Prince William and Catherine Middleton
Royal wedding is approaching, and interest in details does not stop. Many are officially published and many are just guessing. In one month we will have the full truth about all the details, but until April 29, 2011 we write about what we have been able to find out.
Kate and William have held their bachelor and bachelorette parties. William’s bachelor, or stag, party was held this past weekend. It reportedly was at the country estate of the father of Hugh van Cutsem, one of William’s longtime friends. Kate’s party was held at an unidentified friend’s house. All that is known is that it happened sometime last week.
One of Kate and William’s last official public appearances before the wedding will be Monday, April 11, when they visit the Darwen Aldridge Community Academy reports BBC News. The tuition-free school “harnesses entrepreneurship as a catalyst for social change.” William will also hand out an award and the couple will visit a local park to demonstrate the importance of recreational space. The entire visit is expected to last 90 minutes, according to the Lancashire Telegraph.
Prince William and Catherine Middleton will marry in London’s historic Westminster Abbey. Service begins at 11 a.m. sharp London time and Live streaming of the royal wedding starts around 3 a.m. PT, 6 a.m. ET.
Kate and William will arrive at Westminster Abbey in Rolls Royce, and when Kate officially become a member of the royal family, she will be driving in the 1902 State Landau, the same carriage that Diana, Princess of Wales, rode 30 years before.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will preside over the ceremony. Around 600 dignitaries, European royalty, diplomats, friends and family have been invited to attend the royal reception. Total number of guests is 1.900. For the purpose, 19 state rooms of the Buckingham Palace will be used including the white drawing room, the state dining room and the music room. To cater to the needs of the esteemed guests, over 60 royal staffs from cooks to cloakroom attendants will be present.
Pippa Middleton will serve as maid of honor, and Prince Harry will be by his brother’s side as the best man. He’s already fulfilled part of his duties by throwing big bro a bachelor party.
The big day at Westminster Abbey will include performances from two choirs, one orchestra and a fanfare team. These include The Choir of Westminster Abbey, The Chapel Royal Choir, The London Chamber Orchestra and The Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air force. All together there will be 68 performers for the wedding service.
The main cake will be a fruity, floral masterwork designed with input from Kate Middleton, but Prince William will get his childhood favorite chocolate biscuit cake too. The royal couple have chosen a multi-tiered traditional fruit cake decorated with cream and white icing that will be created by designer Fiona Cairns, a cakemaker to the stars – such as former Beatle Paul McCartney – who has built a thriving business since starting to bake at her kitchen table 25 years ago.
The cake will have a strong British floral theme, developed with extensive input from Middleton. The master baker will use the Lambeth Method, a popular English style that relies on intricate piping and scrollwork to create leaves, flowers and other decorative elements. Middleton asked Cairns to represent about 16 different blooms and types of foliage on the cake, each with a different symbolic meaning, a practice that was popular in the Victorian era.
The blooms for the wedding will be white and fragrant and home-grown: Bouquets will include gardenias, lilies of the valley, delphiniums, and roses. The public will be able to enjoy the arrangements, which will be left at Westminster Abbey after the wedding.
Kate’s wedding dress is still well guarded secret, but rumors are swirling around Sarah Burton, creative director of the late designer Alexander McQueen, who possibly snagged the coveted commission.
Prince William seems to be considering Australia for the newlyweds’ getaway. At his last visit to the continent, he told the Telegraph, “I will have to come back — maybe we’ll have a honeymoon in Cairns.”