Royal wedding:

Something old, Something New

Ruwini Jayawardana

Those who wish to see the future princess being whisked off to her wedding in a fairytale carriage will be in for a disappointment because Kate will arrive at the Abbey in a private car. This change of plans is due to the revelation that she is allergic to horses!

Come April 29, the world will witness another royal wedding unfurling in Westminster Abbey as Britain’s Prince William ties the knot with his fiancée Kate Middleton. The nine-year courtship turned a new leaf as William proposed to his lady love on a vacation to Kenya in October 2010.

All the details for the wedding are under wraps and the media have been buzzing with speculations from what the bride-to-be will wear to who will be on the invitees list.

The wedding venue has many ties with the royal family. William’s grandmother was both married and crowned at Westminster Abbey while his mother was laid to rest there in 1997. It will be a public holiday for the British as many people would like to witness the legendary event of the young couple exchanging vows. More than 1700 people from the elites, celebrities and heads of state will be invited to the royal nuptials.

Those who wish to see the future princess being whisked off to her wedding in a fairytale carriage will be in for a disappointment because Kate will arrive at the Abbey in a private car. This change of plans is due to the revelation that she is allergic to horses!

Kate will pass London’s most famous sites: the Parliament Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall before arriving at the venue. After being married by the Archbishop of Canterbury the couple will ride from the Abbey to Buckingham Palace in a horse and carriage. They will then “enjoy a romantic kiss on the Buckingham Palace balcony” – just as William’s parents did. Kate’s wedding dress will be “something traditional, but with a modern twist,” fashion director Peta Hunt had revealed to the Daily Mail. Hunt also speculated that hand-embroidery and lace will be included in the works. Potential designers include Phillipa Lepley, Bruce Oldfield, Oscar de la Renta, and Vera Wang. She is also required to apply for a Coat of Arms as she comes from a middle-class background and the Middletons do not own one.

The ceremony alone will cost around £12 million ($18 million), and is being paid for by both the royal family and Middleton’s parents. Security and policing for the event will cost another £20 million ($30 million), and is being funded by British taxpayers.

Prince Charles will host a private dinner, followed by a dance, at Buckingham Palace on the evening of the wedding. Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney has reportedly been asked to provide music for the shindig.

Souvenir manufacturers are busy churning out commemorative mugs, plates, thimbles, coins, and playing cards. Much to the chagrin of the royal family a company had even launched a special souvenir condom to celebrate the royal wedding. Bans had been put on certain products. An American movie will also be made on the William-Kate love story starring look-alikes.

Middle-class Middleton

Gone are the days when she will be snapped smiling in the shadows of her royal boyfriend. From the moment the couple announced their engagement, everything that Kate wears or does, began creating waves.

Coming from the middle class Catherine Elizabeth ‘Kate’ Middleton will be England’s first college-educated Queen. The svelte brunette who celebrated her 29th birthday recently will be the oldest royal bride to walk the aisle.

She is the daughter of entrepreneurs. Her father is a former pilot and her mother is a former flight attendant. The Daily Express had referred to the Middletons as ‘self-made millionaire parents’ who sent Kate to the elite Marlborough School. She comes from a middle-class background, which marks her as a ‘commoner,’ but royals have been allowed to marry outside aristocratic circles. For example Prince Edward, William’s uncle, married PR executive Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999.

Many have begun to draw parallels between Kate and her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. After all she is now wearing the stunning 18 carat-sapphire and 14 diamonds engagement ring worth around $45,000 and designed by jeweller Garrards that Diana first showed to the world 30 year ago.

However while Diana was a shy kindergarten teacher thrust into the spotlight for the very first time when her own engagement was announced, Kate had the advantage of nine years getting to know both her groom and the pressure that comes with being a member of the royal family.

However unlike Diana Kate has more simple tastes in clothing. Wearing ‘regular’ labels and bargaining shopping, the future queen-to-be bears a slight mischievous streak of breaking ‘royal’ style conventions. She was recently spotted at a friend’s wedding wearing a black Libélula coat dress paired with a sheer top. As a rule black is not worn to wedding or festive occasions by the royal family.

Kate’s choice of attire actually had a bit of Diana to it. Princess Diana caused a minor stir when she once wore a floor-length black dress one of her first official appearances in 1981.

Kate had been nicknamed ‘Waity Katie’ by British tabloids for her supposed lack of ambition and willingness to wait for a proposal. She will be known as Princess Catherine of Wales after marriage. If William is made Duke upon marriage she will become a Duchess. When William ascends the throne she will be Queen Catherine, the sixth in British history.