British Royal Wedding

minute tweaks are being made to the marquee on the lawns at Frogmore House, and the Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume 2006 is on ice.

Every little detail is being attended to, but then ambitious Autumn Kelly was never going to leave anything to chance when she walked down the aisle with the Queen’s favourite grandson, Peter Phillips.

It is a determination that has taken this charming, working-class girl from a suburban backwater of Canada to the heart of the British Royal Family and proved that nowadays, class, breeding and lack of a title (Kate Middleton, take note) are no barrier to joining the Windsor clan.

Seasoned observers have pointed out that, unlike other royal girlfriends - from the then Sophie Rhys-Jones right up to Kate Middleton and Chelsy Davy - Autumn has, until this week, enjoyed a seamless introduction to royal life.

So, can anything cast even the smallest shadow over next Saturday’s long-awaited nuptials?

Read entire article at Daily Mail…

Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips and his fiancee have been paid £500,000 (nearly USD$1M) by a celebrity magazine for an exclusive interview and photoshoot ahead of their wedding.

Phillips and Canadian-born Autumn Kelly — who didn’t know she was dating a prince until six weeks into their relationship — will appear in a 20-page spread in Hello! magazine when it hits the shelves this weekend.

The move has caused friction in royal circles as Phillips — who holds no regal title but is still 11th in line to the throne — has previously claimed to be a private person and avoided the spotlight that falls on his sister Zara and his cousins.

“I honestly can’t believe that they would ever countenance anything quite so vulgar,” one Buckingham Palace source told the conservative British Daily Telegraph broadsheet amid reports Hello! would be locked out of the wedding ceremony itself.

But Phillips was true to form with Kelly: she didn’t realise she was dating a member of the British royal family until she saw footage of Phillips in a documentary about Prince William.

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Prince William will miss the Royal wedding this month – to go on holiday with girlfriend Kate Middleton.

Wills and Kate, 26, had booked two weeks away before he starts a three-month Royal Navy attachment in June.

But they will miss William’s cousin Peter Phillips’ wedding to Autumn Kelly on May 17. Wills is said to have apologised.

A senior source said: “William has already got the couple’s blessing.” The Queen and 300 guests will see Princess Anne’s son, 30, marry at Windsor Castle.

Meanwhile Autumn, 30, has revealed Peter hid his Royal roots from her for six weeks. She only found out when she spotted him on TV next to the Queen. (via The Sun)

The girlfriend of Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips has dramatically changed her religion, it was revealed last night — weeks before they wed.

It means Peter, 30, will now not lose his position as an heir to the throne.

The 11th in line would have had to give up his royal standing when he marries Autumn Kelly, 31, in three weeks if she had remained a Catholic.

But she has now become a member of the Church of England — of which the Queen is Defender of the Faith. Under the Act of Settlement of 1701, royals who marry Catholics are removed from the line of succession, like Prince Michael of Kent.

Buckingham Palace insisted that the decision to convert was Autumn’s alone - and took place several months ago. A spokeswoman said last night: “Autumn has been welcomed into the Church of England.”

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be the chief guests at the couple’s May 17 wedding in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. (via The Sun)

An Australian magazine has gone out on a limb announcing the upcoming marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The Aussies have also claimed Kate as their own, labelling her “Our new princess”.

The magazine tantalizingly promises “All the details inside…”

“Wills and Kate: The wedding of the century
Royal insiders are in agreement — Kate Middleton is set to finally walk down the aisle with long-time boyfriend and heir to the throne, Prince William.

Woman’s Day brings you all the inside details on the wedding the world has waited for…”

The May 2008 edition of the magazine is currently on the newsstands.

The last time she dressed up, royal bride-to-be Autumn Kelly sported a pair of Playboy bunny-style flashing ears for her hen night.

Now I hear Autumn, who marries the Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips next month, is planning something a little more sophisticated for a fashion shoot ahead of her Windsor wedding.

“A feel-good magazine is preparing a feature on Autumn’s style,” I am told. “Despite her demure appearance, Autumn is fashion-conscious. She wants to show that just because she’s from Canada, she’s still at home dressing in the top labels.”

Such a picture spread might mark a shift in attitudes towards Autumn and Peter, whose romance has rarely attracted the paparazzi.

Glossy magazines have enjoyed a close relationship with Princess Anne’s family over the years. Her daughter Zara Phillips has featured several times in Hello! (via Daily Mail)

It’s been a long time coming – but Prince Harry’s girlfriend Chelsy Davy has at last been invited to her first official Royal engagement.

The 22-year-old, who has watched from the sidelines as Kate Middleton has been welcomed at Royal functions while she has been excluded, has been invited to Peter Phillips’s wedding next month.

Chelsy was left off the original guest list when it was drawn up earlier this year. At the time, she and Harry had suffered a wobble in their relationship but now, following their reunion after the Prince returned safely from Afghanistan, there has been a rethink.

The invitation shows that Chelsy is now being welcomed into Royal circles.

But rather than accept with alacrity, Chelsy has yet to respond to the Royal invitation.

Buckingham Palace yesterday wouldn’t comment but one of her university friends in Leeds tells me: “Chels received the invite last week but she has yet to reply.

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When the ushers at St George’s Chapel welcome the 350 guests for what will be the most significant Royal wedding in nearly three decades, they will be extra careful not to stumble over their words.

After all, the two groups of relatives at the nuptials of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly next month are such polar opposites that one slip of the tongue over the question, “Are you with the bride or groom?” could cause a few raised aristocratic eyebrows.

On one side of the chapel, set in the sumptuous grounds of Windsor Castle, they will seat Peter’s family, who include, of course, his grandmother the Queen, his mother the Princess Royal, and his cousins Princes William and Harry.

To the other, they will direct a decidedly different calibre of guest, in the form of Autumn’s family.

Having just flown in from her native Canada, they will be altogether unfamiliar with the subtle machinations of the Monarchy.

Among those invited on May 17 are her bricklayer brother, hairdresser mother and a wayward uncle who used to run a strip club.

In short, they are a collection of working-class individuals whose attitudes could well have some of their more blue-blooded fellow guests choking on their quails’ eggs if they cross paths at the reception.

Not since Diana tied the knot with Charles in 1981 has a new recruit caused such a stir.

Read entire article at The Daily Mail…

Prince William dropped his trousers and downed pints of bitter as he and brother Harry gave their royal cousin a boozy stag weekend to remember.

The infamous drinking duo joined Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips for a 72-hour bender.

And at one point they were so boozed up that they lost him.

The high jinks began last Friday morning as the stag party boarded a high-speed ferry from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

As passengers looked on amazed, Peter, 30, was forced to swap his clothes for a skin-tight white leotard.Then he was made to kneel down and sup lager from a hosepipe.

Once on the island the group — some also in fancy dress — headed to a cricket pitch for a boozy game.

Then William and Harry arrived to join the fun. Wills, 25, had dashed down from RAF Cranwell, Lincs, where he received his pilot’s wings.

“Harry and William were as good as gold. They drank until the music ended, then left with the police officers who were looking after them.”

Another drinker said: “The guys were having a good night out — dancing, chatting and stitching Peter up.”

At one point, after hours of heavy drinking, William and Harry, 23, were heard panicking because Peter was nowhere to be seen.

Soldier Harry — wearing the baseball cap he had in Afghanistan, bearing the slogan “I do bad things to bad people” — yelled: “Where the f*** is the stag? We’ve lost the f****** stag.”

Peter is due to wed Autumn Kelly, 29, at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 17.

Asked how he was coping with the weekend, he joked: “I’m still alive.”

Harry said as the bash drew to a close: “It’s been an awesome stag do — it will just take us a while to recover.”

Read entire article at The Sun…

Keen to keep his wedding low-key — although a marriage ceremony in front of 350 guests including the Royal Family at Windsor sounds anything but modest — Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips has turned down the chance of a ceremonial presence.

“The Queen offered to have a dozen members of the Gentlemen at Arms on duty as ushers to show guests to their seats at St George’s Chapel,” I am told.

But 30-year-old Phillips, who will marry Canadian-born Autumn Kelly in May, has declined his grandmother’s generous offer.

“Peter and Autumn have told everyone they want to do their own thing. The ushers are standing down.” (via Daily Mail)