The William and Kate wedding comes 30 years after the groom’s father, Prince Charles, and mother, the late Princess Diana, were married at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The much awaited event, which has been an everyday media spectacle since Clarence House announced on November 16 that the couple were engaged, is scheduled to start at 11am on April 29, with the bride arriving in a car instead of by carriage, the traditional royal bridal vehicle. In another break from tradition, William will also have a best man in his brother, Prince Harry. Middleton, on the other hand, will have her sister, Pippa, as maid of honor. The wedding day has already been declared a national holiday in the United Kingdom.
Some 1,900 guests have been invited to witness the ceremony at the abbey, while nearly 300 people have been picked to join the couple and the rest of the Royal family in the evening dinner to be hosted by the groom’s father, Prince Charles. Queen Elizabeth II, on the other hand, will play host to some 600 guests in the luncheon reception at the Buckingham Palace.
William and Kate first met in 2001 as students at the University of St. Andrews, where they were flat mates at St. Salvator’s Hall. William proposed to Kate on October 19 while they were vacationing in Kenya’s Lewa game reserve. William is the first child of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. The 28-year-old royal is second in line to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II. Kate, on the other hand, is the eldest daughter of Carole Elizabeth and Michael Francis Middleton.
Watch the Royal Wedding Live Stream Online
You can watch the Royal Wedding: Prince William and Catherine Middleton live from Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. We will post updates and live stream links as to where you can watch the wedding live from your home just before the event begins. Be sure to check this page again on April 29.
