Prince William and Kate Wedding Journal Souveneir Download

Well the formal announcement was finally made about the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton!

Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged, Britain's royal family announced Tuesday, with a wedding on April 29th 2011, at Westminster Abbey.

William, second in line for the British throne after his father, Charles, also formally sought permission from his future father-in-law to marry Kate.

The couple became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William's passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course.

The vacation fueled media speculation that the two would soon become engaged.

While in Kenya, the future King and Queen stayed with friends in a Maasai lodge called Il Ngwesi - a very rustic retreat located in a savannah north of Mount Kenya. The Maasai lodge that the couple stayed in costs approximately £500 ($800) per night.

While details about the actual proposal have been kept private, it is assumed that William and Kate took a helicopter ride to the top of Mount Kenya, Africa's second largest mountain, and proposed at sunset by a secluded lake.

William carried his mother's engagement ring around in his rucksack for 3 weeks prior to popping the question - wanting to be prepared when the perfect moment presented itself.

Prince William asked his long-term girlfriend to marry him in an isolated log cabin miles off from the beaten track.

The pair were enjoying a 24-hour stop over at the spartan Rutundu Log Cabins during their Kenyan holiday when the Prince popped the question.

Far from the opulence of the Royal residences back home, the cabin does not even have electricity and guests are advised to bring all their own food and drink.

It was reported that Prince William asked Kate to be his wife on the veranda of their cabin. The pair then enjoyed a bottle of champagne - kept cool in the outdoor 'fridge' - a wooden cupboard, before tucking into a meal prepared by the resort staff.

Before retiring to their four-poster bed, the pair are said to have snuggled happily in front of a roaring fire.

About the proposal itself, William said, "I'd been planning it for a while but as every guy out there will know it takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself going. So I was planning it and then it just felt really right out in Africa."

This transcript is of the ITV's Tom Bradby, who scooped the interview of the year yesterday - he met with newly engaged Prince William and Kate Middleton to discuss the proposal, the ring, and the relationship.

Tom Bradby: People are obviously very curious about you, so let's start with the obvious. William, where did you propose, when, how. And Kate, what did you say?

Prince William: It was about three weeks ago on holiday in Kenya. We had a little private time away together with some friends and I just decided that it was the right time really. We had been talking about marriage for a while so it wasn't a massively big surprise. I took her up somewhere nice in Kenya and I proposed.

Kate Middleton: It was very romantic. There's a true romantic in there.

Bradby: So you said yes, obviously?

Kate: Of course, yes.

William: Absolutely.

Bradby: And you knew you were going to do this from day one of the holiday or you waited until the end?

William: I'd been planning it for a while but as every guy out there will know it takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself going. So I was planning it and then it just felt really right out in Africa. It was beautiful at the time. I just - I had done a little bit of planning to show my romantic side.

Bradby: Kate, you'd been on holiday a while so did you see this coming, was he getting a bit nervous and jumpy?

Kate: No, not at all because we were out with friends and things so I really didn't expect it all. I thought he might have maybe thought about it, but no. It was a total shock when it came, and very excited.

Bradby: And produced a ring there and then?

Kate: Yes.

Bradby: There and then?

William: I did, yes. I had been carrying it around with me in my rucksack for about three weeks before that and I literally would not let it go, everywhere I went I was keeping hold of it because I knew this thing, if it disappeared I would be in a lot of trouble and because I'd planned it, it went fine. You hear a lot of horror stories about proposing and things going horribly wrong - it went really, really well and I was really pleased she said yes.

Bradby: And it's a family ring?

William: It is a family ring, yes. It's my mother's engagement ring. So I thought it was quite nice because obviously she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all - this was my way of keeping her sort of close to it all.

Bradby: I guess we better have a look at it. What kind of ring is it, are you an expert on what's -[cut off]

William: I'm not an expert on it at all. I've been reliably informed it's a sapphire with some diamonds. I'm sure everyone recognizes it from previous times.

Kate: It's beautiful.

Bradby: Kate, you're going to be the envy of many.

Kate: Well, I just hope I look after it. It's very, very special.

William: If she loses it she's in big trouble.

Bradby: Now it has to be said, you both look incredibly happy and relaxed.

William: We are. We are. We're like sort of ducks, very calm on the surface with little feet going under the water. But uh no, it's been really exciting because we've been talking about it for a long time so for us, it's a real relief and it's really nice to be able to tell everybody. Especially for the last two or three weeks it's been quite difficult not telling anyone, and keeping it to ourselves for reasons we had to. And it's really nice to finally be able to share it with everyone.

Bradby: And you obviously have kept it a secret. So when did you ask Kate's dad and what did he say and what did your respective parents say when you told them?

William: Well, I was torn between asking Kate's dad first and then the realization that he might actually say 'no' dawned upon me. So I thought if I ask Kate first then he can't really say no. So I did it that way round. And I managed to speak to Mike sort of soon after it happened really and then it sort of happened from there.

Bradby: Kate, what did your mum say?

Kate: I think as any mother would be she was absolutely over the moon. And actually we had quite an awkward situation because I knew and I knew that William had asked my father but I didn't know if my mother knew. So I came back from Scotland and my mother made it sort of %u2026 didn't make it clear to me whether she knew or not so both of us were there sort of looking at each other and feeling quite awkward about it. But it was amazing to tell her and obviously she was very happy for us.

Bradby: One of the things that has been clear for a long time is you very evidently have a close-knit family and family's very important to you.

Kate: Yes. It's very important to me you know. And I hope we will be able to have a happy family ourselves. Because it's been %u2026they've been great over the years - helping me with difficult times. We see a lot of each other and they are very, very dear to me.

Bradby: People are bound to ask you know. It's a bit of an obvious question but, children, do you want lots of children? You, know see what comes? What's your..?

William: I think we'll take it one step at a time. We'll sort of get over the marriage first and then maybe look at the kids. But obviously we want a family so we'll have to start thinking about that.

Bradby: When did you first set eyes on each other and what did you think?

William: Going back to the start because I think people as I say will be very curious about the totality of your relationship. When did you first set eyes on each other and what did you think?

Bradby: Kate, what did you think of William. I mean it's clearly not quite the same as meeting your average you know university student, or maybe it was, I don't know. But what was your first impression?

Kate: Well I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you. But um, actually William wasn't there for quite a bit of the time initially, he wasn't there for Freshers Week, so it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other but we did become very close friends from quite early.

Bradby: There's a story that goes around that you had a picture of him on your wall.

William: There wasn't just one, there was about 20.

Kate: He wishes. No, I had the Levis guy on my wall, not a picture of William, sorry.

William: It was me in Levis honestly.

Bradby: So you lived %u2026 you ended up sort of in the same flat, was that if you don't mind me asking, was before you were going out or?

William: No we moved in together as friends because we were living together, we lived with a couple of others as well, and it just sort of blossomed from there really. We just saw more of each other, and you know hung out a bit more and did stuff. So um yeah.

Kate: You liked the cooking.

William: Well your cooking is alright. (Kate laughs) It's gotten better.

Bradby: Does William ever cook or indeed do anything useful around the house?

William: Define useful, Tom. (Laughing)

Bradby: Let's not go there.

Kate: No he does actually. He did cook for me quite a bit at university, and he would always come with a bit of angst and a bit of anger if something had gone wrong and I would have to wander in and save something that was going.

Bradby: So being honest is that a skill that's declining over time or improving?

William: I would say I'm getting better at cooking. Kate would say I'm getting a lot worse.

Kate: I don't give him enough chance to practice.

William: No, that is true. I get quite lazy about cooking because when I come back from work it is the last thing I want to do, really is spend loads of time cooking. When I was trying to impress Kate I was trying to cook these amazing fancy dinners and what would happen was I would burn something, something would overspill, something would catch on fire and she would be sitting in the background trying to help, and basically taking control of the whole situation, so I was quite glad she was there at the time.

Bradby: Slightly awkward for the other flatmates?

William: No, to be honest they were used to it, watching things catching fire, they found it very amusing.

Bradby: But I mean having the two of you going out in the flat, or did they just not bat an eye lid?

William: I think at first they were a bit surprised that it had happened, then they realized it was really nice and it was good fun and we got on really well, they were good friends of ours as well so we had a good giggle with them as well.

Bradby: Now I suppose a lot of people are going to wonder, the first meeting with the families, again, not necessarily your average meeting. Kate what was your first impression of the family?

Kate: Well I was quite nervous about meeting William's father, but he was very, very welcoming, very friendly, so yea it couldn't have gone easier really for me.

Bradby: Meeting the grandmother, the Queen, again not like your average meeting with a grandmother, were you nervous about that too?

Kate: I first met her at Peter and Autumn's wedding and again it was amongst a lot of other guests and she was very friendly and no it was fine.

William: She was very welcoming, she knew it was a big day and everything was going on with Peter and Autumn, she wanted to meet Kate for a while, so it was very nice for her to come over and say hello and have a little chat.

Catherine, the future Queen of England, isn't neglecting her common beginnings, because she has been extending some precious invites to the royal wedding to the likes of local grocers, the postman and even the pub landlord near to her home of Bucklebury.

Hash Shingadia and his wife got an invite and are speechless (almost). In possibly the quote of the year he said that, "When my wife saw the envelope with the EIIR sign on the front, she screamed. It's tremendous news, a total surprise. We were overjoyed."

There's something truly "British" about the way Wills and Kate are going about their wedding invitations.

U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle? Not a hope.

But the local pub landlord? SURE!

But some Celebrities are allowed after all!

Another guest who actually thought he might miss out on an invite is Elton John. Despite his closeness to Princess Di he thought that his fame and history would not guarantee him attendance at the wedding, but he is happy to finally announce that he did get his after all!

In an earlier interview he commented: "I think because of my relationship with Princess Diana, people automatically think I'm going to be invited," John said, adding that he doesn't actually know Prince William very well. "I'm not invited to the wedding. I would not expect to be invited to the wedding." So I think he must be pretty chuffed that the invitation came at last!

In relation to my survey here about the choice of William to give Catherine his Mother's engagement ring, it appears that Elton John had his doubts too about the appropriateness:

In an interview he seemed to disapprove of William's decision to give Kate his mother's sapphire engagement ring. "It is none of my business," he said when asked, "but I thought it was a little odd."

Royal Wedding - Counterfeit Invitation Warning!

A man has approached the London media, claiming that he works for Barnard and Westwood, the printing firm that created the invitations, saying he has blank invitations to sell, and claiming he could supply several more.

Apparently they are almost identical to an authentic invitation, just missing a couple of dotted lines where the name of the guest would normally be handwritten.

Would be interesting to see if anyone actually manages to crash the wedding!

The Bishop of London's Sermon

29th April 2011

Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one - this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

And in the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each another.

A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. And people can dream of doing such a thing but the hope should be fulfilled it is necessary a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.

You have both made your decision today - "I will" - and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely a power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.

Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform as long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:

"Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon,

Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon."

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, we need mutual forgiveness, to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today, will do everything in our power to support and uphold you in your new life. And I pray that God will bless you in the way of life that you have chosen, that way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.

In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.

Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.

** In the earlier modules above here, where I give the recipe and pictures for Prince William's crunch cake, you can see a bigger picture of this cake as the finishing touches are applied to it before the reception.

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen not to depart for a honeymoon immediately," a spokesman said.

"Instead, after spending the weekend privately in the United Kingdom, the Duke will return to work as a search-and-rescue pilot next week.

"The locations of both their private weekend before the Duke returns to work and their future honeymoon, which will be overseas, will not be disclosed in advance."

Well, Australia missed out on being the honeymoon destination -Darnit!

On Monday, the newlyweds were spotted leaving their rented house in Anglesey, Wales, with loads of luggage.

"They have left for their honeymoon," a spokesman for William's office said, adding that they went "earlier this week".

On their destination, St James's Palace will only say that it is "abroad".

"We are not confirming and we are not commenting on speculation on where they may be going on their private honeymoon. We are just confirming that they have gone," the spokesman said.

"The couple have asked that their privacy be respected during their honeymoon."

The palace says the prince has taken two weeks leave from his duties in the Royal Air Force, but would not specify how much of that time will be spent on his honeymoon.

It has been a busy ten days since the wedding took place as William returned to work as a helicopter search and rescue pilot and happened to rescue a hiker who suffered a heart attack!

Prince William and Catherine have apparently hired a $3.2 million yacht for their 10 day honeymoon tour of The Seychelles, including a cruise of old pirate hideouts Praslin and La Digue.

This leaves no doubt at all that Kate's fierce bikini body will get a good workout on the honeymoon as she will no doubt be enjoying some sun-baking on the deck of the yacht. Last time she did this the world got photos (you can see one in the module above) to show what has impressed William so much - lol!

The yacht "Sea Stream" costs over $40,000 a week to hire, and it is capable of top speeds @ 40mph.

This is the second visit by William and Kate to The Seychelles, as the pair also enjoyed a week-long holiday there in August 2007.

It is also reported that the couple will spend their honeymoon staying in a pricey - and very private - island resort, complete with personal butlers and chefs.

The two are also traveling in June to conduct an official tour of Canada. There is more info about this tour below this module. The trip will also include a short stop in California, which will be Kate's first visit to the U.S.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Finally it has been announced that an official range of commemorative china created by the Royal Collection to mark their upcoming nuptials has gone on sale.

Given the seal of approval by the couple themselves, the selection includes a tankard (£35), an eight-inch plate (£40), and a pill box (£25) in fine bone china.

Each piece is decorated with the couple's intertwined initials in gold and silver, and a pattern of doves, white ribbons and hearts set against a pale-grey striped background.

William's coronet appears above the initials and written in a circle are the words: "To celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton 29th April 2011".

Profits from the china, which was handmade in Stoke-on-Trent, will go towards the upkeep of the Royal Collection, which cares for the Queen's art collection and organises public exhibitions.

It is now on sale through the Royal Collection website and in official souvenir shops at the royal palaces and residences.

Released by the Royal Mint today to mark the engagement, the first ever struck to mark a 'royal engagement', the Alderney coin has a denomination of £5 and comes in its own presentation folder. Her Majesty's profile, a portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley, appears on the reverse.

Their heads are surrounded by a script reading: 'Celebrating the engagement of William and Catherine'.

The coin was designed by Royal Mint's head of design Matthew Bonaccorsi, but it just does not look like them much at all, and has drawn howls of protests!

It seems as though Kate's lips have become a 'trout pout' from an attempt at thickening her upper lip, along with a bulldog thick neck, and a really strange wide flat nose. And although the Prince is portrayed in a cut-off partial profile, and hides his thinning hair, he appears to have an adam's apple that is just huge!

Seriously, if you didn't already know who it is supposed to look like, would you have been able to guess who these two people are supposed to be pictures of?

Just 50,000 of the commemorative coins will be for sale in the special presentation folders, and just 100,000 will ever be minted. Probably a good thing too!

It just goes to show that the Prince William and Kate Wedding really was a Fairy Tale story - lol!

Even the Sisters are a great match!

The Palace has announced that "Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton have accepted an invitation from the government of Canada to undertake a Royal Tour".

The newlyweds first royal tour of the nation will include: Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island and Ottawa.

Princes William, Harry and their father Charles already visited Canada in 1998 when Prince William caused an international sensation with his handsome teenage good looks!

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the formal comment:

"Canada looks forward to welcoming the young couple this summer and providing them with all that our country has to offer - including, of course, the special hospitality and warmth reserved for members of the Royal Family.

It is my sincere hope that their tour will be the start of a lasting relationship with Canada by the royal couple."

What made Prince William choose Kate Middleton to be his bride?

And why did Prince Charles chose Camilla Parker Bowles over the luminous beauty of Diana?

If you look at this picture it's pretty obvious just why the media might be right in suggesting that the father and son have ended up marrying women who look remarkably like their childhood nannies.

The most influential women in the lives of both William and Charles, with whom they spent much of their formative years would have been their nanny.

In the case of Prince of Wales, it was Mabel Anderson who was the royal nanny.

More recently for Harry and Prince William, the lady in ­question was Tiggy Legge-Bourke who became their nanny just before the death of Princess Di.

Specialists say that when, later in life, we meet a person with the same 'look' as someone who meant a great deal to us in childhood, it acts as a subconscious visual trigger for our emotions.

So, what of the similarities between Charles' (current) wife and his nanny?

When he first met Camilla Parker Bowles at a polo match in Windsor Great Park, she was 23 years old, exactly the same age that Mabel Anderson was when she looked after the young Prince.

As you can see in the picture here, Camilla and Mabel at a similar age have very similar features. They could almost be twins in that picture!

Author Suzy Malin says that 'prima copulism provides only the initial spark which brings two ­people together', but she thinks that where it occurs, the man will instinctively trust the woman because she will remind him of a love that goes back to childhood, 'where trust and affection were first learned'.

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