Britain set for the grand wedding of Prince William and Kate

Agencies

London, April 28, 2011: Britain is putting the crowning touches to the preparations for Friday’s (April 29, 2011) wedding of prince William and Kate Middleton as the world gets set to tune in for the biggest royal occasion for 30 years.

 

Two billion people are expected to watch live on TV and the Internet to see the eldest son of Princess Diana and his commoner bride tie the knot after a romance that began at university in Scotland eight years ago.

 

A musical run-through was scheduled Wednesday involving military bands and the choir that will sing at Westminster Abbey, and on Thursday there will be a full dress rehearsal for everyone except William and Kate.

 

Rain is set to fall on the big day but that is unlikely to dissuade hundreds of thousands of revellers from cramming into London.

 

Around 1,900 guests including foreign royals, politicians and celebrities have accepted invitations to attend.

 

A file photograph of lookalikes of Prince William and Kate Middleton, in a carriage

 

The excitement around the ceremony partly reflects the public’s enduring fascination with Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

 

But it also stems from the fact that it is the grandest royal wedding since blushing bride Diana married Charles heir to the throne on July 29, 1981. Friday’s ceremony will aim to bring events full circle more happily.

 

“William and Catherine, as they will be known, have personally overseen every detail of their exquisitely beautiful wedding day, said St James’s Palace, William’s official residence. 

 

The newlyweds will lead a procession to Buckingham Palace, travelling in a horse-drawn carriage and accompanied by soldiers on horseback. But some other details about the big day remain secret, such as her wedding dress.

 

There’s also no news on what titles the couple will take or whether they will emulate Charles and Diana and kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.