LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Following is a selection of stories related to the forthcoming April 29th royal wedding of Britain's Prince William that have appeared in newspapers and on websites in the last week.
-- William and Kate to share marital home with Prince Harry
After they return from honeymoon, the royal couple are initially expected to move into a suite of rooms in Clarence House, while they decide where to live more permanently.
It means they will share their first married home with William's younger brother Prince Harry who lives there when he is in London.
Prince William and Kate are yet to confirm where they will set up home permanently once they are married, but Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace and Kensington Palace are all being considered as potential London bases.
(Source: Daily Telegraph, April 7) -- Two billion to watch royal wedding
A British minister says more than a quarter of the world's population is expected to watch television broadcasts of the wedding.
Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said a figure of 2 billion people was provided by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt during a briefing at a cabinet meeting where he also said preparations for the nuptials were going well.
"The Culture Secretary ... said (the wedding) is likely to be a major global event viewed by around 2 billion people around the world," the spokesman said.
(Source: Reuters, April 6)
-- Kate and William to split
Ripping apart photographs of a boyfriend and girlfriend is usually the domain of heart-broken teenagers.
But in the Pacific island of Niue, the general public are being encourage to tear apart a picture of couple-of-the-moment Kate and William.
New Zealand Post's commemorative Royal Wedding stamp has split the couple by a perforated line. Each side of the picture can be used as an individual stamp.
(Source: Daily Mail, April 5)
-- First official "royal app" launched
Britain's first official royal app was launched on Tuesday, and with the marriage of William to Kate just weeks away, unsurprisingly it focuses on royal weddings.
The "Royal App," launched by the Royal Collection, will feature details of seven previous weddings, including Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 and the 1981 wedding of William's father Prince Charles to Princess Diana.
It culminates with Charles's wedding to second wife Camilla in 2005.
(Source: Reuters, April 5)
-- Forget mugs and tea towels; buy Kate's old house
If you've stocked up on official Royal Wedding memorabilia and still have a few hundred thousand pounds to spare, the perfect Kate-related purchase is about to come onto the market -- her childhood home.
The semi-detached Victorian villa in the Berkshire village of Bradfield Southend is on the market for 460,000 pounds ($749,500) and will be sold at auction on May 31, just a month after its former resident marries William.
(Source: Daily Mail, April 4)
-- Pray for the couple, despite ban on Catholics
The Catholic church in England and Wales has issued a prayer to bless the wedding -- even though Catholics themselves are banned from becoming a British king or queen.
The prayer asks for God's blessing upon the couple "as they pledge their love for each other in marriage."
"May your love unite them through their lives. Grant them the strength to serve you, our country and the Commonwealth with integrity and faithfulness," it adds.
(Source: Reuters, April 4)
-- Kate: My bullying hell
Kate suffered a devastating ordeal at the hands of a gang of vicious bullies.
Her teenage tormentors even put excrement in her bedsheets at posh Downe House School. Terrified Kate was hounded for being "too perfect."
(Source: News of the World, April 3)
-- William enjoys hairy stag party
William was forced to wear a chest wig and hairpiece by pals on his boozy stag do.
One source said of the royal, who also had a sticker with the queen's name on his head: "He took it all in good spirit."
The fun-loving prince blasted clay pigeons from the sky and quaffed vintage port on his secret stag weekend. He even went surfing to mark the final stages of his life as a bachelor.
(Source: The Sun, April 2)
(Editing by Paul Casciato)