Royal wedding layout revealed

In a seating plan released today, it is revealed that only their nearest and dearest will be able to witness the wedding ceremony close-up, with those further away relying on video screens to follow the service.

The couple specifically chose the Abbey for its intimacy despite its size, as well as its 1,000-year Royal history and majestic beauty.

About 1,000 people will sit in the section of the Abbey in front of the Quire, a partition in the building which restricts the view of the altar to anyone behind it, giving it the feel of a large parish church.

One tradition William and Miss Middleton appear to have eschewed is having a bride's side and a groom's side, however, with members of the Spencer family sitting next to the Middletons, and some of the Middleton family friends on the other side of the Abbey from the side of the Royal Family.

The Queen and other members of the Royal Family will sit in the North Lantern across the aisle from the Middleton family, who will be in the South Lantern. They will be the closest to the Sanctuary, where William and Miss Middleton will stand.

In the front row, in order, will be the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, with a seat reserved for Prince Harry when he has completed his best man duties.

Moving away from the altar, the foreign royal families have the next seats. The South Transept, directly to the side, is reserved for foreign dignitaries and the diplomatic corps. Family friends of the Middletons, sitting behind the dignitaries, may well have to strain their necks for a glimpse of the happy couple.

Carole Middleton will be directly opposite the Queen, seated next to her husband Michael, then her son James. The remaining places on their front row are yet to be confirmed.

Moving down the Abbey, next to the Middletons will be members of the Spencer family. Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the sister of William's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, will be first, seated next to her husband, Neil McCorquodale.

Lady Anne Wake-Walker, Diana's aunt, is next, followed by Lord Robert Fellowes and Lady Jane Fellowes, Diana's brother-in-law and sister.

Earl Spencer and his fiancee, Karen Gordon, are next. Friends of William and Miss Middleton are to be seated next to them. Other friends of the couple will sit to the side of the Middletons and Spencers in the North Transept, and North Transept Aisle.

On the south side of the Abbey in the ornate choir stalls will be the seats reserved for Prime Minister David Cameron and other members of the Cabinet and MPs. Service chiefs and more friends of the couple will join them in the Stall South.

Seated behind the choir on the other side of the Abbey will be faith representatives and yet more friends of the bride and groom.

The Prince of Wales's guests will sit in the North Nave, with the rest of the seats in that section set aside for the general congregation. There will be seats for more faith representatives in the South Nave, but that will also largely be filled with other guests.

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