their official London residence, a palace spokesman confirmed Prince William and Miss Middleton will be sharing a quarter, which has two bedrooms, with Prince Harry at Clarence House when they are in London. 

Comments from Prince Harry

Before Harry left London for an excursion trek to the North Pole, he was interviewed how he feels that his brother will be getting married soon. The Prince said he was quite surprise on William's sudden decision to get married because he thought his brother won't take a plunge as early as 2011 but then expressed his happiness for his brother's upcoming wedding. Harry, who is famous for blurting naughty words in public, said he will be selective with his words on the wedding where he will give a speech, because his grandmother is in attendance. He also said, he is happy to welcome Kate Middleton into the family and gave a remark:"It's either I will be under her wings or she will be under my wings".

Royal Honeymoon and Residence

In keeping with his intention to avoid spending lavishly on foreign honeymoon trips where more Britons are squeezing their standard of living scantily, Prince William had chosen the beautiful isle of Scilly to spend his honeymoon with Miss Middleton. Scilly is located at Penzance, a beautiful coastal area of England where the Prince had spent a relaxing holiday vacation with his parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana and brother, Prince Harry, in 1989, two years before the Prince and Princess of Wales announced their legal separation.

The Prince and Princess of Wales with their sons, Prince Harry (left) and Prince William (right), spending a relaxing family vacation at Scilly Isles in 1989.

Aerial view of Penzance where Scilly island is located. (image from the dailymail.co.uk)

In great contrast, Charles and Diana spent their honeymoon in three locations, first at Broadlands, a large country estate located at Southamptonshire, England owned by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten, then they spent three weeks aboard the Royal Yacht Brittania touring around the Mediterranean Sea, they later joined the royal family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland towards the end of August 1981.

Kensington Palace, Prince William's childhood home in London. Princess Diana lived for 16 years at Number 9 apartment of Kensington since her marriage to the Prince of Wales in 1981 until her death in 1997.

Prince William, who after all these years still misses his mother terribly, expressed his intention to use the Number 9 apartment of Kensington Palace as his London residence after the wedding. Number 9 apartment is very special to the Prince. So many wonderful memories attached to this royal residence. Prince William lived there with his parents and brother since 1982 and remained until Diana’s death in 1997. The Prince fondly recalled how much he and Prince Harry spent peaceful and happy evening at the living room with their mother listening to her favorite classical music. His decision to live there has something to do with his mother.

Prince William's Wedding Suit?

Just like any ordinary groom, the future British King is also thinking sensibly what to wear on his wedding day, and because a groom's suit usually is less than complicated than a bridal gown, Prince William has no hard time deciding what type of suit he would wear on April 29, 2011.

The Prince, a full-fledged British military officer, decided to wear a military uniform and he commissioned  Taylor Gieves and Hawkes based in London to create his attire. But it is still unknown what branch of the military the suit will be tailored since the Prince has trained in the three branches of military (Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Army) in preparation for his future role. Wearing a military uniform on a wedding is part of the tradition of the British male royals. His grandfather (Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh), his father (Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales) and uncle (Prince Andrew, the Duke of York) donned their military regalia on their wedding days.

The Prince in his military uniforms (from left: Royal Navy, Army and RAF) which among these suits he will choose to wear on his wedding day? my guess will be the RAF uniform since he is currently serving as search and rescue operation pilot in the Royal Air Force.

But this could not be just a simple military uniform, male royals usually adorned their suits with other royal details such as medals, badges and other honorable identifications. Princes Philip, Charles and Andrew included their medal of honors and royal distinctions on their wedding military suit. Prince William, aside from his medal, might include a blue sash with a star badge as a Knight of the Order of the Garter, a royal honor he received in 2008 from the Queen. Prince William is a full-fledged search-and-rescue-operation pilot in the Royal Armed Forces serving at Anglesey, North Wales where he is known in the troops as Flight Lieutenant Wales.

A closer look on Prince William's upcoming wedding

His Royal Highness, Prince William of Wales

Though I resented Kate Middleton and quite upset with Prince William's decision to marry her instead of choosing a woman within his circle (a lady born with noble or royal lineage), I have no choice but to include her in many updates concerning Prince William. 

Lately, the couple posed for Mario Testino, a peruvian photographer who took many enduring photographs of William's mother, the late Princess of Wales. Testino is an accomplished celebrity snapper who rub elbows with A-list stars and done numerous official portraits of Prince William, his brother,Prince Harry and their father, Prince Charles. In this newly-released photos, Middleton and the Prince are more relaxed and comfortable with the camera. The road leading to their wedding on April 29,2011 at the historical Westminster Abbey is closely watched by royal observers around the world.

Prince William and Kate Middleton posed for celebrity photographer, Mario Testino, at the state room of Clarence House.

The same angle and style. Though taken in separate years and with different photographers, the circumstance is strikingly astonishing, to add discomfort to the image, Middleton wore the same style of blouse like that of Diana.
Above Photo: a photograph taken by Lord Snowdon after the announcement of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's official engagement. Below photo: a photograph taken my Mario Testino. 

 

But one thing I noticed about them, it seems the poses and circumstances resembled every event in William's parents' lives, is this a bad omen? In 1981, Lady Diana Spencer chose the 18-carat oval shaped blue sapphire surrounded with 15 diamonds when Garrads, the crown jeweler, presented her with various designs. Nearly thirty years later, when her son chose the ring to seal his engagement to Middleton, skeptical people cried for "bad luck" as the ring symbolizes Diana's suffering and doomed marriage. Middleton also chose to wear a royal blue dress during the announcement of the engagement which had been the color of Diana's dress in 1981 when her engagement to the Prince of Wales was announced. William and Kate chose the 29th of April as their wedding date, his parents also married on the 29th of July, much more, April 29 falls on Friday which believed to be a "sorrow" day for a wedding. Prince William also chose to walk-down-the-aisle in Westminster Abbey avoiding St.Paul's Cathedral because this is the church where his parents married in 1981, he does not want to relive the misery of his mother after joining the royal family. But oh boy! Diana also said the same line in 1981! The late Princess of Wales was heard saying: "I am glad my wedding will not happen in Westminster Abbey, it was there where my parents united and I want to avoid the same story". Diana's parents, the Earl Spencer of Althorp and The Honourable Frances Burke-Roche separated and divorced after fourteen years of marriage.

 Left: William's parents, Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles during the announcement of their engagement in February 24, 1981. Right: Prince William and Kate Middleton in November 16, 2010. The two women both wearing the same engagement ring.

Anyway, the modern world does not believe anymore in superstitions and folklore tales and the odd circumstances would soon vanish from people's mind. Only fortune tellers can tell if destiny would really help them push to the throne as King and Queen of the United Kingdom.

So How the Marriage Will Turn Out?

(this blog post is requested by Miss Katia Mishchuk, a Ukrainian journalist)

The announcement of the official engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton last November 16, 2010, spurred mixed reactions from the public. Traditional royalists naturally criticized his choice of a wife, not only Miss Middleton comes from a middle-class background but she is also a commoner without any noble or royal lineage either of her parents’ side. But the ordinary public pleased that the eldest son of Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales will be marrying an ordinary woman to lessen the barrier that divides royalty from commoners.

Prince William and Kate Middleton during the announcement of their official engagement at the Clarence House

So what would be the complexities William and Kate would face in the future? Much speculations and predictions had been said on their future marriage, the pressure of being a member of the British royal family would surely take a huge toll on Kate’s privacy as she sometimes detested the prying eye of the media. But the day she will marry the future British King, she will forever endure the presence of the lens men whether she like it or not, that’s the high prize she would pay for marrying an heir to the highest throne on Earth.

The wedding will take place next year, 2011 and because Prince Charles has not yet ascended the British throne, Prince William’s wedding, except for security costs, will not be shouldered by the British government, it was reported that the Prince of Wales will foot the bill on the ceremony. William and Kate will not occupy any royal residences after the wedding, they will continue residing at the village of Anglesey in North Wales where they had been sharing an apartment since early this year. Prince William is currently assigned near Anglesey as a search-and-rescue operation pilot of the Royal Armed Forces.

View of Anglesey Village in North Wales, where William and Kate will take up a residence after the wedding

Television crews camped outside Buckingham Palace on the day of the announcement of the engagement

Kate Middleton.She will be having a hard time pleasing the other members of the royal family and the upper-class Britons because of her middle-class background

Recent updates say that Prince William has disagreement with his advisers regarding the date of his wedding, the Prince reportedly wanted to walk-down-the-aisle in spring next year, either March or April. Why the Prince is such in a hurry? 

My opinion is this, maybe because he is busy with his career as a search-and-rescue-operation pilot of the Royal Armed Forces and wanted to get things done earlier. But I am thinking one more thing, maybe the Prince is afraid of public disenchantment towards his commoner fiancee, who is not welcome in the conservative circle of traditional royalists, there are even “black guest books” circulated in the internet denouncing Middleton’s suitability as the future Princess of Wales. Since the middle ages, no future British King ever married a middle-class woman.

Mugs commemorating the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton

different mugs designs commemorating the royal engagement

So how long the marriage will last? How long she could endure the criticism? It is a known fact that all the marriages of the three children of Her Majesty including her only sibling, Princess Margaret, to commoners, ended up in divorce, an evidence how the royal family members relate to the “outsiders” (their term for commoners). Though love should not be questioned, maybe royal duties and being constantly in the limelight add to the pressure and strain on the relationships. So the table is now turn to Kate Middleton, can she really handle the pressure of being in the public eye and the scrutiny of the public? 

In February 1981, after the official engagement of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was announced, she moved to Clarence House to live with the Queen Mother, then transferred to Buckingham Palace few months before the wedding to familiarize with the royal routine, she was tutored how to live a life of a Princess and how to function as the future Queen Consort. But in great contrast, Middleton, reportedly will not go through the same process, so the underlying question now, "Is Kate really prepared for the trappings of royalty?

The historical Westminster Abbey church where they planned to get married. The Abbey is one of the most important royal structures in England where English and British monarchs had been crowned for the past 800 years. The wedding of Prince William's grandparents on each side, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, Lord John Spencer the 8th Earl of Althorp and The Honorable Frances Burke-Roche, took place at Westminster. Only royalty and nobility could be married in Westminster Abbey.

It is uncommon for the couples not to engage in petty quarrels and heated arguments and the royal family is no exemption. So how about William and Kate? Well, some of the possible rows they will encounter later on maybe scarcity of time together. Prince William is quite devoted with his career in the military and his trainings on his future role as a monarch, Middleton might be left behind seating on the window wondering where her Prince is. I doubt if she would cook meals for her husband or do some laundry at home or stitch some patches on his clothes. She should take a career of her own and not just tag around with Prince William (the only thing she is quite expert of for the past eight years). She might disillusioned joining the royal family if she would just stay behind the shadow of her future husband just like what happened to Sarah Ferguson, the wife of William's uncle, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who became bored with her role as her husband was busy with his naval career.

Diana, Princess of Wales. She was the last aristocrat to marry a member of the British royal family. As a daughter of an English Earl, Diana was of noble birth her father was directly descended from King Charles II of England and her mother was a daughter of a rich English baron, the 4th Lord Fermoy, her grandparents were both serving the British royal court as Courtiers and Ladies-in-waiting. In British social class system, royalty stood at the top of humanity's ladder, birthright is more important than wealth and achievements, money never impressed the elite system of the royal family.

Their wedding might not be a state’s affair, but it would surely draw guests from different European royal houses and British aristocrats. I am just wondering how the middle-class family of Kate Middleton would fit in. Pomp and pageantry are where royals do their best, the prancing horses, drawn carriages, sparkling tiaras and fairytale rituals stir emotion and sympathy from the adoring subjects, so the royal family wouldn't mind spending lavishly on the ceremony because it would also boost their tourism industry and pump money to their economy.

Kate Middleton indeed is very lucky, considering that ordinary couples in the modern world divide the wedding costs equally among themselves, Middleton and her parents are free from financial obligations as the Prince of Wales will shoulder all the expenses from his private fortune, the wedding expenses are predicted to mount, more or less, $20 million!

Knowing how extravagant royals are, the couple might be receiving opulent presents from the upper-class. Home furniture, linens, pillows and kitchen utensils - which are the common gifts given to ordinary couples – are out of the questions as presents, the couple might receive something grand, like home theater system or a brand new luxury car or an estate.

The King-in-waiting, Prince Charles.He will shoulder the wedding expenses of his son

The Prince and Princess of Wales with the young Prince William

Princess Diana holding the 18-month-old Prince William during the royal tour in New Zealand

The Prince and Princess of Wales with 18-month-old Prince William

Though, Prince William has not heard publicly how many children he wanted, personally, I think they should have at least two, to cut budget on the part of the Parliament, because for sure, Prince William’s household will be included on the civil list as he is not yet the heir-apparent, the Duchy of Cornwall is still under his father’s care. But I doubt if Kate really could produce a child, I am just thinking (or wishing) of any barrenness on her part so as not to give the British throne heirs with no aristocratic names build on the mother’s side, well, hmmm…just part of my wild imagination.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William's grandmother. She is the first British monarch in 500 years who allowed commoners to join her direct family, but all these marriages ended up in divorce. Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth II is one of the last two European monarchs (the other is King Juan Carlos of Spain whose wife, Queen Sophia, is a daughter of King Paul of Greece) who has a royal spouse, her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is a former Greek Prince (first cousin of King Paul).

With her middle-class background, Kate will surely receive a cold treatment from the upper-class Britons and from Prince William’s own family, the British monarchy is known for their upper-lip system and seems detested “outsiders”, maybe Middleton is accepted on the surface but not privately, I could hear the grinding of the teeth of the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Alexandra of Kent and some traditional royalists. Prince William’s position as a future British King maybe made the family think he could have chosen a woman with noble birth and with royal pedigree or anybody from the upper-class to rightly produce royal children. Middleton will be isolated in her own and lonely world and will eventually lost the fascination she once held for Prince William. I am even thinking a situation where they would possibly end up in divorce.

The late Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince William's mother. The Prince is quite devoted to his mother. He revealed several times how much he and his brother, Prince Harry, missed their mother, "Not a day goes passed without thinking about her", he once told the BBC news. On the day he was engaged he told the British press he decided to give Middleton the engagement ring which his father presented to his mother in February 1981 to be sure Diana would not be missed out on the important occasion. The exquisite oval-shaped blue sapphire ring surrounded with 18 diamonds is very precious to Diana, which she wore everyday of her life even after her divorce from the Prince of Wales in 1996.

The precious engagement ring which valued at $50,000 in 1981 created by crown jeweler, Garrads. Here the ring is seen in Kate's finger (left) and Princess Diana (right)

May the future marriage of Prince William will not bite a dust as what happened to the marriages of his royal relatives who took commoner spouses. For more news about the Prince's engagement click "older posts" below. Thank you to Miss Katia Mishchuk of Ukraine for liking my royal blog and for sending a request.

(Is there any royal topic, with focus on European royalty, you want to read in my blog? please feel free to send your request via "Contact Me" page of this blog, I would be very glad to write about it. Thank you--Joyce)