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| Royal Guest List |
The guest list for the April 29 union of Prince William and Kate Middleton is still being kept secret, but details have begun to leak out, with some coming forward to say they are attending and the Mail on Sunday newspaper claiming to have the official invitation roster.
The palace dismissed the newspaper's list as speculation Sunday.
It won't be clear until the day how the royal couple have balanced the protocol demands that they invite statesmen, diplomats, religious leaders, politicians and the like with invitations to the people they really want to see, particularly the crowd they made friends with when they met and fell in love at St. Andrews University in Scotland.
Seelawimala, head priest at the London Buddhist Vihara monastery, has never met the couple but has been invited apparently to show the royal family and the British government's respect for Buddhist tradition. It is expected that the list will include Islamic and Hindu leaders as well as those from other faiths.
The Mail on Sunday list describes an eclectic mix — everyone from fabulously wealthy friends of Prince Charles to a favored bartender and a yoga instructor from the Caribbean island of Mustique, long a hideaway for royals and rockers alike.
William and Middleton have shown their modern side by inviting a number of close friends, including some former sweethearts, the newspaper said.
The couple also have invited many guests from the charities they work with, and Middleton has used her influence to invite the butcher, shopkeeper and pub owner from her home village of Bucklebury.
Guest lists have a way of expanding. Prime Minister David Cameron has been invited, of course — so it would have been bad form not to invite Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. The leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband, can't be left out or the royals could be accused of showing favoritism.
The Mail on Sunday said Queen Elizabeth II has invited 50 guests, Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, chose an additional 250, the same number as William and Middleton invited, while Middleton's family made 100 more invitations. Europe's royal families, long close to the Windsors, are expected to be well represented.
Sarah Ferguson, former wife of Prince Andrew, has not been invited, but the couple's two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, are on the list.
Some have declined invitations, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper — who is in the middle of an election campaign — and, reportedly, the King of Bahrain, whose country has faced serious unrest. Officials have declined to comment on his plans.
Sources: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
