Thursday, April 28, 2011

Royal suite where Kate Middleton will stay before she weds Prince William | See photos

THIS is the hotel suite in which Kate Middleton will spend her last night as a single woman.

Prince William's bride-to-be has booked the luxurious Royal suite at central London's Goring Hotel - given a ?150,000 makeover for the excited 29-year-old.

The loo in the top-floor apartment features an original Crapper toilet - and a painting of TV's Blackadder.

Kate will kip in an elegant four-poster bed the night before she marries Prince William.

The dark wood bed is the centrepiece of a luxurious hotel suite that combines the old, the new - and the offbeat.

It comes complete with a flatscreen TV which can be summoned at the press of a button - just in case Kate fancies watching The Royle Family as she dozes.

The five-room suite at London's Goring Hotel - seen here in The Sun's exclusive pictures - has a host of other weird and wonderful features.

They include a loo containing an original "Venerable" toilet by 19th-century plumber Thomas Crapper - supplier of lavatories to several royal households.

There is also a painting of Edmund Blackadder kissing the hand of Queen Elizabeth I from the classic telly comedy.

An antique wedding dress believed to be a prototype for the gown worn by Queen Victoria has been hung in a glass-fronted display wardrobe in the bedroom.

And one of the two en-suite bathrooms has a WATERPROOF TV so Kate, 29, can tune in as she soaks.

EXCLUSIVE footage of suite where Kate Middleton will sleep before big day

The bride-to-be will stay in the ?5,000-a-throw rooms on the night of Thursday April 28 with mum Carole, 54, and her 27-year-old sister Pippa, the chief bridesmaid.

The Queen offered Kate an apartment in nearby Buckingham Palace. But she is understood to have been keen to stay in a "neutral" environment.

Bosses of the 100-year-old hotel - still privately owned by the family that gave the building its name - have splashed out more than ?150,000 frantically renovating the top-floor suite for their VIP guest.

Designers have packed it with antiques, hand-made furniture and ornaments. Walls have been covered in silk wallpaper costing ?500 per square metre.

Two brown velour sofas face each other in the main sitting room, separated by an inlaid Tunbridge ware table.

Two bronze statues of women holding Statue of Liberty-style torches provide lighting together with a 1920s Art Deco chandelier.

Rows of old leather books and a collection of china ornaments complete the traditional feel. But the suite also offers a modern music system and internet facilities.

The master bathroom is decked out in ground-to-floor white marble, with a vast walk-in shower that boasts an oil painting behind a glass screen.

A source at the hotel said: "There are things we really love about the suite's new look. The bathrooms are amazing and the gadgets are state-of-the-art. But some of it looks a bit over the top, almost cluttered with antiques and ornaments."

On the morning of April 29 a team of hair and make-up experts will arrive at the suite to transform Kate for her big day.

And just before 11am, her father Michael will take his daughter down to a waiting 1950s Rolls-Royce for the 15-minute drive to Westminster Abbey.

Prince William is expected to spend his last night of freedom with best man Prince Harry at their apartment in St James's Palace. And the Queen is set to host a private dinner for Royals from across Europe.

d.larcombe@the-sun.co.uk

A PORTRAIT of future queen Kate Middleton has been found - on a JELLY BEAN.

Trainee accountant Wesley Hosie, 25, spotted the likeness after his girlfriend opened a jar of the sweets.

He said: "I saw her immediately, lying there staring back." Wesley, of Taunton, Somerset, hopes to sell the bean on eBay for ?500.

HOUSEHOLD Cavalry troops and their horses paraded in Hyde Park yesterday after undergoing the kind of inspection they face before escorting Wills and Kate on their big day.

Captain James Hulme said of the shine on their boots: "Every pair can take up to 50 hours."

AN early version of the dress Queen Victoria wore when she wed Prince Albert in 1840 is displayed in a wardrobe.

The historic gown - with veil, silk braids and flower tiara - is preserved behind glass.


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