As wedding fever grasps the country in its blue-blooded grip, many of us are full of questions about the big day. Where's it happening? What time is it? How can I get an invite?!? Rather than have you looking all over the internet or getting on the blower to Clarence House, we thought we'd help out by getting all the facts in one handy place. So, in the run up to the big moment for Prince William and Kate Catherine Middleton, here are the answers to all those frequently asked questions about the royal wedding.
1. When is the royal wedding? It all starts on Friday, April 29, which has kindly been made an extra bank holiday for us plebs. The ceremony itself begins at 11am, but be sure to tune in earlier for the build-up.
2. Where is the royal wedding happening? The service takes place in Westminster Abbey, where all British monarchs have been crowned since 1066. The Gothic church has also hosted many a royal wedding, including those of the then Princess Elizabeth (Liz II) and Philip in 1947, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips in 1973 and Prince Andrew and Fergie in 1986.
3. Where can I watch the royal wedding on TV? Like the World Cup, you can choose! Huw Edwards fronts the coverage on the BBC, Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham do the honours over at ITV, and Eamonn Holmes is on at Sky. CNN will be sending over its own crew from the States while NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and the rest are all getting their usual big hitters involved in the coverage. The Wall Street Journal predicts a worldwide audience of two billion!
4. What's happening during the royal wedding ceremony? Joining Di's old engagement ring on Kate's wedding finger will be a new ring made from gold from the Clogau Gold Mine in the Welsh mountains. Like his grandad Phil, Wills will not be given a ring. There'll be toots of accolade from some RAF trumpeters, who have written a new piece called 'Valiant and Brave' for the occasion. More music comes from The London Chamber Orchestra, The Choir of Westminster Abbey and The Chapel Royal Choir. An album of the tunes will be released on all formats (including cassette!) on May 5.
5. Where can I wave my flag at Kate Middleton's car? Clarence House tells us that she'll be driven through The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall and Parliament Square on the way to the ceremony. The happy couple will then take a processional route to Buckingham Palace for some partying.
6. What's the royal wedding party going to be like? After the ceremony, friends and family of K&W have been invited to a private lunch reception hosted by Her Majesty. That evening Prince Charles has organised a private dinner (expect plenty of Duchy Originals-branded nibbles) before Philip and the rest do their stuff on the dancefloor into the night.
7. Who's invited to the royal wedding? Not us (and not Simon Cowell nor Cheryl Cole either). 1,900 have been asked to the ceremony, 600 to lunch at the Palace, and 300 for the evening do. All the big British royals and Middleton's family will be there. So will foreign royalty, international politicians and (if they can be squeezed in) some of Kate and Wills's mates. Yes, yes, what about the celebs?! David and Victoria Beckham will of course be in attendance, as will Sir Elton John and David Furnish. Guy Ritchie, Sir Clive Woodward and Rowan Atkinson are all said to be donning a tux and heading along.
8. How much will the royal wedding cost? Estimates vary from £50m-£100m (Even Charles and Camilla's low-key affair in 2005 was £5m). The main cost will be met by the Royals and the Middletons. Us lot will still be shelling out for the security and transport (estimates: £20m-80m), via the taxman. Some have complained about the money lost to the economy from that extra day off, but surely that'll be made back in sales of commemorative plates and tea towels?
9. How can we celebrate the royal wedding at home? Simply bring out the bunting and plonk all your Kate and Wills merchandise on a table in the middle of your street. Don't worry about the "pen pushers and busybodies" in local government, David Cameron says. "Let me put it like this: I am the Prime Minister and I am telling you if you want to have a street party, you go ahead and have one." Yikes! Maybe someone should remind Dave that he's not actually the king.
10. What wedding dress will Kate Middleton wear? Ah, the biggest question of all! At the moment, we don't quite know... the latest rumour is that she'll be donning a fetching number by Sophie Cranston of the Libélula label. Other hot tips for her designer have included Daniella Helayel, Phillipa Lepley, Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Bruce Oldfield and Jasper Conran. Oldfield has claimed that Kate will have three dresses made for the whole day - clearly she wants to compete with Anne Hathaway's Oscars gig for the 'Most Outfits For One Event' prize. We don't fancy John Galliano's chances of doing any of them!
Credit : Digital Spy
1. When is the royal wedding? It all starts on Friday, April 29, which has kindly been made an extra bank holiday for us plebs. The ceremony itself begins at 11am, but be sure to tune in earlier for the build-up.
2. Where is the royal wedding happening? The service takes place in Westminster Abbey, where all British monarchs have been crowned since 1066. The Gothic church has also hosted many a royal wedding, including those of the then Princess Elizabeth (Liz II) and Philip in 1947, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips in 1973 and Prince Andrew and Fergie in 1986.
3. Where can I watch the royal wedding on TV? Like the World Cup, you can choose! Huw Edwards fronts the coverage on the BBC, Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham do the honours over at ITV, and Eamonn Holmes is on at Sky. CNN will be sending over its own crew from the States while NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and the rest are all getting their usual big hitters involved in the coverage. The Wall Street Journal predicts a worldwide audience of two billion!
4. What's happening during the royal wedding ceremony? Joining Di's old engagement ring on Kate's wedding finger will be a new ring made from gold from the Clogau Gold Mine in the Welsh mountains. Like his grandad Phil, Wills will not be given a ring. There'll be toots of accolade from some RAF trumpeters, who have written a new piece called 'Valiant and Brave' for the occasion. More music comes from The London Chamber Orchestra, The Choir of Westminster Abbey and The Chapel Royal Choir. An album of the tunes will be released on all formats (including cassette!) on May 5.
5. Where can I wave my flag at Kate Middleton's car? Clarence House tells us that she'll be driven through The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall and Parliament Square on the way to the ceremony. The happy couple will then take a processional route to Buckingham Palace for some partying.
6. What's the royal wedding party going to be like? After the ceremony, friends and family of K&W have been invited to a private lunch reception hosted by Her Majesty. That evening Prince Charles has organised a private dinner (expect plenty of Duchy Originals-branded nibbles) before Philip and the rest do their stuff on the dancefloor into the night.
7. Who's invited to the royal wedding? Not us (and not Simon Cowell nor Cheryl Cole either). 1,900 have been asked to the ceremony, 600 to lunch at the Palace, and 300 for the evening do. All the big British royals and Middleton's family will be there. So will foreign royalty, international politicians and (if they can be squeezed in) some of Kate and Wills's mates. Yes, yes, what about the celebs?! David and Victoria Beckham will of course be in attendance, as will Sir Elton John and David Furnish. Guy Ritchie, Sir Clive Woodward and Rowan Atkinson are all said to be donning a tux and heading along.
8. How much will the royal wedding cost? Estimates vary from £50m-£100m (Even Charles and Camilla's low-key affair in 2005 was £5m). The main cost will be met by the Royals and the Middletons. Us lot will still be shelling out for the security and transport (estimates: £20m-80m), via the taxman. Some have complained about the money lost to the economy from that extra day off, but surely that'll be made back in sales of commemorative plates and tea towels?
9. How can we celebrate the royal wedding at home? Simply bring out the bunting and plonk all your Kate and Wills merchandise on a table in the middle of your street. Don't worry about the "pen pushers and busybodies" in local government, David Cameron says. "Let me put it like this: I am the Prime Minister and I am telling you if you want to have a street party, you go ahead and have one." Yikes! Maybe someone should remind Dave that he's not actually the king.
10. What wedding dress will Kate Middleton wear? Ah, the biggest question of all! At the moment, we don't quite know... the latest rumour is that she'll be donning a fetching number by Sophie Cranston of the Libélula label. Other hot tips for her designer have included Daniella Helayel, Phillipa Lepley, Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Bruce Oldfield and Jasper Conran. Oldfield has claimed that Kate will have three dresses made for the whole day - clearly she wants to compete with Anne Hathaway's Oscars gig for the 'Most Outfits For One Event' prize. We don't fancy John Galliano's chances of doing any of them!
Credit : Digital Spy
