British Royal Wedding

View results of Previous Polls

To the consternation of older courtiers, the new generation of glamorous young Windsors seems to be on the front of every magazine. Good for them, says Andrew Pierce.

In the 19th century, the constitutionalist Walter Bagehot wrote that “a princely marriage is the brilliant edition of a universal fact, and, as such, it rivets mankind”.

Peter Phillips is not a prince – but as the Queen’s eldest grandson, he is the next best thing.

Which is why Hello! magazine paid £500,000 for 20 pages of exclusive eve-of-wedding pictures of Mr Phillips and his fiancée, Autumn Kelly, in a series of intimate poses in their cottage on the Princess Royal’s Gatcombe Park estate.

A decade ago, such a nakedly commercial deal involving an heir to the throne would have been unthinkable.

Even now, the auctioning, apparently to the highest bidder, of photographs of the Queen’s first grandchild, to whom she is particularly close, has caused some consternation behind the parapets of Windsor Castle.

Read entire article at The Telegraph

Prince Harry has been reunited with soldiers he served alongside in Afghanistan at a memorial service.

The Prince’s Blues and Royals regiment led the Cavalry Memorial Parade in Hyde Park, central London.

His father, the Prince of Wales, took the salute as five bands and the detachments from the Cavalry and Yeomanry passed by.

The soldiers swapped their uniforms for the traditional ensemble of suits, bowler hats and umbrellas.

Fred Collingwood, who served with the Blues and Royals, said he was happy to see Harry at the event.

He said: “The nice thing about the man is that there’s nothing pretentious about him, he’s a soldier, he never shies away from a member of his regiment.”

Hundreds of soldiers, their families and crowds of well-wishers gathered in Hyde Park for the parade.

After the march, Prince Charles laid a wreath at the Cavalry Memorial before a service of remembrance at the park’s bandstand. (via ITN)

The rebranding of Princess Chelsy - Daily Mail
It will undoubtedly be the most intriguing Royal wedding of recent years. But when Peter Phillips gets married this Saturday his beautiful bride Autumn Kelly will have to compete with another bewitching blonde for his family’s attention – because, at his nuptials, Chelsy Davy will be formally introduced to the Queen for the first time. And as Peter’s bride makes history as the first Canadian to marry into the monarchy, Prince Harry’s girlfriend will make her own entrée into the Royal inner circle…

Zara Phillips earns right to live Olympic dream - The Telegraph
Four years after being denied a chance of Olympic glory when Toytown was injured, Zara Phillips and her brilliant 15-year-old have been given a second opportunity and are among the five chosen for Britain’s team for Hong Kong in August. “It is nice to be selected, but we still have a long way to go. I am lucky in that Toytown has been to championship events before, so he knows about big occasions and has been consistent, but an Olympic Games is really special.”…

William at water polo championship - The Press Association
Prince William arrived at a schools water polo championships to crowds of cheering supporters. He shook hands with Walsall residents who lined the streets to meet him and told the crowd: “Hello, how is everything? Sorry to keep you waiting. I got here as quick as I could.” The Prince, wearing a grey suit and Essa tie, met one young girl and her brother, who gave him a lucky penny and a bunch of carnations…

Working nine-to-five, Princess Bea serves as a shop girl - Daily Mail
While her older cousins spent their gap years abroad, it seems Princess Beatrice will spend her time off serving the British public - in a way she’s never done before. The Queen’s granddaughter yesterday began her unpaid work experience at retail giant Selfridges where she will be working nine to five…

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy speaks of Queen ‘fear’ - The Telegraph
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has described the “terrible fear” she felt before meeting the Queen on her recent state visit to Britain. She also revealed that she was filled with anxiety about letting down French women — “the world’s most elegant” — during the visit and told how she took a crash course on protocol for her now famous curtsy…

William shows he’s inherited his mother’s common touch - Daily Mail
Prince William showed he had inherited his mother’s common touch today when he made a group of youngsters laugh by blowing a raspberry. The royal broke with protocol during a visit to South Wales this afternoon by getting down on his knees to say hello to the schoolchildren - and onlookers loved it during his visit to Porth…

There seems to be an easy familiarity between Joss Stone and Prince Harry, demonstrated by the rather enthusiastic hug the pair shared at an event to celebrate Britain’s armed forces last night.

The pair, last seen together at the memorial concert for Princess Diana last July, hugged warmly, and chatted together at the open-air extravaganza in London last night.

Joss, who wore a slinky black dress, with her red coloured locks freely flowing, greeted both prince William and Harry like old friends, hugging them enthusiastically, and chatting animatedly.

The 21-year-old singer got to rub shoulders with soldiers Harry and big brother William at a tribute to Britain’s armed forces on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. (via Daily Mail)

Autumn Kelly one of the family as she joins the in-laws at Badminton - Hello Magazine
Two weeks before her wedding, Autumn Kelly took time out of preparations to cheer on future sister-in-law Zara Phillips as she made her Badminton Horse Trials debut. Pretty Canadian Autumn joined fiancé Peter, 30, and his family at the famous cross-country course…

Peter Phillips: How I proposed to Autumn - The Telegraph
The Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips proposed to his fiancee during a rain shower as they walked their dog, the royal has revealed in an interview. “He went down on one knee in the downpour and produced a ring from his pocket. I certainly didn’t see his question coming on this particular day. I looked horrible, in my wellies with wet hair,” Miss Kelly said…

My Autumn Kelly Tabloid Shame - First Post
Kristian Gravenor found Canada tight-lipped when he was hired to dig for dirt on the royal fiancee. What’s this 33-year-old Montrealer like? Should the world be excited by the latest fairytale royal romance? Well, I’m just the man to ask. I was hired by a ruthless British tabloid to sniff out and find the vital facts about this newest addition to the UK’s genetically appointed rulers…

The papers are very interested in the presence of Prince Harry’s girlfriend Chelsy Davy at a ceremony where he received a campaign medal for service in Afghanistan, and she features heavily in the Mail and the Telegraph.

Apparently it’s the first time she’s attended a formal royal event, and the Times is in lyrical mood with its headline: “Chelsy sees her warrior prince rewarded.” (via BBC News)

Prince William’s heir sea rescue - The Sun
Prince William has applied to fly air sea rescue helicopters with the RAF. He is desperate to see live action and wants to go on dangerous missions at sea and in mountain terrain. The 25-year-old has submitted a request to join the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre, based at RAF Kinloss in Scotland…

Prince William daren’t look down as Carol Vorderman dons revealing dress - Daily Mail
When Countdown host Carol Vorderman agreed to attend a charity event which would host Prince William, it’s fair to say that she may have wanted to make an impression. And judging from her revealing gold dress, with its plunging neckline, it’s fair to say she achieved her objective. Leaving the Prince to do his best to avoid looking down, as Carol’s cleavage was left vastly exposed…

It’s selfless of Autumn Kelly to convert religion for Peter Phillips’ sake - but does it make any sense? - The Guardian
Terrible things do happen, but it would have to be something very terrible indeed to hoist Peter Phillips to the throne. He is 11th in line, with lots of young and healthy relatives ahead of him in the succession. Even if Princes William and Harry were to come a cropper in one of their dashing helicopter jaunts, his expectations would remain exceedingly dim…

Prince William showed his support for British soldiers wounded fighting for their country as he attended a fundraising dinner in aid of health charities.

The young Royal was seen wearing a Help The Heroes coloured wristband as he mingled with guests at the black-tie event in aid of this year’s Lord Mayor’s Appeal.

The £2 wristbands were launched last October to raise £5m to help build a much needed swimming pool and gym complex at Headley Court, the tri-service rehabilitation centre in Surrey.

At the event held at the Guild Hall in central London, the second in line to the throne looked smart in a black bow tie and matching dinner jacket, at a pre-dinner reception attended by celebrities like Sir David Frost, Carol Vorderman and Henry Kelly.

William, 25, is patron of the appeal launched by the current Mayor of the City of London, David Lewis, who has chosen health charity Wellbeing of Women and Orbis, an international sight-saving organisation to benefit from his appeal.

The Prince said he was delighted to become patron of the initiative and added: “Becoming involved in this way is particularly special for me because of the past association and commitment of my mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, to Wellbeing of Women. (via The Press Association)