Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Your guide to the big day

By DUNCAN LARCOMBE, Royal Editor

THE countdown is nearly over and here we go for the biggest Royal event for 30 years.

Over the coming hours our team of reporters and photographers will bring you the latest stories, pictures and news from William and Kate's long-awaited big day.

We have teams along the route, inside Buckingham Palace and from the wedding ceremony itself at Westminster Abbey.

With two billion people around the world expected to focus on London, The Sun will break the news throughout the day as it happens.

And you can join in all the celebrations today with The Sun's Royal Tweet Party where you can enjoy all the news, fun and gossip as it happens on our website.

Wedding Programme

We want your messages, photos and videos - no matter where you are in the country. Just send us your tweets - hashtagged #royaltweetparty - throughout the special day. Also, check out the bottom of this page.

William, 28, and 29-year-old Kate will tie the knot at 11am.

At 12.15 they will emerge from Westminster Abbey as husband and wife, before making their way back to Buckingham Palace for the first of two receptions.

At 1.25pm the eyes of the world will focus on the famous balcony when the happy couple are due to emerge and kiss for the first time on their historic day.

We will bring you regular updates of what is going on plus an inside look at the events TV viewers will not see.

THE bride's dress is expected to be a classic couture gown, much like the one our lookalike, above, modelled, with a modern twist. Two designers are the bookies' favourites to get the coveted commission. Brazilian-born Daniella Helayel and London-based Philippa Lepley have both been tipped.

But Kate is determined that no details of her wedding dress are announced until 11am today - the moment that she and her father Michael arrive at Westminster Abbey.

WILLIAM and Kate's big day will echo the state marriage ceremonies of the Queen and the Queen Mother, who both wed at Westminster Abbey.

The couple are expected to add personal touches, but the proceedings will be steeped in pomp and tradition - at the venue where Wills' mum Princess Diana's funeral took place in 1997.

William is expected to arrive, as did grandfather Prince Philip, at the Poets' Corner entrance to the right of the altar. He will be followed by the Queen.

Kate will arrive at the Abbey's west entrance in Her Majesty's procession from Buckingham Palace. Once inside, Kate's bridesmaids, led by sister Pippa, will join her from St George's Chapel to the right of the entrance as she walks down the aisle with dad Michael.

The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla and the Middleton family will sit closest to the altar in the 1,000-year-old Abbey's Sacrarium.

British and European royal family members, politicians, statesmen, friends, relatives and celebs will sit each side of the nave and in the choir stalls.

The French Gothic Abbey also saw William I crowned King in 1066.

The Queen was a princess when she exchanged vows there with Prince Philip, then Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, in 1947, and was crowned in the Abbey in 1953.

In 1923, her father Prince Albert wed Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon there. They became George VI and the Queen Mother.

PRINCE Harry will stand alongside his brother as best man, as modern Wills is doing away with the tradition of a royal groom being flanked by a "supporter".

William's choice will seal the tight bond between the siblings - formed in the wake of their mum's death.

One Royal source said: "It will be an incredibly emotional day for Harry as well as William.

"They will both be thinking about how proud Princess Diana would be if she had lived to see this wedding. People sometimes forget what those boys have been through. William couldn't have chosen anyone else."

There will be no ushers. The traditional role of showing guests to their seats and greeting the bride on her arrival will be performed by the historic Yeomen of the Guard.

Known as the monarch's bodyguard, the Yeomen are the oldest British military corps still in existence and date back to Henry VII in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

Kate Middleton's sister Philippa, 27 - known as Pippa - will be her maid of honour.

INSTEAD of travelling in a gold, horse-drawn coach, Kate has chosen to travel in the same vintage Rolls-Royce Phantom VI that Charles and Camilla were attacked in by student protesters in December. She and her father will be the last to arrive at the Abbey.

They will leave their hotel at 10.50am and head down past Buckingham Palace, along The Mall and turn right at Trafalgar Square into Whitehall.

Flanked by police on all sides, they will then head into Parliament Square and turn right towards the front of Westminster Abbey.

Afterwards, they will climb into the 1902 State Landau royal coach - either open or covered, depending on the weather.

They will then re-trace Kate's route, waving to the crowds lining the streets.

They will be followed by four more ceremonial coaches containing other senior members of the Royal Family, plus Kate's parents.

IT will last for one hour and 15 minutes.

The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, above, will conduct the service and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will preside over the reciting of vows.

The Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres - who presided over Princess Diana's funeral - will give the sermon. Only Kate will have a ring, following William's decision to forgo one.

AFTER the wedding, The Queen will host the first of two receptions, with drinks and canap?s. Both William and Kate's cakes will be on display.

Guests will circulate through all 19 state chambers at Buckingham Palace, attended by 60 Palace flunkies doing everything from opening car doors and taking coats to serving champagne and canap?s.

THE main wedding cake will be a multi-tiered fruity masterpiece - but guests will also be treated to William's childhood favourite - a McVitie's chocolate biscuit cake.

The fruit cake has been made by Fiona Cairns, 56, who started out producing cakes 25 years ago from her kitchen at home, but her creations are now sold in Harrods, Selfridges and Waitrose.

Kate has chosen pale colours for the cake and wanted a floral theme featuring the four flowers of the home nations - English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh daffodil and Irish shamrock.

When Ms Cairns visited Clarence House six weeks ago to discuss the cake, Kate had designed 'mood boards' to show her exactly what she wanted.

The businesswoman, who lives in Leicestershire, started baking four weeks ago to allow the sweet treats the necessary time to mature.

AT around 7pm, they will return to Buckingham Palace for a second reception, for 300 of their family and friends.

This "private" event - being given by the Prince of Wales - will include the speeches and traditional toasts.

THE day is being recorded then rush-released as The Royal Wedding: The Official Album to download on later today.

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.

Meanwhile, pop star Ellie Goulding, above, has landed the job of the official wedding reception singer.

AIDES insist Wills and Kate have not yet decided whether they will spend their first night as husband and wife in Buckingham Palace or nearby Clarence House, where William has an apartment.

However, they will set off for a two-week honeymoon the following morning.

THE Queen will this morning announce how the bride and groom will be known.

Some sources believe they could be given the title Duke and Duchess of Clarence or Cambridge.

However, sources insist the golden couple may opt to be known simply as Prince William and Princess Catherine.

"THE sun will be in the romantic heart of Kate's chart, so she will be serene, happy and looking more beautiful than ever before.

"She is a powerful Capricorn, who will take very well to the rules and traditions of being part of the Royal Family - and will feel at ease with being at the centre of the world's attention.

"With serious planet Saturn back where it was when she was born, she is totally ready for her new life.

"William, as a free-spirited Gemini, finds tradition less appealing. So expect him to add an unusual, imaginative twist to the celebrations.

"On the day of the wedding, the sun will be in the hidden part of his chart - this will draw feelings to the surface.

"He will be more sure than ever he's doing the right thing in marrying Kate and this could tempt him to rush saying his vows.

"But he'll feel the cool hand of Saturn, steadying his nerves."

2BILLION The number around the world who will watch the wedding on TV.

2,000 Guests inside Westminster Abbey.

450,000 People expected to stand outside Buckingham Palace to watch Wills and Kate's balcony kiss.

650 Guests invited to the main reception at Buckingham Palace.

5 Ceremonial carriages that will take the royals from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.

7,000 Number of journalists accredited for the event.

2 Official wedding cakes.

1 Only Kate will have a ring, following William's decision to forgo one.


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