Royal Marriage a pain for employers

A Cumbrian law firm warns that employers will suffer in April next year when the Royal Wedding takes place...as the entire country downs tools for several days!

North West Evening Mail | News | Royal marriage a pain for employers

Harry's "Ex" Chelsy Davy coming to the Wedding?

Although they called off their relationship earlier this year, Chelsy Davy is reported to be keen to patch up her relationship with Prince Harry in advance of the royal nuptials in April...watch this space!

Prince Harry to invite Chelsy Davy to William and Kate's wedding?

Bets close on the Wedding Dress designer!

Paddy Power has closed betting on which designer Kate Middleton will choose for her dress - all the money was on Bruce Oldfield so betting has been suspended. His designs were a favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales (shocker) and he has also designed dresses for Cameron Diaz and Jemima Khan.

Has Kate Middleton chosen her wedding dress designer? Bookies close bets as 'all the money was on Bruce Oldfield'

Is William marrying Megan Fox?

You decide...anyone ever seen them in the same room together?

Kate celebrated engagement with a girlie party!

Kate reportedly celebrated her engagement to Prince William with a slumber party, inviting a dozen of her closest friends and partying into the wee hours of the morning...and who can blame the girl? She has nabbed a prince and is becoming the most famous woman in the world...

Diana's Tiara to be offered to Kate

Kate will be asked if she would like to wear Diana's priceless pearl and diamond Tiara for the wedding...as many will say, let's hope it brings her more luck than Diana. It is clear that William is trying to heal the rifts with the Spencer side of the clan - Diana's ring which Kate is now wearing, the "black sheep" of the family Earl Spencer who has been asked to read at the ceremony despite the fact the last time he stood up in Westminster Abbey he all but accused the Royal Family of murdering his sister...and now the possibility of the Tiara.
It is a very public attempt at reconciliation by a young man who wants to heal the rifts in his family - and who can blame him?

Kate Middleton will be offered Princess Diana's tiara to wear on her wedding day

Princes Behaving Badly?

Will it be like an episode of "Men Behaving Badly" when Wills and Harry share a pad for one last time before Wills gets hitched to the lovely Kate?

Royal wedding: Prince William and Prince Harry to have lads' pad - mirror.co.uk

Posh and Becks are getting an invite!

Getting close to a real throne this time (rather than the pretend throne at their own wedding!), David and Victoria Beckham are going to be invited to Wills and Kate's Wedding in April 2011...presumably Posh said to Dave, "I'll tell you what I want, what I really, REALLY want..." - an invite!!

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham get invite to Royal wedding - mirror.co.uk

Kate is "a conservative style icon"

Long before the engagement was announced, all eyes were on Kate's fashion sense...now every thing she wears will be photographed, scrutinised and analysed beyond the comprehension of the average male. The general consensus is classic, stylish and a tad conservative...but not sure I can see Dave Cameron wearing this little number...

Royal wedding: Kate Middleton 'a conservative style icon' - Telegraph

Dress like a princess for less than £50!

It is the necklace designed for girls who dream of being a princess — by the woman who is soon to become one.

The pendant, featuring a silver bean, rose quartz and a pink pearl, was the work of Kate Middleton and jewellery designer Claudia Bradby, whose television journalist husband Tom bagged the first interview with Wills and Kate. Now the £42 necklace, which was previously sold in Junior Jigsaw shops, is a must-have pressie after being reissued following the proposal.

Kate Middleton's £42 necklace fit for a princess | News

Marriage will cost economy £5bn

As the country plans on closing down for 11 days next April/May, estimates are that the combination of Royal Wedding, bank holidays, employees taking anuual leave and calling in "sick" will cost the economy some £5 billion....

Royal wedding: marriage will cost economy £5bn - Telegraph

Dukan or not Dukan, that is the question

Kate Middleton's mother is using the "controversial" Dukan diet to slim down before the wedding...

French nutritionists brand diet used by Kate Middleton's mother a 'health hazard' | Mail Online

Kate's Doppleganger goes full-time

It seems only fair, logical and profitable that Kate Bevan make the most of the next 40 years by giving up her full-time job to concentrate on being a Kate Middleton lookalike...maybe MI5 will rope her in to be an official doppleganger, à la Saddam Hussein? Handy that she is also called Kate to avoid any unneccessary confusion, but she just needs to perfect the clipped Home Counties accent and she'll be away.

I'm giving up my job to be Kate Middleton's double: Lookalike just has to shed her Midlands accent

Three-Dimensional Wedding?

Dig out those 3D glassess...the Royal wedding could be screened in 3D for your added viewing pleasure!

Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding could be screened in 3D

Who else will be getting pressies on 29/04/11?

We now know Kate and Wills are getting hitched on April 29...but who else might be sharing their special day?

No longer with us but both Duke Ellington and Hirohito were born on April 29...

With a bit more life in them, the following celebrities will also be opening presents on April 29:

David Icke (born 1952)
Kate Mulgrew (born 1955)
Daniel Day Lewis (born 1957)
Michelle Pfeiffer (born 1958)
Phil Tufnell (1966)
Andre Agassi (born 1970)

Something to remember it by?

Surely everyone in the UK - or even overseas - has some memorabilia in their cupboards from 1981, from one of most famous and lavish wedding ceremonies ever seen, when Prince Charles married Diana Spencer. The ink is not yet dry on the formal engagement announcement, and Kate is still getting used to Diana's old ring on her finger, yet the souvenirs are already rolling out for the royal engagement.

Aynsley China in Stoke-on-Trent were one of the first companies to get off the mark, producing prototypes as soon as the day after the engagement. The artwork and production had been put together some 2 months ago in preparation for "the big announcement". They didn't want to make the same mistake as the long-lost Woolworths which had started to stockpile Kate and William souvenirs shortly before the couple split up!

Even the supermarkets are getting in on the act with Asda producing a £5 photo mug for those wanting a souvenir on a budget. At the other end of the spectrum Royal Crown Derby will be producing commerative pieces, but they opt not to use photos of the couple considering them to be "cheap" and instead they stick to heraldry and calligraphy. We are sure there will be something for everyone on the shelves and in the back of the Daily Mail and Daily Express newspaper supplements!

Kate and William at St Andrews University: A Brief History

St Andrews is famous for its' golf course, but will now be as famous for introducing Prince William to Kate Middleton, on the first day that William started at university. Both assigned to St Salvator's Hall of residence, a grand building set in the oldest part of the university, the pair got on from the very first meeting. 

It was Kate who hellped William through a terrible bout of homesickness in the first term, with Kate convincing him to stay in Scotland rather than heading back to Highgrove every weekend, and the two subsequently became very close friends and confidants.After William joined the University Water Polo team, William's demeanour picked up and he started socialising and behaving like a normal student (well, maybe he stopped short of rioting at Millbank...). 

The local "Dolls House Restaurant", owned by TV presenter Carol Smillie, would see William, Kate and friends whiling away the evenings, with William rarely drinking alcohol and always paying his share of the bill. When Kate, William and a friend shared a Georgian flat in the second year they would pop out for takeaways, with both Kate and William favouring a mild korma! 

In the third year they opted to rent somewhere more remote to keep as low a profile as possible, and so lived in a rural farmhouse overlooking the golf course, and stayed there until June 2005 when they started packing up for graduation. Kate describes the period at university with William as "the happiest of times", and not withstanding a short break-up after they left university, it seems that there is a fairytale ending to their time in Scotland.

Kate Middleton's £30 see-through dress could sell for £100,000!

Yes, this is perhaps what Kate was wearing when William fell for her at a fashion show...hardly surprising really as Kate looks amazing sauntering down the catwalk..maybe Britain's Next Top Princess?!

Kate Middleton's £30 see-through dress could sell for £100,000 | Mail Online

Copy Kate - how to get THAT look on a budget!

Top Stylists and Buyers advise how to get the Kate Middleton "look" for a fraction of the price, from make-up to dresses...how to get Princess Chic!

Kate Middleton's engagement dress: Copy her look for a quarter of the price | Mail Online

Dry-run for Will's stag do? Will he go down the Blackpool route too?

Prince William and pals hit Blackpool for friend's stag do | Mail Online

Referendum vs Wedding?

So in a punch-up between Nick Clegg wanting his referendum on voting reform, and Kate Middleton wanting her wedding day, who would win?

Kate Middleton's Royal wedding: Lib Dems fear April clash with voting referendum | Mail Online

So what do you think you know about Prince William?

A handy "get to know you" profile for Prince William. second-in-line to the throne: Profile: Prince William

What makes a great Royal Wedding?

We all remember 1981...so what are the ingredients for a truly magical, Royal Wedding?
Click here to find out the BBC's Recipe for a Fairytale Wedding...

Will is a hopeless romantic...who knew?

New Footage: Prince William talks about his romantic proposal to Kate Middleton in this formal interview. Watch now!

BBC News - Prince William on his proposal to Kate Middleton

Westminster Abbey emerges as leading venue

As Kate visits Westminster Abbey this week, speculation grows over the venue for the Wedding of the Decade...well, you didn't think they'd just pop down their local Register Office, and then nip to a pub afterwards did you?!

BBC News - Speculation grows over royal wedding venue and date

The best advert for Audi ever?

Kate dodges the paparazzi in her Silver Audi A3 (Rex)

What do you reckon the favoured choice of car is for the most talked-about woman on the planet? A solid, reliable, German Audi....Vorsprung Durch Technik!

Kate's family company need to recruit to replace her!

Learn more about Kate Middleton's background and the family business - and how they are now recruiting to replace her as she has been promoted to the future Queen of England!

Royal Wedding: Middletons' money - how was it made? - Telegraph

We're all going on a...bank holiday!

Excellent news, thanks Wills and Kate...we could all do with an extra bank holiday - does that make us level with the French for state holidays?!

William and Kate back bank holiday - UK News - MSN News UK

Sadly no Queen Kate...but another Queen Catherine instead!

Kate Middleton will use her birth name when Prince William is crowned king...whenever that may be...

Kate Middleton will be 'oldest bride'

Getting on a bit at just 29....Kate will be one of the oldest women to marry a future king!

Royal wedding: Kate Middleton will be 'oldest bride' - Telegraph

Prince William and Kate Middleton are to wed

Photo:AP

How the romance blossomed between William and Kate

Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship began as students at St Andrews University in Fife in 2001...see how their friendship and relationship blossomed over the years

BBC News - In pictures: A royal romance

Royal Wedding Announcement delights the world

Prince William said Kate would be in "big trouble" if she lost the engagement ring, which belonged to his mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales

BBC News - Royal wedding: Prince William and Kate congratulated