Royal wedding schedule requires guests to arrive way earlier

Royal Wedding Schedule Announced

The royal wedding schedule prepared by Buckingham Palace officials requires the majority of guests to come two and a half hours, or around 8:30 a.m., prior to the start of the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

Friends of Prince William and Kate Middleton are among those expected to come much earlier than other guests such as royals and foreign government representatives, who are asked to arrive around 10:00 a.m. The royal family will arrive at the venue followed by the bride Kate Middleton in a Rolls-Royce.

The actual royal wedding ceremony will be from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Prince William and his bride would then take a carriage to Buckingham Palace where they will emerge from a balcony to greet the crowd.

The much-anticipated royal wedding is expected to draw some 600,000 tourists to London, the city's tourism office said.

Enthusiastic crowds are expected to line the route of the royal wedding procession. The event will also be aired on large displays in Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park.

British vintage aircraft will fly overhead as part of the celebration. The newlyweds will later attend a more exclusive reception of about 600 guests to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince William and Kate will be given a respite from the festivities in the afternoon before hosting a dinner with friends and family. Only about 300 people are invited to that event.

The couple's royal wedding is reminiscent of the famous one between the groom's parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana thirty years ago.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Friday April 08 2011, 1:44 AM EST. Ref: Inquirer. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0