Happy Royal Wedding Week! This Friday, April 29, will likely be the stuff of fairytales – many little girls dream of meeting a prince, falling in love and marrying him in front of all their loved ones and two billion other people from all over the world. Okay, maybe not that last part. Anyway, we’ll be talking about royal wedding related details all week long but wanted to start off with a few facts about the wedding that we’ll call “Did you know?”
Did you know that…
*Kate and William will not kiss at the altar? It goes against protocol to kiss in Westminster Abbey so their first kiss (in public) will likely take place on the same balcony where William’s parents shared their famous kiss. {Anyone else sort of hoping that Wills and Kate sneak one in while at the Abbey anyway?}
*The ceremony will be a one ring ceremony – Kate’s wedding band will be made from rare Welsh gold but William will not be wearing a wedding ring. {His father, Prince Charles, wears his wedding band under his signet ring on his left pinkie – here’s hoping Wills follows suit.}
*Kate probably won’t be a Princess when she gets married. She wasn’t born royal so she will take his first name as part of her title and will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales UNLESS he is offered a Royal Dukedom by the Queen (v. likely), she’ll become Duchess Catherine. Then once Prince Charles becomes King, she will become Catherine, Princess of Wales and finally, should William ascend to King, she will be Queen Catherine. {She also won’t have an actual last name any longer. Really.}
*Kate invited various people from Bucklebury, the small village she grew up in, including the butcher, pub owner and the grocers. {Love the small town girl not forgetting where she came from!}
*You’ll have to get up very early to be among the first to see the big dress reveal – 6 am (EST) is when Kate will emerge from the Royal Family’s Rolls Royce Phantom VI at Westminster Abbey. {For those true diehards – looks like the Today Show will start broadcasting live from Westminster at 4 am on the east coast.}
*Kate now has her own Coat of Arms – it features 3 acorns and a gold chevron on a red and blue background. {What did your in-laws give you as a wedding gift?}
*Kate will be doing her own makeup. {Brave girl. Awesomely brave girl!}
*Some are reporting that up to 60% of UK businesses are giving their employees off to watch the royal wedding. {Let’s be real – those who don’t have the day off will probably just be watching it online at their desk, right?}
*Kate’s vows, while traditional, will not include the promise to obey. {Princess Diana was the first royal bride to omit obey from the vows.}
*While Kate is breaking tradition by arriving to the ceremony in a car (a really nice one) she will be leaving the ceremony in the same carriage that carried William’s parents on their wedding day in 1981. {Talk about a Cinderella moment – imagine riding through the streets of London from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in a horse drawn carriage with your new husband – the future King of England! *pinch, pinch*}
*Even though the British consider rain good luck on the wedding day, we’re likely not alone in hoping for sunny skies for the new couple! {I want to see the dress – not a bunch of umbrellas!}