LONDON – Britain’s Prince William and bride-to-be Kate Middleton have sent out invitations to their royal wedding to about 1,900 guests.
Military personnel and charity workers will mingle with European royalty, diplomats and the family and friends of the couple at the Westminster Abbey ceremony on April 29, St. James’s Palace said Sunday.
Additional Photos
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh will lead a group of 50 members of the British royal family at the wedding, while around 40 representatives of foreign royal families — likely to include dignitaries from Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Greece — will also attend.
It isn’t yet known whether celebrities including singer Elton John — a friend of William’s mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales — or Kanye West, a favorite of the prince who performed at a 2007 tribute concert for his mother, are among those who will receive an invitation.
Britain’s Sunday Express newspaper reported that soccer star David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, are on the royal guest list. William worked with Beckham on England’s failed bid to win the right to host the 2018 World Cup.
One guest already ruled out is Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, the ex-wife of William’s uncle Prince Andrew.
Her office said in a statement she “won’t be attending and she was never expecting to attend,” and went on to say that she won’t be available for hire as a high-profile commentator.
Royal historian Hugo Vickers said details of the guest list released so far suggested ordinary members of the public won’t have a front line role.
Ordinary well-wishers will instead throng the capital’s streets, watching Middleton arrive at Westminster Abbey by car, but leave with her new husband in a horse-drawn carriage to parade through the heart of ceremonial London to Buckingham Palace.
Tourists and Britons alike will crowd close to the palace after the ceremony, hoping to catch a glimpse of William and his bride as they present themselves on the building’s famous balcony.
Derek stood up for Opera Ball
VIENNA – An Austrian news agency is quoting a construction mogul as saying he won’t be taking actress Bo Derek to Vienna’s famous Opera Ball after all, and that her replacement may be the teenager embroiled in a sex scandal surrounding Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.
Richard Lugner, 78, books a different celebrity for the fancy affair every year. Recent dates have included Paris Hilton and Dita Von Teese. Lugner announced last week that Derek, who starred in “Tarzan, the Ape Man,” would be next.
The Austria Press Agency on Sunday quoted Lugner as saying he would cancel his contract with Derek, 54, because she wanted $25,000 more than originally agreed to.
Spike Lee coming to campus
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The movie-maker behind “Do the Right Thing,” “Malcolm X” and “She’s Gotta Have It” is coming to Bloomington for Indiana University’s 27th annual Arts Week.
Director, producer and actor Spike Lee speaks Saturday at IU Auditorium.
Lee’s most recent project was the four-hour, two-part 2010 HBO Hurricane Katrina documentary, “If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise.”
After his breakout as director and producer of “She’s Gotta Have it” in 1986, Lee’s films have included “School Daze” in 1988, “Do the Right Thing” in 1989, “Mo Better Blues” and “Jungle Fever” in 1990, “Malcolm X” and “Crooklyn” in 1992, “He Got Game” in 1997 and “Summer of Sam” in 1999.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
