By 3news.co.nz
staff
It’s time to don your tiaras, stick a Union Jack bow-tie on
the cat, pour yourself a nice cup of English Breakfast and wistfully
contemplate the far-away colonisation of foreign lands.
That’s right, it’s the night every Anglophile has
been waiting for: THE ROYAL WEDDING.
You may have been snubbed for an invite – but
that’s no matter 3news.co.nz will have live updates throughout the
night from our news team as well as a live stream from Reuters without
commentary for those of you who like their pomp and circumstance unfettered by
the chit-chat of commoners.
Click
here to watch the live stream.
Before you start on the updates though – take a look at some
of this regal content.
12:30pm - They kissed again, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Then there was a fly-past by RAF and Battle of Britain memorial flight.
12:26pm - The couple have just made their first public kiss but it was an extremely quick one.
12:26pm - Kate and William have just appeared on the balcony.
12:16pm - A lip reader caught a private joke between Prince William and his father-in-law at the alter. "We're supposed to have just a small family affair," the prince supposedly joked.
12:04pm - Less than half an hour to go until the kiss on the balcony. A crowd of about two million people are currently making their way down to Buckingham Palace.
11:57pm - The official photos are currently being taken of the Royal family and Middletons. After this the newly wed couple will make the highly anticipated balcony kiss.
11:32pm - The couple have just arrived at Buckingham Palace.
11:29pm - The first royal wedding tribute CD is already being advertised.
11:19pm - Lip readers have been analysing what the new couple are saying. Apparently Wills said to his new father-in-law "we were supposed to have a small family affair".
11:13pm - The new husband and wife are now proceeding down Pall Mall in an open topped carriage. As they left the church thousands of people cheered and threw confetti into the air. The stress of the situation seems to have left them now and they are finally smiling!
The rain has held off and they are followed by tens of Royal Guards on horseback.
11.01pm - The royal couple have now moved to the Shrine of Edward the Confessor to sign the marriage certificate. While they wait the choir sing 'Blest Pair of Sirens' by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry.
10:54pm - Here is a sign of the times for you. Google Trends is a site that shows you what Americans are searching for most at any given time. Right now David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, both at the wedding, are more popular search terms than Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The most popular search term though is Gabe Carimi, a NFL hopeful just picked up in the draft. That's a pretty big snub from the Americans. Maybe they were annoyed that Barack Obama wasn't invited.
10:52pm - And now please stand for the National Anthem.
10:49pm - A rousing
chorus of Jerusalem
rings out. The telly switches to the crowds outside as people wave little
plastic union jacks and sing along.
Made me proud to be British that did. Brought a
tear to me eye.
10:43pm - Ok I am back - and the
couple have just been at the high altar while the choir sung 'The Motet', by
Paul Mealor. And boom... now it's time for the Lord's Prayer. The world's
coolest prayer.
The congregation now sings
'The Anthem' by modern classical composer John Rutter, a song that was
specially commissioned for the service.
Followed by a speech by the
Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Richard Chartres, K.C.V.O. This
long-named man looks a bit like a Guess Who character so I am going to take a
wee break.
10:23pm - Prince
William and Kate Middleton are now man and wife. The congregation sing the hymn
Blaenwern by William Penfro Rowlands.
This is followed by a bible
reading by Kate's brother James Middleton. He reads Romans 12:1,2,9-19.
"I appeal to you
therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and
acceptable and perfect. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to
what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in
showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice
in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs
of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those
who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate
with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil
for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is
possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."
10:19pm - William
has put the wedding ring on Kate's finger. It was pretty hard to see but looked
like a reasonably simple gold band.
10:16pm - William
says 'I do', and Kate Middleton follows soon after. Phew.
10:09pm - The choir is
singing loudly and filling the high halls of Westminster. Kate and Wills stand together
now and talk with familiarity to each other.
The congregation sing ‘Guide me, O Great Redeemer’
by John Hughes.
10:01pm - The bells of Westminster Abbey
are ringing out as Kate Middleton takes her father's hand and enters the
church.
Kate's dress has been confirmed as being by Sarah Burton protege of
the late Alexander McQueen.
The wedding has now started.
9:56pm - The veil is off now. Her sister
Phillipa Middleton is at the entrance of the Abbey.
9:52pm - And we have
the first glimpse of Kate Middleton. She is wearing a veil and looks
beautiful. The dress has long lace arms.
9:49pm - The Queen
arrives at Westminster Abbey to a fanfare of trumpets. She is accompanied by
Prince Phillip – who is yet to say anything silly.
9:42pm - The highlight
of the day so far – the Queen! Dressed in yellow she resembles a
dignified
canary.
If the Queen feints we know there is a gas leak at
the wedding.
A gaggle of tiny bridesmaids just turned up at the
Abbey followed by Charles in full military dress.
9:40pm - Prince
Charles has arrived – jug ears and all – along with Camilla
Parker-Bowles.
ITV are being a bit snarky about how Beatrice and
Eugenie got out of their car. They have pretty nutso fascinators on –
quite avant-garde.
9:35pm - The Royal
Family are doing their bit for the credit crunch and have sent a good number of
the younger members in mini-buses. The royal cousins include Fergie’s
kids
Beatrice and Eugenie. Fergie didn’t get an invite but says she is not
bothered
as she was otherwise engaged.
Not sure if she was busy toe-sucking or selling
family member’s secrets though.
9:32pm - Carole and
James Middleton, mother and brother to Kate, have arrived. Carole is dressed in
an ice-blue jacket with a jaunty hat.
9:30pm - Prince
William’s arrival was pretty cool really. Dressed very smartly in
red, with his
brother in black the pair drove down Pall Mall
waving to a cheering crowd.
As they entered the Abbey they greeted many of
their guests as they walked down the aisle.
9:12pm - Prince
William and Harry have arrived. The cheers are deafening.
9:02pm - Guy Ritchie,
purveyor of amusing cockney gangster films, has just arrived along with the UK
Deputy
Prime Minister Nick Clegg with his stunning wife Miriam Gonzalez Durantez.
Prime Minister David Cameron is on his way – he is in the middle of a
sexism
row so is probably hoping Kate agrees to ‘obey’
William.
Which, incidentally, she isn’t.
8:55pm - Burger King
are cashing in on the event, with many people wearing their tacky golden
crowns.
It’s a pretty depressing site really – one big
advert for fatty, grilled beef at your wedding day.
8:46pm - Elton John
and his partner David Furnish have arrived to strong applause. I wonder if he
will get to sing ‘Candle In The Wind’ at Prince
Charles’ late night
shindig.
And Hilary has changed again. She is now kitted out
with a William and Kate umbrella and a blue and white floral dress by Trelise
Cooper. Trelise is the royal wedding designer of choice for New Zealand it
seems!
8:40pm - John and
Bronagh Key are just arriving. Which means they are more important than the
London Mayor, that’s pretty good going.
Apparently Tony Blair was not invited to the
wedding because Prince William has a real dislike for him. That means John and
Bronagh are now more important than an former UK prime minister –
that’s pretty
big-time stuff.
8:37pm - More high-profile
arrivals. Charles Spencer – Diana’s brother, Tara Palmer
Tomkinson – it-girl and
friend of Prince Charles and the Old-Etonian London Mayor Boris
Johnson.
8:19pm - It’s the BECKHAMS!!!
David looks lovely with a bit of a Ricky Gervais haircut going on. Victoria looks like she
has
just swallowed and anvil… as usual.
8:17pm - It’s that
blasted T-Mobile advert again on the telly; te one where they mimic the YouTube
video of the wedding procession that did a little twee dance to a Chris Brown
song. I quiver with fear at the number of people that are going to mimic that
now.
8:10pm - Wendyl Nissen
is wondering whether Kate Middleton had to have a fertility test before she
married William. She thinks yes…. I am going for no, seems a bit
over-the-top
even for the Royal Family.
Jeremy Wells just wondered whether a gay union for
William and one lucky guy would have been “the civil union of the
decade”.
8:07pm - Harry of
course has a much less sensible girlfriend - Chelsea Davey and she has just
entered Westminster Abbey. Although her reputation for being less sensible is
mainly based on the fact she has blonde hair so is probably a bit
unfair.
8:03pm - Well-known
tree-fancier Prince Charles has adorned Westminster Abbey with trees. There are
Maples which represent strength and reserve and Hornbeams, which represent
resilience.
Kate Middleton is often described as a girl with
her head on her shoulders. I am not looking forward to hearing that phrase
repeated ad nauseam for the next fifty years. Here’s hoping she walks
down the
aisle backwards or something and really kicks that boring reputation.
7:52pm - ITV’s Royal
Wedding coverage is being chaired by Philip Schofield – a TV icon for
Brits my
age. Last time I saw him he had his hand up this
puppet.
In wedding news – some cute flower girls dressed in
white just walked down the Westminster Abbey aisle. For a moment I thought it
was Kate, but then I remembered she isn’t five years old.
7:38pm - Hilary Barry is in Wedgewood blue. Hot news is that
Prince Charles is staging some sort of after party to the reception. What a
rebel! I fully expect that to be the place where all the debauchery
occurs.
7:30pm - Tune in to
TV3 now if you want to watch our special programming. Hilary Barry has gone
all Lady Gaga and done a costume change. She was in a smart red coat and is now
in a blue jacket.
John Campbell
has just said Prince William is known as ‘Big Willy’ to his
bride. Good start –
he is joined by Wendyl Nissen, Jeremy Wells and former newsreader Louise
Wallis.
John is having a laugh at those unimportant early guests. Great minds
think alike!
7:29pm - I’d like to
point out hat all puppets are fictional.
7:22pm - There is a
rather snobbish hierarchy for entering Westminster Abbey. The more important
you are the later you get to arrive. So the first person in is the least
important.
John and Bronagh are heading there in about an
hour, which makes them slightly more important than glamour model Jordan but slightly less important than
fictional
puppet Basil Brush.
7:17pm - So our Europe
Correspondent Mel Davies is talking with John Key and Bronagh now. She is in
Royal Blue apparently – I was never gonna guess that.
Key is in a merino suit, woven in England and
then washed in greenstone. It’s not green though. He is going to sit
back,
enjoy and suck up the moment.
William is a very fine young man. They’ve not met
Kate yet though. Key is especially looking forward to meeting Elton John, but
doesn’t seem so fussed by David Beckham who he has met
before.
Key says the excitement has been building over the
course of the week. He says it’s a very magical day for England.
7:12pm - Looks like I
may have been unfair to Bronagh, looks like she is wearing navy blue. This is
why
a colour blind man should not be dishing out fashion advice.
The patriotic songs are belting out on the live
stream right now – national anthem, Land Of Hope and Glory and so on.
Rousing
stuff.
Just did a Breakers vs Royal Wedding poll. Breakers
won by a country mile – you can check out our video updates here. As
time goes
on I fully expect things to change though – you’ll be
hooked by 10pm I
reckon.
7:05pm – BREAKING NEWS
– well pretty crappy breaking news. The happy couple will be known as
the Duke
and Duchess of Cambridge.
To go along with their 50 other names of course.
This means Kate will not be known as Princess.
My colleage Ally Mullord lamented that she could
not find a Brangelina style moniker for the happy couple recently. One
commenter suggested ‘Widdleton’ – which I think
is perfect.
7.00pm - What are you
wearing for the royal wedding? I am dressed entirely in tweed but my colleagues
are all dressed in their normal attire.
Bronagh Key has just turned up on TVNZ, she is
wearing Trelise Cooper who has the strangest hair in the fashion industry. She
is dressed in black – do you wear black to a wedding?
6:56pm - Journalism
fail number 1 (obviously the huge amount I will make tonight does not count).
The UK’s
Daily Mail, probably the most pro-Royal paper on the planet, has described
Prince Edward’s wife Sophie as a Duchess when she is in fact a
Countess.
The shame! Mind you it’s possible that Kate will be
officially known as Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales. So
that’s
not confusing.
And
don't even try to work out Prince William's surname.
6:33pm - According to
the Guardian live blog there is only one small
café van catering to the
thousands lining Pall Mall. Glad I’m not flipping burgers there
today.
I wonder if the van sells this pizza?
6:22pm - Apparently
London is a bit
overcast and there is a decent chance of rain at midday.
There seems to be some demand on Twitter for Mike McRoberts to wear a tiara in the next break of
the news. There’s plenty in the newsroom so cross your
fingers.
6:15pm - James Mates
is the guy charged with presenting the royal wedding for ITV and he is about to
talk to two billion people.
Let’s hope he avoids saying something like this
tweet from @kiwi_chatter.
“Every woman is waiting to see the dress. Every man
will imagine her without one on.”
6pm - The newsroom is a huddle of beer
clutching, tiara-clad journalists. Always the best time to be here –
whether it
be for a fun story like today or a tragic story like the Christchurch
Earthquake, when the news is big the place buzzes with anticipation.
It’s almost a relief to writing about something so
trivial for once!
Want the hot goss on the dress? Word is that
previous rumours about Alexander McQueen protégé Sarah Burton
being the
designer are true. Apparently she wears her belt in a distinctive manner and
has therefore been outed as the woman who was sneaked into BuckinghamPalace
last night under the cover of a blanket.
She’ll rue that distinctive belt-donning
style.