Royal Wedding Dress To Go On Display

Fans of Britain's royal family will be able to get a close-up glimpse of Catherine, Duchess Of Cambridge's wedding dress when it is exhibited at Buckingham Palace in July.

Over two billion people around the world watched Prince William marry his bride on 29 April, and were left in awe of her traditional white gown designed by Alexander McQueen's protegee Sarah Burton.

Fashion and royal followers alike will now be able to appreciate the design when it goes on display at Queen Elizabeth II's London residence in the U.K. capital from 23 July until 03 October.

The dress will be on view along with the Cartier tiara, earrings, veil and shoes worn by the duchess on her big day, as well as the multi-tiered wedding cake which the happy couple cut in front of guests.

A statement from couple's spokesperson says, "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to give members of the public the opportunity to see, close-up, the skilled British craftsmanship that went into various elements of the wedding."

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The William & Kate Vanity Fair Cover Released

Vanity Fair has already released the July 2011 cover that features a never-before-seen engagement photo of the British royal couple, as taken in November/ December. The cover was taken by Mario Testino, as was the July 1997 Princess Diana cover taken by Testino 14-years ago. I can see why they didn’t use this photo before the wedding and why they left it out of the wedding’s promotional material. It’s nothing like as nice as the other engagement photos. It’s dark, oddly-composed and unflattering. It shows the sides of the couple’s faces and distorts their otherwise good-looking features. Along with the cover, Vanity Fair has posted an excerpt from the article. ‘Despite Will and Kate’s new official titles, duke and duchess, respectively, [William] made it clear at the wedding that he will continue to be addressed as Prince William, meaning Kate by default will be Princess Catherine, reports Vanity Fair writer Katie Nicholl. This may rattle some family hierarchies; the Countess of Wessex had wanted to be known as Princess Sophie, but had been forbidden by the Queen. The newest royal couple grace the July issue cover, with an exclusive portrait series by Mario Testino. The issue hits newsstands in New York and L.A. on Thursday, June 2, and nationally, in print and on the iPad, on Tuesday, June 7.’ Yeah, so it’s going to be out earlier than I’d expected but I guess it’s a normal July release date.

Testino has given an interview about photographing the couple to Nicholl, who also writes for The UK’s Mail On Sunday. Testino felt ‘very confident,’ photographing Kate Middleton, because of her natural grace. Asked why he’d been chose to take the photographs, he replied, ‘I guess it was a way for them to keep William’s mother in the whole process of it.’ Testino said that the couple exuded ‘sheer happiness,’ before adding, ‘They are a young couple in love.’

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Floral Displays in the Abbey and Buckingham Palace

The Couple have taken a close interest in the designs, which follows a theme that pays tribute to the Language of Flowers

Prince William and Miss Middleton have chosen London-based floral designer Shane Connolly to create the floral displays for their wedding on April 29th. Mr. Connolly has directed a team of florists, including Westminster Abbey's and Buckingham Palace's florists, and florists individually chosen by the Couple, to create the floral displays at the Abbey and for Buckingham Palace.

Mr. Connolly was chosen by the Couple owing to his reputation for producing elegant and unique displays, and for his creative approach which focuses on using seasonal, natural and organic flowers. Mr. Connolly is also well known for his sustainable approach to floristry, which incorporates as much as possible the use of growing, rather than cut, plants and trees.

The Couple have taken a close interest in the designs, which follows a theme that pays tribute to the Language of Flowers.

The floral displays in Westminster Abbey feature a variety of seasonal growing and cut British flowers and trees sourced from Royal Estates and other growers around the country. The flowers and plants include blossoms, azaleas, rhododendron, euphorbias, beech, wisteria and lilac.

The floral displays in the Abbey will include eight 20 feet-high trees: six English Field Maple and two Hornbeam. All the trees will be growing in planters, which have also been designed by Mr. Connolly and which were made by craftsmen at Highgrove, The Prince of Wales's Residence in Gloucestershire.

After the wedding, the flowers and plants will be left in position in Westminster Abbey for the public to view until Friday 6th May 2011. Following this, many of the trees will be taken to Highgrove Gardens, where they will be planted. The Couple's intention is that many of the cut plants and flowers and all the growing plants will be donated to charities or re-planted.

Notes to editors

The trees, plants and flowers are being sourced from the Saville Gardens and Valley Gardens in Windsor Great Park, Sandringham Estate and other English growers.

Shane Connolly

Shane Connolly was born and raised in Northern Ireland. He has a lifelong passion for gardening and plants. After reading Psychology at university, he had a complete career change and trained under London's leading floral designers. He set up his business in 1989. Mr. Connolly has worked on a number of events for The Prince of Wales's Household. He was asked by The Duchess of Cornwall to design her bouquet and all the flowers for her marriage to The Prince of Wales in 2005. The company was awarded a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales in 2006. Shane has written three books. For more information visit www.shaneconnolly.co.uk.

Highgrove Garden

The Prince of Wales has over the last 30 years transformed the grounds of his country residence Highgrove into inspired and innovative gardens. The Prince's strict adherence to organic and sustainable methods has helped create gardens which are both magical and intriguing while being environmentally sound, encouraging both plants and wildlife to thrive. Thirty thousand visitors tour the gardens every year. All the proceeds from the garden tours are donated to the Prince's Charities Foundation. For more information about the Highgrove Gardens visit www.highgrovegardens.com.

National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS)

Six members of NAFAS will also be helping Shane Connolly and his team to decorate Westminster Abbey. NAFAS members have arranged the flowers for special occasions at Westminster Abbey for many years. For more information visit www.nafas.org.uk.

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Will Kate Middleton Really Have Six Hairstylists for Wedding?

Even a princess-to-be doesn't need that much hair help!
Reports by Britain's Daily Mail that Kate Middleton will have six stylists tending to her wedding day 'do are untrue, reveals a source
t will be James Pryce, Richard Ward and their team," an insider tells UsMagazine.com of the longtime royal hairdressers.
Still, the two top stylists will have plenty of help on hand getting Middleton, 29, and her wedding party ready for the April 29 nuptials to Prince William, 28. "The pair will have assistants, each working with Kate and the bridesmaids on the day," adds the source. "No other salon or company will be involved, however some of the assistant stylists might be working on a freelance basis."
Accenting Middleton's perfect tresses? A tiara from the royal family collection. Though she has 80 to choose from, the frontrunner is the $10.5 million Strathmore Rose Tiara, which underwent a restoration for the big day. A palace official told Us, "Many of these tiaras have not been touched for almost a century."

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Get Know Your Royal Fam! Meet William & Kate's Mates 'n' Mums

On April 29, two families are set to merge in the biggest blowout of a nuptial that the world has seen in three decades, as Prince William plans to marry Kate Middleton.

On one side, we have Britain's royal House of Windsor, chock full of bluebloods and biddies in fabulous hats. On the other side, the Middletons, what snobs often call "new money"—a onetime middle-class bunch that made a fortune in the party supply business while raising the presumed future queen of England.

How do the two clans stack up to each other? Which family has the biggest party animal? The most eligible bachelor? The cutest dog? Let's find out in a brand-new meet the fams gallery, shall we?

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Posted in: Featured News,Kate,Kate Middleton,Prince William

Official Royal Wedding coin goes into production at the Royal Mint

The Royal Mint has unveiled the official UK coin commemorating the wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton.
The coin, which is being struck to commemorate the wedding of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton, has gone into production at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales.
Approved by the Royal Household and the Government, the coin features relaxed, modern portraits of the couple, an approach also evident in the informal use of their names and the date of the wedding circulating their portraits. The obverse bears a portrait of Prince William's grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen.
The coin has been designed by Mark Richards, Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, following an invitation-only tender process involving a handful of British sculptors. His submission was selected by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, a panel made up of experts in art, design, history and heraldry, chaired at the time of the decision by Sir Christopher Frayling, former Rector of the Royal College of Art.
Mark Richards said: "It's a tremendous honour and privilege to have been chosen to design the Royal Wedding coin. As a sculptor I'm used to working in 3D, so my specific challenges were not only capturing the nuances of Catherine Middleton and Prince William's features, but also faithfully rendering their expressions in such a small space. I was inspired by what I think is best summed up as the spirit of 'friendship in love'. It was important to me to capture the relaxed intimacy of a modern couple, without compromising the historical significance of the wedding itself."
Kevin Clancy, Director of the Royal Mint Museum said: "The Royal Mint has produced coins for the British Monarchy for over 1,000 years, and while this latest coin features the country's future King and Queen, it is actually a coin for the people who want to commemorate the Royal Wedding with their own piece of history."
The coin is also available to purchase in the precious metals silver, gold and platinum.

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Prince William, Kate Middleton Considering Australian Honeymoon

Prince William may be headed Down Under after he ties the knot with Kate Middleton at London's Westminster Abbey on April 29.

While visiting the areas of Australia affected by last month's Cyclone Yasi, the 28-year-old tossed the idea around with reporters.
"It's much nicer down here; the weather at home is dreadful," William said Saturday (via The Telegraph). "I will have to come back. Maybe we'll have a honeymoon in Cairns?"

After all, William added, "I love scuba diving. I have always wanted to dive the Great] Barrier Reef."
If he and Middleton, 29, should decide to honeymoon elsewhere, William vowed to return with the princess in several weeks time.
William's three-day tour of Australia continues with a trip to south-east Queensland, where he will visit towns affected by flash floods that killed more than 20 people in January. On Monday, he will visit flood-ravaged parts of rural Victoria before returning home to Middleton.

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Posted in: Kate,Kate Middleton,Prince William

Prince William and Miss Middleton Invitations send Out

Invitations to the wedding of Prince William and Miss Middleton have been issued in the name of Her Majesty The Queen.

The following groups of people have been invited to the wedding:

• Members of The Royal Family and their friends
• Members of the Middleton Family and their friends
• Friends of Prince William and Miss Middleton
• Members of Foreign Royal Families
• Representatives from the Defence Services
• Representatives from Prince William’s patronages
• Representatives from the Church and other faiths
• Members of the Government, Parliament and Devolved Administrations
• Members of the Diplomatic Corps
• Governors-General and Prime Ministers from the Realms
• Members of the Royal Household

Around 1,900 people have been invited to the service at Westminster Abbey.

Around 600 people have been invited to the lunchtime reception at Buckingham Palace given by The Queen.

Around 300 people have been invited to the dinner at Buckingham Palace given by The Prince of Wales.

Notes to Editors

Please note we are not releasing the names of individual invitees.

The invitations were posted on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

A rough breakdown of numbers of guests is as follows (this includes spouses):

• The vast majority of guests are drawn from Prince William and Miss Middleton’s Family and Friends – over 1,000
• Over 50 Members of The Royal Family
• Over 40 Members of Foreign Royal Families
• Over 200 Members of Government, Parliament and Diplomatic Corps
• Approximately 80 guests drawn from Prince William’s charities
• 60 Governors-General and Realm Prime Ministers
• 30 Members of the Defence Services

The EIIR on the invitation is die-stamped in gold and then burnished. The text on the invitation is also die-stamped. The edges of the invitation are bevelled then gilded.

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Prince William and Catherine Middleton visit Northern Ireland

Prince William and Catherine Middleton have spent the day in Northern Ireland on an unannounced visit.

The visit follows on from their engagements at Anglesey in Wales and St. Andrews in Scotland.

In Belfast today Prince William and Catherine were greeted by well-wishers outside City Hall.

The Prince and Miss Middleton spontaneously celebrated Shrove Tuesday with the crowds by tossing a pancake or two with children who were taking part in the activity to raise money for the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund.

After taking part himself, Prince William passed the frying pan to Miss Middleton and urged her to try, which she did, to the delight of onlookers.

Later the couple met Lord Mayor Pat Convery, Dame Mary Peters, the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, and Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson.

The Prince and Miss Middleton then held a private meeting with Mr Paterson at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down, followed by a lunch.

During the day, they also met young people from the Protestant and Catholic communities at Youth Action NI which provides training in areas including youth work and the performing arts.

They chatted with many of the students about their experiences and Prince William presented them with graduating certificates.

The Youth Action charity is a charitable organisation funded by groups including the International Fund for Ireland.

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Posted in: Featured News,Kate Middleton,Prince William