Prince William and Kate Middleton are to marry on April 29 next year at Westminster Abbey, the historic London church where the funeral of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, was held in 1997, royal officials announced on Tuesday.
The couple want to turn their wedding day into an international party in what is set to be the biggest royal event in Britain since William’s parents, Prince Charles and Diana, married in 1981, aides said.
William, second in line to the throne of 16 realms, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is to tie the knot in the same church where the first king William was crowned in 1066 after the Norman conquest of England.
“The venue has long associations with the royal family — it is in many ways the royal family’s church — and of course with Prince William personally,” said Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the prince’s private secretary. “We know that the world will be watching on April 29, and the couple are very, very keen indeed that the spectacle should be a classic example of what Britain does best.”
The wedding costs — the church service, music, flowers, decorations, reception and honeymoon — are to be paid by the royal family and the Middletons, with the government meeting the security and transport costs, in a bid to ease public concerns as Britain faces harsh economic austerity measures.
British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the day, the first Friday after the Easter weekend, would be marked with a special public holiday.
“The wedding of Kate and William will be a happy and momentous occasion. We want to mark the day as one of national celebration — a public holiday will ensure the most people possible will have a chance to celebrate on the day,” he said.
The date and venue were announced a week after the 28-year-olds revealed their engagement.
The couple could be taking a risk with the weather. April is renowned as a rainy month in Britain, with bookmakers giving odds of 5/4 there will be showers on the day, as there were for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in June 1953.
However, the couple wanted the day to be a right royal party, royal household officials said.
“Their view on it would be: ‘Let’s have a party,’” Lowther-Pinkerton said. “Consequently the day will be a proper celebration for the nation and the realms.”
He added that William and Kate were “completely over the moon” about their engagement, adding: “I’ve never seen two happier people.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the