Lavish or low key?

As we all know royal weddings are low key and even if the couple wanted this then the public would not be happy. Even if the couple wanted something low key there was no chance of this happening, but it now the right time.

Some people are saying that the news is excellent and will help build moral of the country after just about coming out of the recession, but surely it is not the right time to be spending a vast amount of tax payers money on the wedding.

The publics current attitude towards the royal family should make them think about the scales of their wedding. Charles and Diana opted for a very large wedding as Charles was heir to the throne. It cannot be denied following this wedding the royal family has taken a battering of events that have occurred.

If the wedding is supposed to raise moral the royal family must be very careful with how much they try and make this seem like the perfect little fairy-tale, because as we know the couple have not always been match made in heaven which led to them to spit for a short amount of time.

Charles and Diana’s wedding which occurred in 1981 during the time of a recession economics was forgotten about which enabled the couple to have a lavish ceremony. Which in comparison to his mothers wedding seems rather selfish to make the tax payer spend their money on this.

When the Queen married Prince Phillip most of the cost of the wedding was taken up by her father George VI who used the savings he had made during the war from the Civil List. As well as this the Queen used 300 ration coupons in order to buy her material for her wedding dress.

Weddings of Royal Past

William and Kate must have known they were going to have to deal with some comparisons to Williams parents wedding in 1981. The public had cued for hours in order to catch just a slight glimpse of what they thought was going to be there future King and Queen, so what exactly is it that made these weddings so memorable.

On the day of the people from around the country, all the details of the wedding were closely guarded which made the day even more of a surprise.

The dress princess Diana wore will go down in history as possibly one of the most fairy tale perfect dress, with a trail of epic proportions the dress had billowed sleeves and was trimmed with bows and lace, with hand embroider pearls and sequins.

The Princess asked three of her favourite orchestra’s the Royal Opera Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra to play on her wedding day.

After the ceremony the newlyweds took an open horse drawn carriage back to Buckingham Palace where they were to have their iconic kiss on the balcony.

The crowd had been calling to see the couple since they arrived at the Palace and when on the balcony Charles said to Diana ”I am not going to do that caper. They are trying to get us to kiss.”  Which she replied ”Well how about it?”, after a few moments of thought the Prince of Wales said “Why ever not?”

This was a break from the normal royal protocol but was what the crowd wanted, which is what Diana was good at doing. Unknown to them then the couple would have a sad a bitter end.

1986 saw the next royal wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson who continued the royal tradition and got married at Westminster Abbey on the 23^rd of July.

Sarah arrived at the church at 11:30 where she was awaited by 2,000 guests and 30,000 flowers, who watched her take four minutes to walk down the aisle to be met by Prince Andrew.

As well as the family of the bride and groom guests included 17 members of the foreign royalty, the US first lady Nancy Reagan and then Prime Minister Margret Thatcher.

After signing the register the couple then rode to Buckingham Palace in an open top 1902 State Landau.

Over 100,000 people claimed over one another to catch a glimpse of the bride and grooms kiss on the famous balcony at the Palace

The plans so far

The royal couple has been keeping quiet about what their plans are for the wedding in April will be, until now. Not long after the date for the happy occasion was set it was confirmed that it would also be turned into a bank holiday. Kate Middleton will travel to Westminster Abbey in a car and return with her new husband in a glass carriage, on returning to Buckingham Palace the Queen will host a reception guests that attended the day, the Prince of Wales will follow the reception with a private party for the couples close friends and family with dinner and dancing.

St James palace has revealed the basic plan for the wedding day for now the plans are as follows:

Kate will start her journey by car passed The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall and Parliament Square.

The Dean of Westminster will conduct the service at 11 am followed by the Arch Bishop of Canterbury marrying William and Kate with the Bishop of London ending with the address.

The couple will then return to Buckingham palace on the same route that Kate will arrive at the ceremony.

On returning to the palace the reception dinner and dancing will commence.

Just as with his mother and father’s wedding William is expected to have a very public first kiss with his new wife on the famous palace balcony, before heading off to their reception.

The wedding has already broke with tradition in terms the mode of transport normally the bride would arrive in a carriage for everyone to see but Kate said she wanted the wedding to be low key and not “pomp and lavish”. As well as how the bride arrives being different to the norms of a royal wedding the way in which they intend to celebrate, the reception, differs as there would normally be an intimate wedding breakfast. This could be signifying a change with in the royal family as they are more willing to let the couple make their own choices of how the wedding will go.

Timeline of the Royal courtship

Plans about the royal have been circulating ever since William and Kate announced their engagement on the 16^th of November 2010. People have been speculating about whether the wedding will be as grand and Charles and Diana’s wedding in 1981 or they whether the couple will be trying to keep things a little more low key (assuming if that’s possible for a royal wedding).

September 2001- The couple met at St Andrews University where they both were studying history. Kate helped William when he considered leaving university and helped to convince him to continue, however he changed his course to geography.

February 2002- William spends £200 on a ticket to see a fashion show that Kate is participating in.

September 2002- William and Kate move into student housing along with two other of their friends. During this time rumors emerge that the pair are dating one another, however Kate is said to be still dating someone else.

June 2003- William is rumored to being seeing the daughter of a wealthy Kenyan family but yet it is Kate that attends the Prince’s 21^st birthday party at Windsor Castle.

December 2003 – Kate splits with her boyfriend.

March 2004- The couple are spotted on a skiing holiday in Switzerland, no one is denying the pair is seeing each other anymore. Engagement rumors already begin to circulate but William says he will not be ready to marry until the age of 28.

April 2005-Kate isn’t invited to Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wedding, which is seen as a royal brushoff.

June 2005- The paid graduate from St Andrews and head off to Kenya.

January 2006- Picture of the couple kissing in Switzerland, their first public kiss.

February 2006 – Speculation of the couple becoming engaged is at its highest.

August 2006 – The couple holiday in Ibiza

December 2006: William graduates as an army officer from Sandhurst, Kate is in attendance which is seen as a sure sign she is being excepted by the royal family.

January 2007 – Media expects news of engagement any day.

April 2007 – Kate and William spit up.

June 2007 – Kate and William get back together.

April 2008 – Kate attends her first royal engagement since 2006, William receiving his RAF wings.

May 2008 – Kate attends the wedding of Peter Phillips without William which could show she is taking her own role in the royal family.

February 2009 – William and Harry move into a house in Shropshire together, but not with Kate, much to the tabloids disappointment.

October 2010: William proposes during a 10-day safari in Kenya.

November 2010 – William asks Kate’s father for permission to marry his daughter.

November 16, 2010: Kate proudly shows off her engagement ring. The ring, featuring a sapphire laced with diamonds, belonged to William’s mother, Princess Diana

William and Kate on holiday together while studying at St Andrews together.

Love at the Palace

Hello Everyone,

As we all know there is a very big wedding coming up this April, William and Kate have been dating for 9 years and the public has been looking forward to this day since they began dating.

Hopefully these updates on different matters surrounding the wedding will keep you up to date with their plans and how people feel about the wedding on the 29th of April.