Marriage of William and Kate

Millions all over the world witnessed the royal wedding ceremony in London, UK, taking place during a period of financial austerity.

A million people had arrived to view, lining the procession routes with real delight.

Within the Abbey, the wedding guests had been gathering for a couple of hours.

The women wearing the vibrant colours this season requires with smaller hats and facinators in large numbers. The chairs inside the Abbey had been set up facing, not the alter, but the church aisle, similar to a fashion runway.

William arrived in the uniform of a Colonel from the Irish Guards.
Even the Queen caught the romance, wearing a diamond jewelry broach named the “True Lovers Knot”.

Departing from the Goring Hotel together with her father through a protective awning, Kate Middleton was preserving the secrets of the wedding dress. Created by Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen.

Despite a clutch of little bridesmaids, it was Pippa Middleton in another dress by the same creator who nearly stole the show.

When Kate arrived, none of the crumpled dress difficulties Diana experienced in 1981; a very much smaller train. It was Harry who noticed her initially, driving William to catch a glimpse and once she reached him, a quiet word. “You’re beautiful,” he appears to say, before kidding with Michael Middleton about the wedding ceremony being just a small family affair.

The Wedding Vows

[PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES:] I, William Arthur Philip Louis…

[ROWAN WILLIAMS, Archbishop of Canterbury:] … take thee Catherine Elizabeth…

[PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES:] … take thee, Catherine Elizabeth…

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … to my wedded wife.

[PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES:] … to my wedded wife.

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … to have and to hold from this day forward…

[PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES:] … to have and to hold from this day forward.

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … for better or for worse…

[PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES:] … for better or for worse.

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … for richer or for poorer…

[PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES:] … for richer or for poorer.

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … in sickness and in health…

[PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES:] … in sickness and in health.

[CATHERINE MIDDLETON:] I, Catherine Elizabeth…

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … take thee, William Arthur Philip Louis…

[CATHERINE MIDDLETON:] … take thee, William Arthur Philip Louis…

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … to my wedded husband…

[CATHERINE MIDDLETON:] … to my wedded husband.

ROWAN WILLIAMS: … to have and to hold from this day forward…

[CATHERINE MIDDLETON: ]… to have and to hold from this day forward…

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … for better or for worse…

[CATHERINE MIDDLETON:] … for better or for worse…

[Archbishop of Canterbury, ROWAN WILLIAMS:] … till death us do part.

[CATHERINE MIDDLETON:] … till death us do part…

ROWAN WILLIAMS: … according to God’s holy law…

[CATHERINE MIDDLETON:] … according to God’s holy law.

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] And, thereto, I give thee my troth.

[CATHERINE MIDDLETON:] And, thereto, I give thee my troth.

And even future kings have difficulty with the wedding ring.

[ROWAN WILLIAMS:] I pronounce that they be man and wife together in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

The cheers outside the Abbey rang all the way up in to the Abbey, then some words of guidance from the Bishop of London.

[DR. RICHARD CHARTRES, lord bishop of London:] Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.

Setting off for Buckingham Pallace

Registers signed in private and then appeared the recently named Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, or Prince and Princess William, as she will also be known.

“So happy,” she says, when they head to Buckingham Palace in the open carriage, the 1902 State Landau, made use of frequently by the Queen as well as the wedding of William’s parents Charles and Diana. This was the view that people who camped for many days had waited for.

In a kind of friendly variation of kettling used at demonstrations, police officers then maintained those on the Mall pinned in, whilst people near Trafalgar Square were being permitted to stroll towards Buckingham Palace.

But in an un-British way of queuing, several began breaking through the police lines, eager not the miss out on their view of the expected kiss.

William and Kate Kiss

The moment everyone had all come for: the kiss. This new tradition which you imagine had been happening for centuries, which was really only started by William’s parents, Charles and Diana.

[CROWD:] Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!

“Shall we?” said William.

And with this, one of the anticipated moments from the event, fleeting, and leaving the crowd hoping for more.

And then, in response to the calls for for an encore, their very own twist to the ritual, one more kiss, but the whole thing a bit too loud for 3-year-old bridesmaid Grace Van Cutsem.

The flypast was led by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, followed by the same Typhoons and Tornadoes in action over Libya right now.

After lunch, to the joy to the everyone, a quick trip to Clarence House in Prince Charles’ Aston Martin (believe it or not, converted to run on wine), A moment in time that sets the relaxed, human tone William and Kate want to project, and one more opportunity to suggest they’re a bit like everyone else.

Cartwheeling Clergy

Back at the Abbey, the verger, Ben Sheward was actually doing cartwheels.

Royal Wedding Hats – vote for the good, the bad and the ugly

On the right margin of this site are various hats worn by Royal Wedding Guests – this is your chance to give the royal thumbs up or thumbs down…

Where to join in (or even avoid) Royal Wedding Celebrations in the UK

Street parties and pubs celebrating the Royal Wedding across Britain on 29 April 2011

Many of you may watch William and Kate (or Catherine as we must now formally address her) exchange wedding vows at Westminster Abbey from the comfort of your home, but, in the UK, many will go to street parties. Take a peek here to find out what any nearby public houses are organizing:

(sorry, site now closed)

A Brief Biography of Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton’s Family Background.

Prince William’s fiancee Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, normally referred to as Kate Middleton, is now 29 as she was born on the 9th of January 1982 in Berkshire.

Kate Middleton is the eldest child of Michael and Carole Middleton and she has a younger sister Philippa (known as Pippa) and a younger brother James.

The Middletons are a well-to-do family; Kate’s father was an airline officer and her mother an air hostess before they formed their own mail order company, which has made them millionaires.

Kate grew up in Bucklebury, a small village on the river Pang in the county of Berkshire.

Kate Middleton’s Education

Kate was privately educated first at St Andrew’s School In Pangbourne, Berkshire, which is about 6 miles from Bucklebury. She then attended Downe House, a girl’s school in Cold Ash in Berkshire, for a term before transferring to the co-educational Marlborough College in Wiltshire.

A bright girl, Kate Middleton achieved 11 GCSEs and 3 A Levels in Maths, Art and English.

Kate Middleton at St Andrew’s University

After A Levels Kate attended St Andrew’s University in Fife, Scotland. Kate studied for a degree in the History of Art and it was during her studies in Scotland that she met and became friends with Prince William who was studying geography at the University.

In 2005 Kate Middleton graduated from St Andrews with an upper second class honours degree in the History of Art.

Kate Middleton and Work

Kate Middleton has had a somewhat patchy career. In November 2006 she started work as an accessory buyer for the fashion chain Jigsaw. However this role did not last long and she is subsequently reported to have been interested in becoming a professional photographer. More recently Kate has been working as a project manager and website designer for the family business, but she will not continue in this role after her marriage.

Kate Middleton’s Relationship with Prince William

Kate and William both lived in same Halls of Residence for the first year of their degree courses at St Andrews, but for the second year they shared a house with two other friends and in the final year they all moved to a more private cottage outside the town.

It is believed that it was around Christmas 2003 that Kate Middleton’s relationship with Prince William evolved from friend to girlfriend. Certainly by April 2004 Kate was William’s acknowledged girlfriend, when the couple were seen in public on a skiing trip in Klosters, Switzerland.

Not unnaturally, as the girlfriend of Prince William, Kate Middleton has received a great deal of attention from the media, some of which has been unwelcome. Although there was much speculation in the press that the couple would marry, in April 2007 the couple split up, although they remained friends.

Kate Trying Crown?

By late 2007 it seemed that Kate and William had resumed their relationship and this seemed to be confirmed by the increasing number of events they attended together during the first half of 2008.

Over the years there has been continued speculation that Kate Middleton and Prince William would marry and this was finally confirmed on 16th November 2010 when the couple announced their engagement, which had taken place in October while the couple were on holiday in Kenya.

The wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William will take place in Westminster Abbey on the 29th April 2011.

If, as is customary, Prince William receives a dukedom upon his marriage then Kate will become a duchess. If Prince William is not given a new title, then after the wedding it is expected that Kate Middleton will be referred to as Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales.

Join the discussion about Kate Middleton and Prince William on the William & Kate Questions Forum

Royal Wedding in April 2011

William and Kate Kiss

Kate Middleton will marry Prince William in Westminster Abbey on Friday April 29th 2011.

The royal wedding date will be declared a public holiday and follows a few days after Easter bank holiday.The couple chose the Abbey for its beauty, intimacy and historic royal connections, according to Royal officials, and the date because they wanted a spring wedding. (It’s possibly a coincidence it’s also on the day of the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, a name shared with Catherine Middleton).

The church has historic ties with the royal family: both Prince William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and her mother had their royal wedding’s there, as well as centuries of English kings and queens have been crowned and are burried in the church.

So the next question is, after the royal wedding, where will Kate and William spend their honeymoon? British bookies currently have odds of 5-1 for Kenya, 8-1 Scotland,16-1 Wales, 20-1 Maldives, 20-1 Australia, 20/1 New Zealand.

Kate cutting the cake?

Visit William and Kate Forum to discuss or ask questions

William and Kate’s Royal Wedding

Royal Wedding in Westminster Abbey

The wedding of William and Kate will be a toned down in line with the country’s mood of austerity, according to a spokeswoman for St James’s Palace.

William and Kate themselves say they would prefer “a more modest affair.” Where his father’s wedding to Diana cost around 30 million pounds, William says he plans to keep down the cost to his family and the public to be followed by living a “happy, quiet, domestic life” in remote north Wales.

Kate's Engagement Ring

Where and when, the two crucial decisions are now all but settled. Holding the wedding at Westminster Abbey will mean Prince William will be retracing the steps during one of his saddest days: the funeral of his mother, Princess Diana. However, William has already proved himself unafraid of confronting ghosts by choosing to propose to Kate Middleton with his mother’s engagement ring.

The Royal Family will pay for the wedding, following the precedents set by the marriages of The Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981 and Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1947.

Visit the William and Kate Forum to see what other’s are discussing or ask questions about William and Kate

The Wedding Dress

Every bride wants to look fabulous on her wedding day (and preferably every other day!) and getting the right wedding dress can be the focus of much attention and not a little stress. No doubt Kate Middleton will have similar concerns to most brides, albeit with a bigger budget and a lot of advice available.

Grace Kelly's Wedding Dress

Most brides however aren’t likely to face a barrage of public comment and criticism if their choice of dress and designer doesn’t meet with popular approval – generally it’s the look of the dress and how well it suits the bride that is the central issue. With a royal wedding however, especially in a recession, then the choice of dress and designer is something of a political issue.

Although a royal wedding is generally good for the economy (lots of potential for making money from tourists and souvenirs) and supposedly good for the Country’s morale, there will nonetheless be pressure for the dress designer to be British. Fortunately fashion design is an area where Britain has a good reputation and the chosen designer can expect that any future wedding dress designs will be hugely in demand.

Who will be chosen to design the wedding dress is a matter of huge speculation by the British press and something that you can bet on, if you so wish, with odds offered on a wide range of designers. One large bookmaker today has Daniella Issa Helayel and Phillipa Lepley as joint favourites and other candidates include Elizabeth Emanuelle (who designed Diana’s wedding dress) and even M&S at 500-1 and Nike at 1,000-1! While I’m not a gambler, if I were, my money wouldn’t be going on Jigsaw, M&S or Nike… (current betting includes: 3/1 Daniella Issa Helayel, 4/1 Stella McCartney, 6/1 Julian McDonald, 8/1 Vivien Westwood, 14/1 John Galliano, 16/1 Paul Smith, 20/1 Armani, 20/1 Vera Wang, 20/1 Versace, 50/1 Burberry).

Kate Trying Dress?

To be honest, as someone not up on fashion, I hadn’t even heard of the two top contenders, although there were plenty of names such as Amanda Wakely, Bruce Oldfield Valentino, Oscar de la Renta and Vera Wang that even I have heard about.

Wedding Dress Design

The opinion in the popular press seems to be that Kate will wear something fairly fitted/slimline, demure and fairly traditional – perhaps with a twist. The colour of the dress doesn’t seem to be attracting much attention, so I guess most people are expecting a conventional white, cream or champagne.

I think it would be a refreshing change to have a splash of colour – a rich red, sumptuous purple (meant to be a royal colour) or deep blue would make a statement, but there seems little chance of any of those… but even a soft, blush pink or something else summery would make a pleasant change. However I suppose this is not the sort of event where the bride can afford to be too unconventional and traditional colours will win the day.

Wedding Dress Costs – Ouch!

As someone who hasn’t ever hankered after a white wedding with all the trimmings, I had no idea just how much a typical wedding costs. Apparently, in the UK, an average cost for a wedding is around £20,000 (over $30,000), with the wedding dress accounting for around £1,600 (over $2,500).

Princess Diana's Wedding Dress

Royal weddings take things to a totally new level. Princess Diana’s wedding dress reputedly cost £9,000 or the equivalent of over £25,000 (around $40,000) today – that’s more than the cost of the whole wedding for most couples. Even though this wedding has been dubbed an “austerity wedding” you can bet that Kate’s wedding dress is going to cost many thousands of pounds.

Paying for the Wedding Dress

So who is going to be footing the bill for Kate’s dress? Well that partly depends on whether Parliament votes for extra money to be allocated for the wedding; if not  the cost of the wedding will probably be met with money from the Civil List (money paid to the Royal Family to cover the cost of staff; official functions such as state visits, public engagements, ceremonial functions; and the upkeep of the Royal Households).

For most weddings today, the marrying couple pay some of the bill with some financial support from both their families. In the past it was traditional for the bride’s father to pay all the wedding costs (presumably grateful that he had got her off his hands and someone else was going to have to pay for her upkeep!) and the bride’s family may still end up paying more these days. However it seems likely that this is one wedding where the bride’s family is not going to foot the bill – not even the wedding dress.

William and Kate “Intimate” Pictures

A man trying to sell intimate photographs to a newspaper of Prince William and Kate Middleton was arrested.

William's Proposal?

Speculation over William and Kate’s Wedding Date

Prince William and Kate Middleton

As anyone at all interested in the Royal Family will already know, Miss Kate Middleton will be marrying HRH Price William of Wales in 2011. One of the big questions, along with who will design the dress, and where will the wedding be held, is what date will the wedding be?

Choice of Wedding Date for William and Kate

It has been suggested that the marriage between William and Kate will take place either in the spring or summer of 2011. However the logistics of arranging such a massive event make a spring wedding somewhat unlikely – even if the preparations started the instant Kate said “Yes” back in October.

Various people have claimed to be “in the know” as to when William and Kate will marry, with a July date has been suggested by some, whilst some are confidently asserting that the wedding will take place during the second week of August.

Royal wedding likely to be at Westminster Abbey

Certainly the bookmakers must be happy with this new business opportunity – as well as offering odds on William and Kate’s wedding date, you can bet on who will design Kate’s dress, whether St Pauls Cathedral or Westminster Abbey will be the venue and what titles William and Kate will be known by when they are married.

Betting on William and Kate’s Wedding Date

Depending on what source you read, the favourite date for the next royal wedding is either Saturday 13th August 2011, or the 8th of July, which falls on a Friday.

Other dates that are being suggested include Saturday July 30th, as it is the day after the 30th anniversary of the Wedding between Charles and Diana (although, given what happened to that marriage, perhaps another date may be better luck?).

In any case, the odds are very much on a summer wedding date sometime in July or August and Saturday generally seems to be the favoured day.

Kate leaving Westminster Abbey on Wednesday

If you want to try and pick a wedding date, then perhaps you should take a look at major world events scheduled for July and August 2011 – the high and mighty expected to attend a royal wedding have their diaries booked up months in advance, so this is something the wedding organisers will undoubtedly have had to bear in mind when setting a date. In the UK the summer Parliamentary Recess is between 19th July and 5th September so a wedding day between these dates may be one option.

Let us know what you think William and Kate’s wedding date will be and tell us why you’ve picked that day.

William and Kate Memorabilia

Aynsley Royal Mug Souvinirs

Aynsley, a fine china manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent was determined to be one of the first to produce an engagement collection to mark Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton.

Infact,  not only have they been making fine china for Royal occasions such as weddings  and coronations for over two centuries, they’ve actually been working on William and Kate designs for several years.

One of the collection’s designers said: “We don’t have a royal mole, we’re just very smart. We’d been at the planning stage for a good few months.” One of the guilders who paints gold onto the rims and handles said: “Kate Middleton appears a lovely girl. I’m glad that she found her prince.”

William and Kate Royal Aynsley Memorabilia Collection

William and Kate Souvenirs

Coffee Mug: “To Commemorate the wedding of H.R.H Prince William to Catherine Middleton 29th April 2011” Prince William and Kate Middleton ENGAGEMENT Commemorative Coffee Mug Cup #4- 16th November 2010 – Ideal gift as a Collectors Item – Affordable Gift for your loved one! (DIS-RC-#4E)

Aynsley 8″ Plate: “To Commemorate the marriage of H.R.H Prince William of Whales K.G. to Miss Catherine Middleton 29th April 2011 Westminster Abbey” Aynsley Royal Wedding Prince William and Kate Middleton Plate 8″