Kate and Harry in wedding dry run

Kate was joined by Prince Harry, her bridesmaids and page boys for the practice run of big day - due to take place on April 29 at Westminster Abbey.

But Prince William's RAF duties meant he had to miss the practice session.

Officials closed down Westminster Abbey to the public so she could have a practice run for her big day.

A St James's Palace spokesman said it was not the first rehearsal or the last.

The spokesman said: "There will be more rehearsals between now and the wedding day. Some will involve the couple, some won't."

Meanwhile, officials also announced that Middleton will spend her last night as a commoner in a five-star hotel next door to Buckingham Palace.

Middleton's close family including her parents and sister Pippa, her maid of honour, will also stay at the luxury family-owned Goring hotel in central London the night before the wedding.

Detailed ceremonial timings for the April 29 wedding day and celebrations were released by St James's Palace today.

They reveal that William and his best man, Prince Harry, will arrive at Westminster Abbey well ahead of the bride.

The brothers are to leave Clarence House at 10.10am in a state limousine, arriving five minutes later, and can expect to have almost 40 minutes to mingle with guests before the ceremony begins.

The precise timings show that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will leave their London home, Clarence House, at 10.38am, arriving four minutes later, while the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are driven from Buckingham Palace at 10.40am, completing their journey in five minutes.

Miss Middleton and her father, Michael, are expected to be driven to the Abbey just before 11am but she may choose to be a few minutes late to keep the Prince on his toes.

At 12.15pm the bride and groom's carriage procession with a Captain's Escort of the Household Cavalry, followed by the Queen's procession with a Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry, will leave the Abbey for Buckingham Palace.

Crowds outside the Palace will get their first glimpse of the newlyweds at 1.25pm when they join their immediate families on the balcony.

Five minutes later, the happy couple, other members of the Royal Family and the Middletons will see a flypast of three aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight - a Lancaster, a Spitfire and a Hurricane.

Then, two Typhoons and two Tornado GR4s will fly past 30 seconds later in a box formation.

ABBA'S Dancing Queen is the bookies' favourite to be the couple's first dance, with Ladbrokes offering 6/4 on them picking the classic. Wedding guest Elton John's songs Candle In The Wind and Something About The Way You Look Tonight are 6/1, while Lionel Ritchie's All Night Long is 8/1.

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