The Royal Wedding

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Click here to read about the Royal Wedding Day.

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Boy loves girl. And girl loves boy. Both of them think that they are made for each other. And decide to spend the rest of their lives together. They get married under the loving and proud eyes of their parents and close family. This would be the story of any normal wedding.

But this is different. This is The Royal Wedding. 

Who is the royal we are talking about? It is Prince William of Wales. The eldest son of Prince Charles and the Late Lady Diana, he is second in line to the British throne  - right behind his father Charles.

And who is the love of his life, who will become his wife on 29th April 2011? She is Catherine (Kate) Middleton. All of 29 years, she will be a royal wife and a princess in two week's time.

Prince William and Kate Middleton

 

There hasn't been an wedding in my living memory which has caught the public eye like this one. All the top international newspapers (prime among them - BBC and CNN) - are running a separate independent sections about The Royal Wedding on the front page of their website. This reflects the interest of the people in this wedding.

The lives of William and Kate have been under close public scrutiny since the announcement of their engagement last last year. 

At the Engagement Announcement

Since then, people have speculated about the wedding date. People are discussing about her pretty engagement dress. People have been wondering about the dress she will wear to the wedding. And the wedding ring. The place of the wedding. And the honeymoon destination. Just about every single thing is being closely discussed and evaluated.

All this would make the couple wonder on whether their marriage is a private matter or a public affair. But when you are a royal, everything that you do is under the public scanner.

Official Engagement Photo

While Prince William has lived his entire life under the media spotlight, Kate has had an otherwise normal life. She is the eldest of her three sisters and has grown up in rural England, in Berkshire. Astonishingly, her parents are millionaires - importantly, self made millionaires. 

As a little kid, girls hear stories about a little prince stealing away their hearts. It would have been the case with Kate too. And by God's grace and lots of luck, she came in touch with Prince William while studying at the university in Scotland in 2011. The affection has built over the years, and after many ups and downs, she will be walking down the aisle with her beloved William.

Kate and William at University

Considering her modest background, and amazing looks, Kate Middleton is all set to become the people's princess - a tag which has been empty for the last 14 years since the death of William's mother - Late Lady Diana. This picture says it all.

People's Princess Kate

A royal wedding comes with its own nitty gritties. A bank holiday has been declared in England on Friday, 29th April 2011. Add to that, stamp's have been released by the British Royal Mail commemorating the joyous occasion.

The Royal Stamps

A lot of wedding memorabilia is being sold across the United Kingdom. Then you have dolls depicting Kate Middleton. There are China cups, fridges, wall clocks, cuff links. 

It would surprise you that people are even selling books and nail paints too - picturing the royal couple. Going beyond all is the sale of sick-bags (in case you get uneasy seeing all this euphoria - and I wonder who would) and contraceptive rubber - once again depicting the royal wedding. What next??

If you are interested in gossip, The Daily Mail is for you. It has innumerable news articles discussing about Kate's formative years in school, how she was bullied in school, the ex boyfriends of Kate and the ex girlfriends of William et all. The royal wedding has generated a lot of fodder for the tabloids.

While Kate has been an epitome of grace in all her formal and official engagements as the royal fiancee, she is seen to have a great sense of casual dressing too. All this has resulted in Kate being touted as the next fashion icon. 

Kate in elegant formals and stylish casuals

How many times have you had a queen giving the stylish super models a chase for their money? But I bet that Kate can win hands down over most of the fashion models.

Super Model Kate

Well, this is one topic you can't stop writing about. The excitement in the United Kingdom and across the world is bound to increase in the coming two weeks.

Westminster Abbey is the place of the wedding. All eyes will be on the Royal Couple as Prince William weds Kate Middleton. This will be the day when the lovely Kate would make a transition to HRH Princess Catherine. And we all hope that they have a very strong and sucessfull marriage.

Prince William with soon to be HRH Princess Catherine(Kate)

After all, it's spring time. And love is in the air.