Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton were sitting down with advisers yesterday to begin planning their wedding as Asian fortune-tellers divined mixed blessings for the royal couple.
The second in line to the throne and his long-term girlfriend will marry next spring or summer, but they haven’t announced a date — some say May is likely, others August — or a venue.
Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s Cathedral, where William’s parents Prince Charles and Princess Diana married in 1981, are considered the front-runners.
PHOTO: AFP
Palace officials said only that the wedding would be held in London. It was too early to estimate its cost.
Funds will likely come out of the Civil List — money provided by Parliament to meet official royal expenses, the queen’s household allowance, or drawn from her personal wealth. That is, unless Parliament votes to give the royal couple extra money for the wedding.
Taxpayers will, at the least, have to pay for security, which will require large numbers of police.
As commentators dredged up memories of the dazzling nuptials of Charles and Diana, newspapers splashed pictures of Kate and William across their front pages. “The New Romantics,” the Times said, while several papers noted that William had given his betrothed his mother’s engagement ring.
Fortune-tellers were divided on prospects for the royal couple.
Arun Kumar Bansal, president of the All India Federation of Astrologers’ Societies, saw a mostly rosy future for the pair.
“They match quite well. Together they score 24 points out of 36 on general compatibility,” he said after poring over the couple’s astrological birth charts. “She has a softer personality than him. She will agree to his demands, and be accommodating of his needs.”
Hong Kong fortune-teller Anthony Cheng was less optimistic, however, saying the royal union would likely end in divorce.
“There will be major problems for the couple in the decade after Prince William reaches the age of 39,” said Cheng, a well-known feng shui columnist and TV personality.
He said the 28-year-old prince would likely either suffer a serious accident or get divorced in his 40s.
“One of these will happen, and if he encounters an accident, it is likely going to be fatal,” Cheng said, advising the prince to avoid travel to southern or tropical locations.
He further feared that Middleton would have to be a long-suffering wife if the marriage was to last.
“From a Chinese geomancy perspective, Prince William has too much ‘peach blossom’ luck. In other words, he will have a lot of love interests in his life. He develops feelings for other women easily,” Cheng said.
The marriage would therefore depend on Middleton’s tolerance level, Cheng said, explaining that the prince is “very likely going to have an affair.”
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