William & Kate: The royal wedding of the century… 29 April 2011 (Westminster Abbey, London)
IN JUST FEW HOURS, PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON will take this wedding vows at Westminster Abbey (London, UK). This is the minute-by-minute guide of today’s royal wedding.
8:15AM – Invited guests begin to arrive a the Great North Door of WestminsterAbbey
9:50 – Political leaders and diplomats from different countries arrive at the Abbey
10:15 – Best man, Prince Harry and Prince William will arrive from Clearance House
10:20 – Foreign royalty arrives, like Prince Felipe of Spain, the Sultan of Oman, the Sultan of Brunei, Prince of Monaco, the King of Tonga and the Prince of Abu Dhabi.
10:40 – The Queen and Prince Philip leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey
10:42 – Prince Charles and Camilla arrive at Westminster Abbey
10:51 – Bride Kate Middleton and her dad Michael leave the Goring hotel for Westminster Abbey. They will travel in the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, that was attached in student protests in December 2010.
10:58 – Prince William and Prince Harry leave St Edmund’s Chapel and the groom will take his place at the altar waiting for the bride to arrive
11:00 – Kate Middleton arrives and walks down the aisle. Archbishop of Canterburry Rowan Williams will lead the ceremony
12:15 – Prince William and Kate will leave Westminter Abbey for Buckingham Palace
1:25 – Prince William and Kate will appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony
1:30 – A fly-past by the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. the newly-wed couple will join the reception hosted by the Queen. 650 of their friends and family are expect to attend
3:30 – Guests begin to leave Buckingham Palace
5:00 – Parents of Kate will arrange a party at The Goring hotel
7:00 – Prince Charles will host a dinner for 300 close friends and family. The newly-wed couple will spend the night together in the palace’s Belgian suite
6:00AM (next day) – Prince Harry will host a “survivors” breakfast for any party-goers who are still awake!
SOME OF THE INTERESTING FACTS AND NUMBERS ABOUT THE ROYAL WEDDING:
18Weight in carats of Kate’ engagement ring owned by late Princess Diana
1,100,000 visitors are expected to attend the royal wedding ceremony
4,000,000 bottles of champagne – cava or other fizz
500,000 cupcakes
5,000,000 punnets of strawberries
2,000,000,000 viewers around the world will watch the ceremony. 750 million watched Prince Charles and Diana marriage in 1981.
187 horses will be on parade on the wedding day
5,000 police will be on duty to maintain security during the celebration
3 hours the Westminster Abbey will ring after the royal wedding. Last happened for the Queen’s 60th wedding anniversary in 2007.
100,000,000 additional pints of beer to be sold over the wedding weekend
DID YOU KNOW THAT…
The Cars: Kate will arrive at the service in a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI presented to the Queen in 1978 for her Silver Jubilee.
The Reception: A lunchtime reception at Buckingham Palace and an evening dinner and dance with a meal prepared by Anton Mosimann
The Bill: The Royal Family will pay for costs including flowers, dresses and the reception. The British government will pay for the security, while Kate’s parents will also contribute for the rest of the expenses.
The Carriage: The newly-wed couple will leave the Abbey in the State Landau used at Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding. If it rains, the couple will use the 1881 Glass Coach.
The Music: Two choirs and an orchestra will perform at the service, a harpist will play at the lunchtime reception and Harry also hired a DJ for the evening disco.
The Presents: The couple asked for donations to their favourite charities instead of gifts. Donations can be made at www.royalweddingcharityfund.org.
The Cake: Fiona Cairns has created a multi-tiered fruit cake and Prince William also asked McVitie’s to make his favourite chocolate cake.
The Photographer: Hugo Burnand serves as the snapper of the wedding reception at Buckingham Palace. He was the official photographer at Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding
The Rings: Kate’s ring was passed down from the Queen and made of gold from a Welsh mine. William will not have a ring!
Source: Daily Mirror, Northern Ireland April 28, 2011
