The Evening Standard is reporting tonight, that the date for the wedding of Prince William is set for Friday, April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey. The date will be the start of a four-day holiday (there is already a national holiday on May 1). Kate wants to keep the details of her dress a secret until the big day so naturally there is lots of interest in who will design it, etc. When they get married, Kate will be 29 and William 28 (she is five months older than him).
The wedding will be paid for by the royal family, the honeymoon will be paid for by the Queen, and the security by the taxpayers of the UK. Scotland Yard is happy that they chose Westminster Abbey because it is smaller than St. Paul’s Cathedral and will “only” cost about £5 million. Because Prince William is not the next in-line for the throne, it is not a “State” wedding. This is probably better because it means they can invite more of their friends, whereas, if it were a State Wedding, there would have to be more dignitaries (and thus more security). The royal aides are now working on the guest list.
The only ones not happy about this date are the Liberal Democrats who are hoping to get voting reform to pass on a May 5 vote. They say that this wedding date will distract from their efforts to have a national dialogue regarding the vote. They want the system to change from “first one across the line” to a ranking system where voters rank the candidates in “first choice”, “second choice”, etc. This distraction will help the Tories (the political party that strongly supports the royals).
One group that is very happy are those who make memorabilia. They have already started turning out commemorative mugs, etc. Now they have a date and location to put on their merchandise.
It is reported that Westminster Abbey was the choice because it has a more “intimate” alter area. Westminster Abbey (relatively near to Big Ben, for those not familiar with the layout) is closer to Buckingham Palace (also requiring less police officers along the route) than St. Paul’s Cathedral. It has been associated with the seat of royal power for about 1000 years. King Edward “the Confessor” built the abbey in 1065 (commemorated a week before he died). However, from this point on it was the place where kings and queens were crowned. It is also used for royal weddings. In 1923, the Duke of York (later George VI) married the now deceased queen-mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (Queen Elizabeth’s mum). In 1947, a 21-year old Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip of Greece there. Princess Anne more recently married Capitan Mark Phillips in 1973.
The most recent (memorable) event at Westminster Abbey, was in September, 1997. Prince William was in that event too, as he followed the casket of his mother at the funeral of Princess Diana. At least this will be a much happier occasion.
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