Prince William and Kate Middleton Wedding Planner
With an estimated 1.5 million Royal Wedding watchers expected to converge on London on Friday, not everyone will be able to find a space along the route.
The best spots will fill by dawn, or even the night before – thousands of people are due to camp out. Good vantage points include the steps under the Duke of York Column in Carlton House Terrace and the pavements by Admiralty Arch.
Much of the crowd is expected to head instead for Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square, where giant screens will show live coverage of the ceremony. A 196ft-high ‘London Eye-style’ observation wheel has been erected in the park, which can be ridden from 7am on the day.
Both venues promise a carnival atmosphere, with food and drinks stalls, including licensed bars, to keep the ‘extended wedding guests’ refreshed.
Other places where big screens will be erected include Clapham Common, which is turning into a campsite the night before, Southbank Centre Square and Battersea High Street, where there will be a huge street party with food stalls.BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Buckingham Palace has 19 State Rooms – and they are all likely to be put to good use over the afternoon and evening wedding celebrations.
Among the 650 guests at the traditional, buffet-style Wedding Breakfast immediately after the ceremony are family and friends, foreign heads of state and some more controversial characters invited by Prince Charles, such as a Kazakh billionaire and the nephew of a high-profile Nazi.
The menu is a closely guarded secret but, according to the Queen’s head chef Mark Flanagan, it will be all-British. Prince Charles’s official harpist, Claire Jones, will be playing.
Prince Harry has disclosed that his best man’s speech will be ‘selective’ so he does not risk offending the Queen, but that he still intended to ‘embarrass’ his brother and ‘make him lose a bit of hair’.
The evening reception will be a more private affair – the most exclusive part of the celebrations. Charles and Camilla have invited a third of the 300 guests, while Kate and William have been allowed to invite 100 each.
The reception will include a dinner and a disco until the early hours, run by the team from Maggie’s, an Eighties revival club co-owned by Kate’s friend Charles Gilkes. It is likely to take place in the 120ft by 60ft Ballroom, the Palace’s largest room. The Throne Room will be a ‘chillax’ zone with cafe-style tables, sofas and its own neon-lit bar and DJ.
The kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace will be the moment the crowd will have been waiting for. The newlyweds will take a break from their Wedding Breakfast to stand on the balcony with their families and have their first public kiss as man and wife.
At the same time, the skies above them will be filled with aircraft to mark the involvement of the Armed Forces in the celebrations.
A Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will begin the flypast, followed 30 seconds later by two Typhoons and two Tornado GR4s in a box formation.
THE GORING HOTEL
The £1,525-a-night, five-bedroom suite where Kate will stay with her family on Thursday night contains a grand piano, a 19th Century lavatory and a cartoon picture of television’s Edmund Blackadder kissing the hand of Elizabeth I above the bath. Queen Victoria’s silk bridal gown and tiara were framed in a wardrobe – but have been removed for fear it will give Kate pre-wedding jitters.
While William’s family will be partying at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel a few streets away, it will be a low-key dinner for the Middletons on the eve of the wedding. The following afternoon, Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael, will throw a party at The Goring for those guests not invited to Buckingham Palace. It’s unlikely the newlyweds will have time to put in an appearance.
GARRARD
Crown jewellers from 1843 to 2007, Garrard produced Princess Diana’s sapphire engagement ring, now worn by Kate. ‘It’s very special to me,’ William explained. ‘As Kate’s very special to me now, it was right to put the two together.’
Kate’s wedding ring is to be fashioned from Welsh gold – a long-held Royal tradition – by an unnamed expert craftsman, probably current Crown Jeweller Harry Collins. William has chosen not to wear a ring.
CLARENCE HOUSE
In an unusual start to married life, Kate and William are due to bunk up with Prince Harry at Clarence House until they find a more permanent home in the capital. It was rumoured that the Queen had offered the couple a home in Buckingham Palace, but they seem content simply to enjoy their first public kiss as a married couple on its balcony.
Kate was secretly confirmed next door in St James’s Palace last month by the Bishop of London.
The bright young things of Chelsea and Mayfair who expected to be asked to attend but were ‘Not Flippin’ Invited’ will be found enjoying their own alternative celebration at a street party outside Mahiki night club in Piccadilly.
Society models Poppy and Chloe Delevigne, Prince Harry’s hard-partying friends Astrid and Davina Harbord and Virgin heir Sam Branson are all expected to drown their sorrows over themed cocktails and a British barbecue at the tongue-in-cheek do.
It’s an appropriate venue as it has been a favourite haunt for the wedding couple. Following their brief split in 2007, William was said to have declared ‘I’m freeeeee’ before performing a celebratory dance and racking up an £11,000 bar bill.
Not to be outdone, Kate turned up a few nights later, showing the Prince exactly what he was missing. They were soon slow-dancing together once more.
THE KINGS ROAD
On her journey from Sloane Ranger to style princess, Kate has frequented one shopping destination more than any other – the Kings Road.
Peter Jones has long been Kate’s favourite department store, and she is often spotted scouring the sales racks. Kate, who used to work as an accessories buyer for High Street chain Jigsaw, recently picked up summery items for the Royal honeymoon – calling in at Whistles, Warehouse and Banana Republic.
However, the destination for the break remains one of the wedding’s best-kept secrets. Just off the Kings Road is the salon of Richard Ward, right, Kate’s favoured upmarket crimper, who will be making sure her locks look at their glossy best on Friday.
THE ABBEY
The order of service at the Abbey will not be released until Thursday, but the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, will marry the couple. Dean of Westminster John Hall will conduct the service and Bishop of London Richard Chartres will give the address.
The music will include ‘well-known hymns and choral works as well as some specially commissioned pieces’. The Abbey is expected to be decorated with pale sprays of flowers. They will remain the following day for the public to view.
THURSDAY
Royals host pre-wedding party at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Knightsbridge. Kate spends last night as single woman with Middletons at The Goring Hotel, Belgravia. William stays at Clarence House with his father, Prince Charles.
FRIDAY
6.00am: Guests and principals must be early to rise for big day ahead.
8.15am: First guests arrive at Great North Door of Westminster Abbey. All 1,900 guests – except VIPs – to be seated by 9.45am.
9.50am: Governors-general, prime ministers of Commonwealth countries, diplomatic corps and other distinguished guests arrive, including footballer David Beckham and wife Victoria.
10.10am: Prince William and best man Prince Harry leave Clarence House for Abbey in Bentley.
10.15am: Prince William and Prince Harry arrive at the Abbey.
10.20am: Members of foreign royal families arrive from Buckingham Palace. Kate’s mother Carole Middleton and brother James leave The Goring.
10.25am: Minor Royals leave the Palace.
10.27am: Carole and James Middleton arrive at the Abbey.
10.30am: Minor Royals arrive.
10.35am: Princess Anne and husband Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence, Prince Andrew and his daughters Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie leave Buckingham Palace.
10.38am: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, leave Clarence House.
10.40am: The Queen and Prince Philip leave the Palace. Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and family arrive at Abbey.
10.45am: The Queen and Prince Philip arrive.
10.48am: Maid of honour Pippa Middleton and bridesmaids and pages – Margarita ¬Armstrong-Jones, eight, Lady Louise Windsor, seven, Eliza Lopes, three, and Grace van Cutsem, three, and pages Billy Lowther-Pinkerton, ten, and Tom Pettifer, eight – leave The Goring for the Abbey.
10.51am: Here comes the bride. Kate and her father Michael leave The Goring by Rolls-Royce for Abbey, travelling slowly via The Mall and Horse Guards Parade and giving crowds a first glimpse of THE dress.
10.55am: The bridesmaids and pages arrive.
11.00am: The bride arrives. Marriage service begins, relayed by loudspeakers along route and shown on screens in Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square.
12.15pm: William and Kate’s Carriage Procession with a Captain’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, followed by the Queen’s Procession with Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, leaves Abbey for the Palace. The couple will use 1902 State Landau, unless it rains, when they will use the Glass Coach.
12.30pm: The Procession arrives at Buckingham Palace for Wedding Breakfast, hosted by the Queen. The newlyweds will be joined by more than 650 guests.
12.40pm: Royal Family and foreign royals arrive at Buckingham Palace, followed by other Wedding Breakfast guests.
1.25pm: The Queen and William and Kate break off from Wedding Breakfast, together with their families, to appear on balcony. Crowd awaits the balcony kiss.
1.30pm: Flypast by Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
3.30pm: Start of Middletons’ party at The Goring for just over 100 family and friends who attended ceremony but were not invited to the Palace for afternoon or evening.
7.00pm: Prince of Wales hosts drinks reception followed by dinner and dance at the Palace for the couple and 300 close friends and family.
11.00pm: The Not Flippin’ Invited Party at Mahiki, in Piccadilly, begins to get lively. The all-day street party may be attended by Royal rave companions who didn’t make guest list – such as Virgin heir Sam Branson and Beatrice and Eugenie’s boyfriends.
SATURDAY
12.30am: Lights illuminating the Palace are turned off, just as US television audiences are tuning in.
6.00am: Prince Harry hosts ‘Survivors’ Breakfast’ at Buckingham Palace.
A television feast - and Prince William's favourite chocolate cake
An international army of 8,000 broadcast journalists and technicians will operate from 300 outside-broadcast trucks, 140 of which will be based in a temporary multimedia village in Green Park. The event will not, however, be filmed in 3D – Clarence House ruled that the necessary equipment was too big for the Abbey.
Buckingham Palace has also refused to keep lights on overnight, much to the frustration of American broadcasters, as some viewers in the US, where interest in the event is running at fever-pitch, will tune in on their Friday afternoon to reports shrouded in darkness. Nevertheless, the coverage will still provide an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime television event.
PRESENTERS: The BBC is deploying its big guns. Veteran news anchor Huw Edwards leads proceedings, with fellow newsreaders Fiona Bruce and Sophie Raworth in supporting roles. It is also fielding some less obvious names, such as Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton, One Show presenter Alex Jones and BBC Sport’s Formula One man Jake Humphrey, causing some observers to wonder whether these ‘softer’ presenters can convey the grandeur of the event.
Over on ITV, Ms Jones’s One Show predecessors Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles kick things off before This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield and News at Ten anchor Julie Etchingham take the reins on the main programming. Political editor Tom Bradby will be a guest at the ceremony and may give a first-person account coming out of the service.
Princess Diana’s bridesmaids India Hicks and Clemmie Hambro are ITV guests, suggesting comparisons with the 1981 wedding will be the order of the day. Amanda Wakeley and Ben de Lisi, who designed dresses for Diana, will offer their thoughts on the sartorial efforts of guests.
Channel 4 will not provide rolling coverage but Jon Snow and Krishnan Guru-Murthy will present an extended news bulletin at 7pm.
Channel 5’s coverage will be coming from regular 5 News anchors Matt Barbet and Emma Crosby. Ex-Daily Mirror columnist Matthew Wright will host a special edition of The Wright Stuff.
Dermot Murnaghan starts the coverage for Sky News before Eamonn Holmes takes over at 9am with Royal correspondent Sarah Hughes. Alastair Bruce, Sky News Royal commentator and Officer of Arms to the Queen, will be on hand to explain protocol.
US networks are keen to make sure the occasion remains distinctively British, with Piers Morgan, Cat Deeley, Martin Bashir and Sharon Osborne covering the wedding for various channels. Actress Jane Seymour is Entertainment Tonight’s correspondent.
BBC1
Uninterrupted coverage from 8am until 1.40pm and then 2pm until 4pm. BBC cameras will be responsible for capturing the action inside Westminster Abbey on behalf of other networks, and have other cameras outside Buckingham Palace, alongside The Mall and at vantage points along the processional route.
Early coverage will focus on the preparations before switching to the arrival of guests at the Abbey, followed by the service at 11am.
Viewers will then watch the couple make their way to Buckingham Palace, their appearance on the balcony and the fly-past. Jake Humphrey is to commentate on a Battle of Britain fly-past from inside a Lancaster bomber. Aerial shots will be shared with ITV.
Throughout the day Edith Bowman will report from St Andrews University, and Alex Jones will be at Kate’s home village of Bucklebury. There will also be a pre-recorded interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams by Huw Edwards.
ITV1
A special edition of Daybreak begins at 6am, before the main coverage at 8.30am, running with no advertisement breaks until 4pm. There will also be extended editions of ITV News and News At Ten. With Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham in the studio, Mary Nightingale will report from the Abbey as guests arrive.
Alastair Stewart will follow Kate as she makes her way to the Abbey.
Senior correspondent James Mates will give commentary from the service itself.
CHANNEL 4
Extended, hour-long, evening news bulletin at 7pm.
CHANNEL 5
Programming begins at 9.15am with a special edition of The Wright Stuff, then news bulletins follow throughout the day.
Matt Barbet of 5 News will be based outside Buckingham Palace while co-presenter Emma Crosby will be in Bucklebury.
From 6.25pm to 7pm, OK! TV At The Royal Wedding will reflect on the day.
SKY NEWS
Coverage begins at 6am with Dermot Murnaghan and Anna Jones at Canada Gate, Buckingham Palace.
From 9am until 5pm there will be live coverage from Canada Gate with Eamonn Holmes, with reporters based in several other London locations, while UK-wide reports will come from Bucklebury, St Andrews and Anglesey.
At 9pm a special programme, Your Royal Wedding, will broadcast audience-recorded videos captured throughout the day.
OVERSEAS
US network CNN is flying in 50 extra staff to its London bureau. It begins a special live show at 4am eastern standard time, while NBC is rumoured to be flying in a 300-strong team to cover the event.
NBC, Germany’s ZDF, Australia’s 7 Network and Network 10, and Canada’s CTV have reportedly paid £200,000 each to access ITN’s broadcast on the morning.
The BBC is distributing footage live to ABC Australia, ABC America, on the BBC Entertainment channel across Asia, India, Latin America and the Middle East, and on BBC Knowledge in Africa.
Eat like the Royals with recipes from Palace chef
To ensure your Royal Wedding day menu is as authentic as possible, we asked former Royal chef Darren McGrady for his recipe recommendations.
They are adapted from his book Eating Royally, which features the recipes he made most often for the Royal Family during his 15 years in their service – their special favourites.
The beauty of these dishes is that they can be prepared beforehand, stored and then served up in front of the TV during any convenient gap in proceedings on the big day.
Mr McGrady suggests making Gleneagles Pate and Coronation Chicken, dishes he often cooked for the Royal Family. ‘They are classics which would be served at receptions and parties at the Palace,’ he says.
And his recipe for Chocolate Biscuit Cake is a must for anyone who wants to eat the same sweet as the one being served at the wedding – it has been specially requested by William.
Mr McGrady says: ‘When I read about the engagement of William and Kate, I noticed they weren’t planning to take on a chef, so I sent them a copy of my book, which contains the recipe for the biscuit cake. A week later, I heard that they were serving the cake at the wedding, so perhaps I reminded William how much he’d always enjoyed it.
‘When I worked at the Palace, I made this cake at least once a month for the Queen. It was her favourite, and the only cake she would insist came back to her every day until it was all gone.
‘Once, I remember her instructing her page to call the kitchen to ask who had been eating her cake when she discovered more missing than there should have been.
‘I made sure never to put it on the menu on a Thursday, knowing the Queen would be spending the weekend at Windsor Castle, because it meant that the cake returning from Thursday’s tea table had to be wrapped and carried by hand to Windsor Castle for her to enjoy over the weekend.
‘The whole family love it. When I was cooking for Diana, I would make it for William and Harry when they had Beatrice and Eugenie over. Fergie loved it too.’
GLENEAGLES PATE
2lb smoked salmon, thinly sliced and divided
1lb smoked trout
11⁄2lb unsalted butter, softened and divided
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
1 tsp lemon juice 1lb smoked mackerel
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
Line a 1lb loaf tin or pate terrine with plastic wrap, overlapping the sides. Take half of the smoked salmon and line the sides and bottom of the loaf tin. Overlap the top edge by about 2in so that the salmon will fold over and cover the filling once it is in place.
Remove and discard the skin from the smoked trout, and then place the trout in a food processor and chop finely; add 1⁄2lb of the butter to the processor. Blend again until smooth and add the chopped dill and lemon juice.
Carefully spread the trout mixture into the loaf tin on top of the smoked salmon and smooth the top. Place the loaf tin in the freezer for ten minutes while you prepare the second layer.
Clean the food processor bowl. Remove and discard the skin from the mackerel, and place the mackerel into the food processor; chop finely. Add 1⁄2lb butter and blend until smooth.
Take the loaf tin from the freezer, and spread the mackerel mixture smoothly on top of the trout layer without disturbing the trout layer. Place the loaf tin in the freezer for ten minutes while you prepare the third layer.
Clean the food processor bowl once again and place the remaining smoked salmon into the food processor and chop finely. Add the remaining 1⁄2lb of butter and the chives to the processor, and blend again until smooth.
Remove the loaf tin from the freezer, and spread the smoked salmon on top of the mackerel. Smooth the top. Fold the overlapping pieces of smoked salmon over the top layer of the salmon spread. Cover the top with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, or for at least four hours, until firm.
Remove the loaf tin from the refrigerator and lift off the top plastic wrap. Invert the terrine on to a cutting board and remove the loaf tin and additional plastic wrap. Slice the terrine into 1in slices. Serve on salad leaves as an appetiser or slice the terrine into fingers and serve on crackers as a canape.
Makes eight to ten servings.
For poaching the chicken:
2lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
4 sticks of celery, rough chopped
2.6 pints cold water
1 bay leaf
For the sauce:
1⁄2 pint mayonnaise
1⁄4 pint Greek yogurt or sour cream
0.1 pint double cream
1 tbsp curry paste (or to taste)
2oz diced red pepper
2oz diced red onion
4oz diced ripe mango
2oz diced fresh pineapple
2oz diced tinned apricot halves
1 tsp sugar
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
For the rice:
12oz basmati rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1.7 pints reserved broth (from poaching the chicken)
1 bunch spring onion, finely chopped
6oz toasted sliced almonds
8oz diced red peppers
Salt and pepper to taste
Place the chicken, onion, celery, bay leaf and water in a large pan and poach the chicken until fully cooked. Remove the chicken to cool, reserve the poaching liquid.
In a large bowl combine all of the sauce ingredients and mix well. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and fold into the sauce mix. Spoon into a large serving bowl.
In a large pan over a high heat, add the olive oil and the rice and stir until the rice is coated with the oil. Add the chicken broth, stir and bring to a boil.
Cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 18 minutes.
Remove the rice to a large bowl to cool. Stir in the spring onions, red pepper. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with the almonds before serving.
Makes six portions.
CHOCOLATE BISCUIT CAKE
4oz dark chocolate (for the cake)
4oz granulated sugar
4oz unsalted butter
1 egg
8oz Rich Tea biscuits
½ tsp butter
8oz dark chocolate (for the coating)
1oz chocolate (for decoration)
Lightly grease a 6in x 21⁄2in cake ring and place on a tray on a sheet of parchment paper.
Break the biscuits into almond-size pieces and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until the mixture lightens. Melt 4oz of chocolate and add to the butter mix while stirring. Beat in the egg.
Fold in the biscuits until they are coated with chocolate mix. Spoon into the cake ring. Try to fill all of the gaps on the bottom. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least three hours, then let it stand while you melt the 8oz of chocolate.
Slide the ring off the cake and turn it upside down on to a cake wire. Pour the chocolate over and smooth the top and sides with a palette knife. Set at room temperature. Run a knife around the bottom and lift it on to a tea plate. Melt the 1oz of chocolate and use to decorate the top.
Serves eight.
Eating Royally: Recipes And Remembrances From A Palace Kitchen by Darren McGrady (Thomas Nelson) is available from amazon.co.uk
Cocktails to toast happy couple
Many of London’s most famous bars have created special cocktails to celebrate the wedding. Here are two of the best to try at home.
THE ROYAL TRIBUTE, from the American Bar at The Savoy
1 measure Bombay Sapphire gin
1 msr Martini Rosso
1⁄4 msr gomme syrup
1⁄8 msr maraschino
1⁄8 msr Chartreuse verte
Top up with champagne
Stir the gin, Martini, syrup and the liqueurs over ice and strain into a glass. Top up with champagne and garnish with an orange twist.
THE WILL & KATE, from the Lobby Bar at One Aldwych
1 msr Bombay Sapphire
1 msr fresh apple puree
1⁄2 msr Giffard grapefruit liqueur
Splash of elderflower cordial
Fill the glass to the top with champagne
A sprinkle of edible gold flakes
Stir the gin, puree, liqueur and cordial over ice and strain into a glass. Top up with champagne and sprinkle gold flakes on top.
. . . or raise a glass with these special brews
Nottingham-based brewery Castle Rock has been inundated with orders for its specially created Royal Wedding pale ale, Kiss Me Kate, which is available in Morrisons supermarkets.
Fuller’s has produced an ale called Royal Wedding Celebration Ale, which will be available in selected pubs from Thursday. It is described as ‘rich and smooth with a malty base, and a fruity and satisfying finish’.
Source:Dailymail
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