Collector gold rush continues

Will there be no end to the commemorative knick-nacks? We've posted earlier about some of the Royal Wedding stuff you can currently buy. But if the Kate Middleton doll from the Franklin Mint isn't your thing, here are some other items you might consider.

Knit your own Royal Wedding

The Daily Mail has a story about an interesting souvenier kit.

For sale through the Ivy Press Shop, this kit includes a cast of royal characters, PLUS "[w]e’ve included suggestions for creating a selection of customized guests, too, so you can use your own creativity in putting them together."

The backdrop of Westminster Abbey is included. So put yourself into the action.

If you can knit. 

Tea towels

Nothing says English like afternoon tea (and scones), but the afternoon ritual just isn't complete without a nice (Royal) tea towel.  

From John Lewis.

Party attire

Partytime Direct has some festive attire for the big day. How about a Union Jack dress?

If that's not quite your thing, maybe the Union Jack Funky Afro Wig:

Royal Wedding thimble

The Thimble Guild describes it this way: 

So romantic, so exclusive! Prince William and his beautiful bride, deftly painted by Julie Menzies with commemorative text on the reverse.

Royal wedding sweeteners

Claiming that Kate Middleton is the best looking future-royal in England, Celebuzz has released photos of the bride to be in a white bikini taken during a 2006 vacation.

Some white-bikini photos have been seen before (including one that ran in the Star late last year), but the celebrity website claims this is a new previously unreleased set.

Assuming the photos are what Celebuzz claims they are, they are from a vacation that William and Kate took in August 2006 in Ibiza, Spain, just before William's final term at Sandhurst Military Academy. Eight months later the couple reported they had split up, though the split only lasted about two months.

There have been numerous reports recently about Kate's visible wieght loss as she gets in shape for the big day. These bikini photos set the bar pretty high.

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Let them eat cake

English cake maker Michelle Wibowo has made a cake to mark the Royal Wedding.

According to a BBC story, "The creation will be the centrepiece of a royal themed wedding cake competition at the Ideal Home Show at Earls Court, west London."

Wibowo's website lists some pretty elaborate cakes and it's hard to imagine that her royal offering will hurt sales.

 

Ontario loves to Google the royal wedding

People of Burlington, you love the royal wedding -- at least according to Google search result data, which puts you ahead of the rest of Canada when it comes to searching the term "royal wedding."

A A postcard of Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton is displayed at a kiosk next to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, in London March 8, 2011. (REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)

Since the announcement of the royal engagement, residents of Ontario have topped the list of Canadians searching for royal wedding news. Burlington comes in at number one and Hamilton at number two when it comes to searching "royal wedding," with Ottawa and Toronto coming in at the number seven and nine spots respectively.

Mississauga is the home to most royal voyeurs when it comes to searching for Prince William, with Ottawa coming in fourth, Toronto in eighth and Waterloo in 10th.

Search result data for Kate Middleton finds Ontarians taking over the top five spots with Burlington, Hamilton, Kitchener, London and Ottawa coming in first to fifth place respectively.

Globally, Canadians rank high on the lists for royal-infused Google searches, coming in third place to the UK and Ireland when it comes to the search term "royal wedding" and "Kate Middleton" and second to the U.S. in the number of us searching for "Prince William."

Whose searching for Republic? St. John's comes on top with Kingston in second place. Looks like you shouldn't start planning your royal street party there.

 People searching for "royal wedding" in Canada:

1.     Burlington   
2.     Hamilton   
3.     Vancouver
4.     Winnipeg
5.     Halifax   
6.     Edmonton
7.     Ottawa   
8.     Calgary   
9.     Toronto
10.   Montreal

People searching for "Prince William" in Canada:

1.     Burlington   
2.     Hamilton   
3.     Vancouver   
4.     Winnipeg   
5.     Halifax   
6.     Edmonton   
7.     Ottawa   
8.     Calgary
9.     Toronto   
10.   Montreal

People searching for "Kate Middleton" in Canada:

1.     Burlington
2.     Hamilton
3.     Kitchener
4.     London
5.     Ottawa   
6.     Calgary
7.     Edmonton
8.     Halifax
9.     Vancouver   
10.   Toronto

Google's 3D wedding procession map

Google has released a video that uses Google Earth to show the Royal Wedding procession route in '3D':

The official Google Blog descibes it this way (and sounds rather like a travel agent -- their next business perhaps?):

With this new 3D data covering the royal procession route, you can indulge yourself in a “royals’-eye” view to see the same sights that William and Catherine will see. Upon departing Westminster Abbey, you’ll pass the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, the famous ministries on Whitehall and the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street. Traverse Horse Guards Parade, and from there, you can travel down The Mall—with 3D trees lining the route—and see Buckingham Palace standing proudly at the finish.

In other Google news, the search giant was selected to host the official Royal Wedding website. We noted in an earlier post that the site left a lot of people rather flat. We can only hope that having Google's hardware behind it suggests that the site will be used for bigger and better things.

A peek at William & Kate film

People magazine has published a photo from the upcoming TV movie William & Kate, starring Nico Evers-Swindell as Prince William and Camilla Luddington at Kate Middleton.

As we noted a while back, the film will be aired April 18 at 9 p.m. on TLC April 24 at 8 p.m. on Slice (if you're in Canada). 

People also has a page of the script on its site. Here is an example of one exchange:

Kate: You've very popular.

William: It's not me they like, it's the idea of me they like.

The Daily Mail recently posted some photos comparing Kate Middleton and Luddington. 

(The real Kate is on the left.) 

The casting looks good so far.

Kate doll

Speaking of Kate, the Franklin Mint is set to cash in on the Royal nuptials. Their 'limited edition' Kate doll can be pre-ordered now for $195 U.S. (or three easy payments of $65). 

The Kate-in-wedding-dress doll is coming soon, presumably after we learn exactly what her wedding dress looks like. (That one will set you back $295.)

The Franklin Mint has had a rocky relationship with the Royal Family. More than a decade ago, the mint was embroiled in a legal battle with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund over a Diana doll it produced.

The mint won a series of legal decisions and eventually settled with the Diana fund.

The legal battled proved very costly to the Diana fund, which froze its charitable donations for more than a year as a result. According to a BBC story:

As part of the court settlement, the fund has pledged £14m towards grants over a five-year period, which have been jointly agreed with the Franklin Mint.

It's a safe bet that no legal battle over the Kate dolls will be forthcoming. 

Party Pieces loses out to Queen's cousin

Screenshot from www.party-planners.co.uk

Kate Middleton's family may own a million-dollar party supply business, Party Pieces, but that only really qualifies them to hang the balloons at William and Kate's big do. When the royals need a party done right they call in the family, mainly Lady Elizabeth Anson, the queen's cousin and party planner to monarch and celebrities since the 1960s.

Lady Anson will be planning the royal wedding reception at Buckingham Palace on April 29. The daughter of the late Viscount Anson and the late HH Princess Anne of Denmark, Lady Anson and her company Party Planners has pulled off a number of fetes for the royals including the Queen's 80th birthday and a party for guests at Charles' wedding to Diana in 1981.

But she doesn't limit herself to British royalty, Lady Anson has also planned weddings for the Prince and Princess of Greece and parties for The Crown Prince of Bahrain and Yugoslavia.  Add Bill Clinton, Thandie Newton and Baroness Thatcher to that list and you can see why her reputation for discretion is sought after.

The Party Planners website lists the company as offering "catering, marquees, lighting and decor, entertainment, bands and discotheques, champagne and wine, florists, photography and video, security, co-ordination and attendance, cakes, hair and make-up."

Lady Anson has a gallery of some of the parties she has designed on her website, including Medieval banquet, Studio 54 and Italian garden themes. But really, they should go with one of the many Greek themes she offers to keep Phil happy.

The other royal wedding takes it down a notch

The rear of Cannongate Kirk in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. (Reuters photo)

There's no way for Zara Phillips to compete with her cousin William when it comes to weddings, so it comes as little surprise that the Queen's eldest granddaughter is planning an affair slightly less grandiose.

For starters, her marriage to rugby player Mike Tindall will be held on July 30, when most of the UK is on holiday anyway.

Second, Tindall, 32, and Phillips, 29 (right), won't be tying the knot in monarch-mad London. Instead, it will be in Edinburgh, which is a choice that has its own history. Princess Anne, Zara's mother, was the last Royal to be married in Scotland, in 1992.

Third, the service will be conducted in Canongate Kirk, a nice but modest church that is only about 320 years old. Westminster Abbey, you'll recall from your history, was founded in 960 A.D. Turns out there was also conflicting wedding dates with another couple, who obliged when asked to move to another venue.

The reception is set for the Palace of Holyroodhouse (below), where the Queen usually spends one week a year.

Fourth, as the BBC notes in its report, this is pretty much enemy territory for Tindall. He's the captain of England's rugby team while his future mother-in-law is a huge Scottish team fan and the official patron of the Scottish Rugby Union. Not to mention that the Princess Royal has reportedly asked her future son-in-law to straighten his habitually-broken nose.

All this is not to suggest disaster. In fact, after getting drunk on the pomp and ceremony of Kate and Wills, the U.K. will not be likely in the mood for another big royal splash. Besides, neither       member of this union needs the publicity. Phillips, 29, is a champion equestrian rider, and Tindall gets more exposure than he'd like as captain of England's side, broken nose and all.

 

 

 

Early-morning royal celebrations could extend to bars

What's a wedding with a toast to the happy couple?

Under current liquor laws in Ontario, that won't be possible (at least publically) for the April 29 nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton. But that may change.

Despite the fact the wedding begins at 6 a.m., there is a movement afoot to see if bar hours can be adjusted for royal revellers who want more than bacon and eggs for breakfast.

"Let me take a look at it," Attorney General Chris Bentley told reporters when asked about the idea.

It's certainly not an unusual idea. Bar hours were adjusted for last year's World Cup and even St. Patrick's Day earns exemptions from the liquor laws, which deem the first glass can't be poured before 11 a.m.

The City of Toronto can go it alone on the bar hours if it wants and given that liquor laws are being relaxed all around, it's a pretty good bet that there will be some public toasting with your toast

Harper set for wedding

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, apparently confident that he won't be in the midst of a spring election campaign, has formally accepted his invitation to the royal wedding.

He and his wife Laureen will be in London for the wedding, a few months ahead of William and Kate returning the favour by visiting Canada.

There has been speculation that Harper was putting off his acceptance for fear his Conservative government might be pulled into election mode following delivery of the federal budget on March 22.

It's debatable whether the Opposition has the taste for a campaign right now. Latest polls have the Conservatives around 40 per cent popularity, versus about 26 for the Liberals.

Mint can put a prince in your pocket

If you can’t get close to royalty  in the flesh, as least you’ll be able to carry them around in your pocket.

The Royal Canadian Mint is issuing three silver coins featuring the images of Princes Charles, William and Harry. There’s also a William-Kate Middleton coin in the works, but there’s no word on its release.

The William and Harry coins will be released March 15 and Charles in September. There is already a series of special coins in the works for Queen Elizabeth, who celebrates her 60 years on the British throne next year.

  The Mint is issuing 10,000 coins for each of the new prince releases,    with a face value of $15 and a princely retail price of $109.95. The coins were designed by Canadian artist Laurie McGaw.

Solo trip for Prince William

Speaking of Prince William, he will be leaving his fiance at home next week when he visits New Zealand, which has suffered through a deadly earthquake.

The palace says that because he will be representing the Queen, it would be prudent to leave Kate at home.

The prince is due to arrive on March 19 and spend two days in Queensland townships before visiting regions of north-west Victoria on March 21.

Prime Minister John Key said the visit would help New Zealanders face "its darkest hours''.

 

Designer to the stars ready to tackle royal home

With all the details yet to be worked out before the big day, one appears to be decided: Who will design William and Kate's home in Wales? According to Radar Online, that lucky person is Kenneth Bordewick, interior designer to the rich and famous in Beverly Hills.

It was reported last week that Bordewick, right, was the only American-based designer that the Royal couple was interested in. According to a press release on the San Fransisco Chronicle: 

Kenneth's exclusive clientele includes a long list of royal clients to include: HRH The Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, HRH Bianca De Savoy, Crowned Princess of Italy and HRH His Majesty the late King Fouad of Saudi Arabia, HRH Princess Yasmin and HRH Princess Nora, and HRH HRH The Prince Felipe, The Prince of Asturias, and HRH Letizia, Princess of Asturias. Kenneth also purports a roster of high-profile celebrity "royalty" including Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Sir Paul McCartney.

Bordewick tells RadarOnline:

I don't know what we're exactly doing yet in terms of design but they want it to be causal and contemporary. It won't be classical or old-fashioned at all.

The site also reports that Kate loves to cook, so the kitchen will be outfitted with 'large American-style applicances.'

Here are a couple of kitchens displayed on Bordewick's portfolio page:

This could be a lucrative gig for Bordewick (not that he appears to be hurting for well-heeled clients), because the Welsh home is just one of many residences William and Kate will have. 

Who could object at the royal wedding?

That slightly uncomfortable part of the wedding -- when the officiator asks if there are any objections and the congregation swings round excitedly at the slightest rustling -- will be happening at William and Kate’s nuptials.

It’s a legal requirement in England that the priest asks if there is any legal reason why a couple cannot marry. So, who could dare to object during the royal wedding ceremony? Here are our top picks:

The exs:
Following royal tradition (Charles had five former flames at his wedding to Camilla) William and Kate have their share of failed relationships attending their wedding.  While it is fair to assume the couple are on good terms with their ex's if they have been invited to the wedding, you never know when jealousy will strike and for a spurned lover harbouring a grudge this is the perfect moment to yell out “He still loves me” and let us watch a corgi collapse from a heart attack.

REUTERS/Toby Melville

The taxpayer:
The British taxpayer may only be footing the security bill for the wedding, but as the UK continues to face austerity measures, $33 million to protect a couple on their way to eat a 10-foot cake can set a few teeth grinding. So while “I don’t feel I should be paying for this” isn’t reason enough for rendering a wedding void, at least the enraged taxpayer will let their feelings be known.

AP Photo/Amy Sancetta

Prince Philip:
The amazing inappropriate-comments machine that is Phil the Greek has been relatively quiet of late, but the royal family has decided to let him out of the palace for the big day. If anyone is going to cough loudly during the pause for objections, it will be Philip, or maybe he’ll just let slip a “You are a woman, aren't you?” while chatting to a foreign dignitary during the pause.

AP Photo/Ben Stansall

Prince Charles:
Charles has been a bit grumpy lately.  As surveys come out showing the public favours the future reign of his son over the upcoming Charles years the prince could always mistake the wedding for the coronation ceremony and launch himself onto the couple during the objections phase in a struggle for the wedding tiara.

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

The Beckhams:
In the eyes of the tabloid press, Victoria and David were the reigning monarch of all things British until Kate and William came along. Now they have to compete with actual royalty on the list of the most stylish exiting London's clubs. It could be too much for Posh and Becks. Expect Victoria to at least throw a stiletto during the pause.

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

The media:
The royal wedding is a media frenzy, meaning some hack is sure to object just to keep the ceremony going on that little bit longer and the viewing figures up.