So says Tina Brown, who writes for the Daily Beast. A highly-placed palace (as in Buckingham Palace)source told Tina that the Queen has blocked out two days in June (3rd & 4th). These "highly placed" sources did not say why the two days have been blocked out, but Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and the author of The Diana Chronicles), assumes that this is a likely date for the announcement of HRH Prince William of Wales' engagement to Miss Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, who known to family and friends, as Kate,
The couple have been together, on and off, mostly on, for more than seven years. Finding the appropriate date to announce a royal engagement, especially the engagement of the second in line to the throne, can be tricky. I cannot say whether or not the engagement will be announced on June 3 or June 4, but won't certainly be announced between now and May 6, when Great Britain will hold a general election. Prime Minister Gordon Brown went to Buckingham Palace today to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament. This will happen on Thursday.
It would be foolhardy for an engagement to be announced during a General Election campaign.
Brown surmises that if the engagement is announced in June, the wedding will take place in November. The Queen got married in November, as did the Princess Royal. November is particularly gloomy, damp and dark. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex were all married in the summer. The first two marriages took place in July, and Edward's wedding was in June. Nicer weather and a chance for sunshine. Bigger crowds.
Perhaps the wedding will take place in the Spring of 2011, as a run-up to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Summer Olympics, both which will take place in 2012. HRH Princess William of Wales will be a fully fledged member of the Royal Family, and perhaps even enceinte, which will add even more joy to the celebrations.
Tina Brown also speculates on where the wedding will take place. She's right on this one: the wedding will not take place at St. Paul's. Or St. George's Chapel. Prince William is second in line to the throne. His marriage will take place at the Abbey.
The one thing Brown did not take into consideration: why would the Prince of Wales and the Middletons announce the engagement of their children less than three weeks before the wedding of HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling?
The Swedish Royal Wedding won't get much coverage in the British media, but on the Continent, editors will be going into cardiac arrest in trying to cover both stories.
Earlier this year, I predicted that if William and Kate do not get engaged this year, they will never get engaged. My prediction: engagement in the fall, wedding in the spring or early summer of 2011.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-04-06/william-and-kate-name-the-date/?cid=hp:exc
Marlene, it does seem like the perfect time, with the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. It will be interesting to see if your prediction comes true. Bea
ReplyDeleteNot a chance Tina is right. They would NEVER announce William's engagement on June 3 -- it's the Duke of Windsor's wedding anniversary!
ReplyDeleteThe rest of June is filled with Ascot, the Garter ceremony, the Trooping of the Color, etc., plus the Swedish wedding. Unless the Queen wants to make the Kate the center of attention at all those events, it would be a strange time to launch her.