Add People magazine to the list of media outlets speculating that the next spectacular royal wedding could be right around the corner.
In its upcoming issue, the magazine reports that Prince William and his longtime girlfriend are acting more and more like a married couple. William even referred to Kate Middleton's father as "Dad" during a lunch at a ski resort in the French alps, according to another diner.
Former editor Tina Brown — a person who had been friends with Princess Diana and who wrote a biography about her — first reported early this month that William may make an announcement on either June 3 or 4 that he intends to marry Kate, his girlfriend of seven years, in November.
“A high-placed source in royal circles tells me that two days in June have been mysteriously blocked out on the palace diaries — June 3 and 4,” Brown wrote in a blog post on her Web site, The Daily Beast. “They suggest this is a likely date for the engagement announcement at last of the 27-year-old Prince William and his patient squeeze, 28-year-old Kate Middleton.
“If so, a wedding itself would probably follow in November, like the wedding of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, who married at Westminster Abbey that cold, damp November day in 1947.”
Another sign that something big may be brewing: The queen recently ordered 300 bottles of Dom Perignon champagne.
"I think one of the reasons why so many people feel that Kate is 'the one' for Will is that in seven years of dating, she has never once put a a wrong foot forward," said Galina Espinosa, senior editor of People. "This is a girl who knows how to be a princess."
Why now?
Brown speculated that the timing of the wedding announcement and the wedding itself may be carefully calculated based on political and personal priorities in Britain. A June announcement could provide a distraction after what is expected to be a contentious and closely fought national election on May 6. And the buildup to a November wedding could provide even more of a diversion.
“Whoever is the new prime minister by June should cross their fingers and pray for six months of wedding fever to distract the savage British press,” Brown wrote in her blog post.
In addition, scheduling the wedding on the verge of winter would help evade any comparisons to the lavish midsummer wedding of Charles and Diana back in 1981.
But personal reasons also likely run deep for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Brown noted.
“Philip will be 90 in June 2011, and the Queen celebrates her diamond jubilee — 60 years on the throne — in February 2012,” Brown wrote. “Their closeness to their grandson, especially Philip, makes them eager, I am told, to see William settled in matrimony.”
Brown’s credibility as a source led to a flurry of nuptial-related coverage in the British press.
“Miss Brown’s suggestion seems as good as any, due to her impeccable connections with members of the British aristocracy,” the newspaper the Daily Mail reported.
The Daily Mail also quoted unnamed sources who indicated that Brown’s blog post should be taken “with a pinch of salt.”