British Royal Wedding

A flurry of betting over the last 24 hours that Prince William will get engaged to girlfriend, Kate Middleton, has prompted bookmaker, William Hill, to stop taking bets on a royal engagement.

The bookmakers reportedly took over 100 bets in the last day, following the reignition of rumours that an engagement was imminent, the largest of which was £5000.

A spokesperson for William Hill said “the Royal Engagement seems to be question of when, not if, and we were giving away money by continuing to accept bets. When they do get engaged, it will cost us a princely sum”.

For those of you still wishing to take a punt, the bookmakers are still offering odds on which year the Royal Wedding will take place, with 2008 offering 5/4, and this year at 10/1.

Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry in July 2008, a British tabloid reports.

Prince William (now aged 24) has previously stated that he had no intention of marrying until he was at least 28. According to the report his advisers have suggested to him that it would be extremely unfair to Kate to delay their marriage.

A source has told Britain’s The People newspaper;

“The threat to Kate’s safety is what really persuaded William to hurry things along. Even though Prince Charles is personally funding two extra officers for her, it is nothing like the protection she will get when the full armoury of the Royal Protection Squad surrounds her. William has been persuaded that to delay a wedding would put Kate at risk and he will not tolerate that.”

The pair were expected to announce their engagement in the autumn however this would overshadow the Queen and Prince Philip’s diamond wedding anniversary. The tabloid’s source said “Realistically, we are looking at an engagement at Christmas or early in 2008.”

Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Phillips, has reportedly become secretly engaged to her boyfriend of three years, Mike Tindall.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, journalist Katie Nicholls has reported that Zara, 25, hoped to keep the engagement a secret, telling only close friends and her family, until an official announcement is made by the palace in August.

Katie’s unnamed source is quoted as saying:

Zara and Mike are planning to make the engagement official in August, after consulting Palace seniors on suitable dates to make the announcement. Even though they are a very down-to-earth couple and keep themselves to themselves, they still have to follow Royal protocol. It’s not like they can just announce the engagement when they feel like it.

Zara is apparently still keen to pursue her dream of winning an Olympic gold medal in 2008 however, and will likely postpone the wedding until after the Olympics, with the source claiming:

There’s a lot that Zara still wants to achieve but she has even told Mike she’s prepared to give up everything once they are married. She’s aware how dangerous the sport is and that having a family brings new commitments.

Prince Charles has paid £100,000 out of his own pocket for two protection officers to guard Kate Middleton.

Royal watchers say this is a sign that Kate’s engagement to Prince William is now imminent. Kate is not entitled to tax-payer funded protection until she is actually engaged but Prince Charles realises that with the mounting media interest in the couple’s relationship he needed to act now.

A Royal Aide reveals - “The idea of Clarence House paying for Kate’s bodyguards was rejected two years ago. It was thought unnecessary because her relationship with William was at an early stage.

“Things are very different now. The question of William and Kate getting engaged is now one of when, not if. Charles is concerned that she is not subjected to scrutiny and intrusion that, as a commoner, she is ill-equipped to deal with.”

This news is sure to calm Prince William’s concern for Kate while he is away serving with the Household Cavalry.

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Despite the speculative predictions of two eminent Royal watchers that Prince William will become engaged to Kate Middleton in February, friends of Prince William have said that the couple are in no hurry to get engaged.

Indeed, Prince William is reported to have told friends and family that he has no plans to get married for ‘at least two years’. And with his new military career just beginning, the couple can expect periods of separation, especially as Prince William has been told that he can not expect Kate to travel with him on Army time, or stay with him on Army bases until they were married.

Could it be that Prince William and Kate Middleton are just like any other modern couple?

The Daily Mail has run an interesting commentary on the couple. Read it in full here.

There are 4 royal couples who look set to tie the knot. Give us your predictions!

via metro.co.uk

There is fresh speculation today that Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton are about to announce their engagement.

It comes as ten police officers were called to escort the couple from a London nightclub early this morning.
Officers arrived in two vans and formed a cordon to protect Kate from a scrum of waiting photographers amid increasing fears for her safety.

There is mounting belief that the increase in security indicates that an announcement is imminent.
William is said to have been told by aides that he should make a decision on the couple’s future before becoming a serving Army officer.

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