Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Royal Wedding Guest List Released: Billionaires, Beckhams…And Mr. Bean

St James’s Palace released a list confirming the big names expected at Westminster Abbey on Friday. Much of the guest list is no surprise: British royals, major and minor alike, as well as foreign royalty from as far afield as Swaziland and Tonga, heads of state from all over the Commonwealth, military and religious leaders and British Army representatives.

However, a few unexpected names crop up on the St James’s Palace list of invitees “who may be recognisable to television viewers”, namely English soul singer Joss Stone, Madonna’s ex-husband Guy Ritchie, a film director, and comedian Rowan Atkinson, perhaps best known to Americans for his role as the hapless Mr. Bean. The Palace’s briefing note includes details of each star’s connection to the royal couple. Stone is noted as having performed at the 2007 Concert for Diana at London’s Wembley Stadium (at the time, there were rumors that she and William had a fling. Guess not.) Ritchie is simply listed as “a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton” and, in what must be the first time British cult gangland classics have made their way into an official Palace press release, “a well-established filmmaker, who directed Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Revolver.” Atkinson is listed as a “close friend” of Prince Charles. Some of the other celebrities on the list long ago blabbed to the press about their attendance, including soccer star David Beckham and his fashion designer wife Victoria, and pop singer Elton John, who performed at Princess Diana’s funeral. Photographer Mario Testino, who shot the couple’s engagement photos, is also listed among the Palace’s confirmed celebrity invitees.

Besides the rich international royals, one billionaire from the FORBES list is named on the Palace’s briefing note: Galen Weston, the second richest person in Canada, worth $7.1 billion. Weston is well known in the UK as the owner of Selfridges, an upmarket department store with a royal warrant as “suppliers of food and household goods” to the Queen. Weston and his wife Hilary are listed as friends of Prince Charles and his family.

The full list released by St James’s Palace is below and here. Their briefing note also covers the seating plan — and seemingly ever other conceivable aspect of the service, including such minutiae as wedding cake ingredients, names of trumpeters and the breeds of royal carriage horses. If you weren’t bored of the royal wedding before, you will be after reading this.

The following are all confirmed attendees at the Royal Wedding as of 23rd April 2011.

Members of the British Royal Family

The Queen
The Duke of Edinburgh
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
Prince Henry of Wales
The Duke of York
Princess Beatrice of York
Princess Eugenie of York
The Earl and Countess of Wessex
The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Phillips
Miss Zara Phillips with Mr. Mike Tindall
Viscount Linley and Viscountess Linley
And The Hon. Charles Armstrong-Jones
The Lady Sarah Chatto and Mr. Daniel Chatto
And Master Samuel Chatto
And Master Arthur Chatto
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
The Earl and Countess of Ulster
The Lady Davina and Mr. Gary Lewis
Lady Rose and Mr. George Gilman
The Duke and Duchess of Kent
Earl and Countess of St. Andrews
Lord Downpatrick
The Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor
The Lady Amelia Windsor
The Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor
The Lady Helen Taylor and Mr. Timothy Taylor
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
The Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor
The Lady Gabriella Windsor
Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy
Mr. and Mrs. James Ogilvy
Miss Marina Ogilvy
The Lady Saltoun

Members of Foreign Royal Families

The Prince and Princess of the Asturias
The Crown Prince of Bahrain
Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium
The Sultan of Brunei and Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha
King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of the Bulgrarian
The Queen of Denmark
King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes
Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece and Prince Constantine of Greece
Sheikh Ahmad Hmoud Al-Sabah of Kuwait
Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso and Princess Mabereng Seeiso of Lesotho
The Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia
Prince Albert II of Monaco and Miss Charlene Wittstock
Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco
The Crown Prince and Princess of The Netherlands
The King and Queen of Norway
Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman
The Emir of The State of Qatar and Sheika Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned
King Michael I of Romania and Crown Princess Margarita
Prince Mohamed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Princess Fadwa bint Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman
The Queen of Spain
The King of Swaziland
The Crown Princess of Sweden and The Duke of Västergötland
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand
The King of Tonga
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
The Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia

Dignitaries

The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda
The Governor-General of Australia and His Excellency Mr. Michael Bryce
The Governor-General of The Bahamas and Lady Foulkes
The Governor-General of Barbados
The Governor-General of Belize and Lady Young
The Governor-General of Canada and Mrs. David Jonhnston
The Governor-General of Jamaica
The Governor-General of New Zealand and Lady Satyanand
The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea and Mrs Michael Ogio
The Governor-General of the Solomon Islands and Lady Kabui
The Governor-General of St Christopher and Nevis
The Governor-General of St Lucia
The Governor-General of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Lady Ballantyne

The Prime Minister of Australia and Mr. Tim Matheison
The Prime Minister of The Bahamas and Ms Delores Miller
The Prime Minister of Barbados
The Prime Minster of New Zealand and Mrs. John Key
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and Lade Somare
The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and Mrs. Rosalia Nestor King
The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines and Mrs. Ralph Gonsalves

The Premier of Bermuda and Mr. Germain Nkeuleu
The Premier of The British Virgin Islands and Mrs. Ralph O’Neal
The Premier of the Cayman Islands and Mrs. Kerry Bush
The Hon. Sharon and Mr. Rodney Halford (Falkland Islands)
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Mrs. Peter Caruana
The Chief Minister of Montserrat and the Reverend Doctor Joan Delsol Meade
The Hon. John and Mrs. Vilma Cranfield (St. Helena)

Members of Government, Parliament and Devolved Administrations

The Prime Minister and Mrs. David Cameron
The Deputy Prime Minister and Ms. Miriam Gonzalez Duantez
First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Mrs. William Hague
The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Hon. Mrs. Osborne
The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor and Mrs. Kenneth Clarke
The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, and Mr. Philip May
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and Mrs. Jeremy Hunt
The Rt. Hon Ed Miliband, M.P and Ms. Justine Thornton
The Speaker of the House of Commons and Mrs. John Bercow
The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales and the Lady Elis-Thomas
The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament and Mrs. Alex Fergusson
The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Mrs. William Hay
The Lord Speaker and Mr. Martin Hayman
First Minister of Wales and Mrs. Carwyn Jones
First Minister of Northern Ireland and Mrs. Peter Robinson
First Minister of Scotland and Mrs. Alex Salmond
The Mayor of London and Mrs. Boris Johnson
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor and The Lady Mayoress
Sir Gus and Lady O’Donnell
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Westminster and Count Paolo Filo della Torre
Mr. and Mrs. Simon Fraser

Representatives from the Church and other Faiths

The Most Reverend Gregorious, Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of Thysteira and Great Britain
The Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs. Rowan Williams
Rabbi Anthony Bayfield
Mr. Anil Bhanot
The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Archbishop Sean Brady
Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Reverend David Chillingworth
The Right Reverend John Christie, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Mr. Malcolm Deboo President, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe
The Rt. Reverend Doctor Norman Hamilton
The Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Reverend Alan Edwin Harper
Monsignor Philip Kerr, The Convener, Action of Churches Together in Scotland
Commissioner Elizabeth Matear, Salvation Army
The Archbishop of Wales, The Most Reverend Doctor Barry Morgan
The Reverend Gareth Morgan Jones, President of the Free Church Council of Wales
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-Connor
The Archbishop of Westminster, The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols
Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh
Rabbi Alan Plancey
Imam Mohammad Raza
The Chief Rabbi (Lord Sacks)
The Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala, Acting Head Monk, The London Buddhist Vihara
Maulana Syed Raza Shabbarm, Muhammadi Trust
Mr. Natubhai Shah, President, the Jain Academy
Dr Indarjit Singh, Director, Network Sikh Organisations (UK)
Canon Chirstopher Tuckwell
The Reverend Martin Turner
The Archbishop of York and Mrs. John Sentamu

Senior Members of the Defence Services

Major General and Mrs. William Cubitt, Major General Commanding Household Division and GOC London District
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen and Lady Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff
General Sir Nicholas and Lady Houghton
Air Vice-Marshal the Hon. David and Mrs. Murray, Defence Services Secretary
General Sir David and Lady Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff
Admiral Sir Mark and Lady Stanhope, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff
General Sir Peter and Lady Wall, Chief of the General Staff

Amongst the guests at The Wedding Service are all Heads of Mission in London representing countries with which the United Kingdom has normal diplomatic relations and Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenants for the United Kingdom. These individuals will not be accompanied by their spouses or partners.

Other guests at The Wedding Service, who may be recognisable to television viewers or whom have an official link to Prince William or Miss Middleton include the names below. Please note that this list is not exhaustive of any of the categories of guests – charitable, military, friends or any other category – invited.

All the following individuals have been invited with their spouses or partners if married or in a civil partnership:

Mr. David Allan
David Allan is the Chairman of Mountain Rescue, England and Wales. Prince William has been Patron of the organisation since 2007.

Major Tom Archer-Burton
Major Archer Burton was Prince William and Prince Harry’s Commanding Officer in the Household Cavalry. He also led the Burnaby Blue expedition to southern Africa – an African community project supported by Sentebale, in which Prince Harry was involved.

Mr. Charlie Mayhew
Charlie Mayhew is Chief Executive of the Conservation Charity, Tusk Trust. Prince William and Prince Harry visited Tusk-funded projects in Botswana last year. The visit to Africa was the first oversees Royal tour that Princes William and Harry undertook together.

Mrs. Alison Moore-Gwyn
Alison Moore Gwyn is Chief Executive of Fields in Trust. In 2010, Prince William became Patron of The Queen Elizabeth II Fields, an initiative to protect and create hundreds of playing fields throughout the UK in honour of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The project is run by Fields in Trust.

Mr. Seyi Obakin
Seyi Obakin is Chief Executive of Centrepoint. Centrepoint became Prince William’s first Patronage in 2005. His mother, Diana, Princess of Wales was also Patron of the Charity. Seyi slept rough with Prince William in London to highlight the issue of homelessness.

Mr. Peter Cross
Peter Cross is Chief Executive of the charity SkillForce, of which Prince William has been Patron since 2009. Earlier this month, Prince William officially launched the SkillForce Prince’s Award, in recognition of the contribution that young people make to their communities.

Miss Amanda Berry
Amanda Berry is Chief Executive of BAFTA. Prince William has been President of BAFTA since 2010.

Mrs. Ann Chalmers
Ann Chalmers is Chief Executive of the Child Bereavement Charity. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009. The Child Bereavement Charity educates professionals and supports families both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved.

Mrs. Julia Samuel
Julia Samuel is Chair of the Child Bereavement Charity and also a family friend of Prince William. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009. The Child Bereavement Charity educates professionals and supports families both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved.

Mrs. Tessa Green
Tessa Green is former Chairman of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Prince William became President of The Royal Marsden in May 2007 having undertaken two days of work experience there in 2005. The Prince helped out in a variety of departments, including medical research, catering and fundraising.

Mr. Simon Johnson
Simon Johnson worked closely with Prince William as Chief Operating Officer of the FA’s 2018 World Cup bid.

Sir Trevor Brooking
Sir Trevor is the Football Association’s Director of Football Development and is responsible for youth-coaching standards in England. Prince William has been President of the FA since 2006 and has met Sir Trevor on several occasions at FA events.

Sir Clive Woodward
Sir Clive Woodward is a former Coach of the England Rugby Team and the British and Irish Lions. Prince William was invited by Sir Clive to join the British and Irish Lions rugby team on their tour to New Zealand in 2005.

Mr. Gareth Thomas
Prince William met Welsh Rugby player Gareth Thomas several times in his role as Vice Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Mr. Ian Thorpe
Australian Prince William met the Olympic swimmer, Ian Thorpe, on a visit to Australia in 2010. The Prince has since supported Mr. Thorpe’s charitable organisation Ian Thorpe’s Fountain for Youth, which focuses on improving health and education for children.

Mr. Barty Pleydell-Bouverie
Barty Pleydell-Bouverie led the Cycle of Life charity bike ride across Africa in 2008, which raised money for the Tusk Trust.

Rear Admiral Ian Corder
Rear Admiral Ian Corder is Rear Admiral of Submarines. Prince William was appointed Commodore-in-Chief of Submarines by The Queen in 2006.

Brigadier Ed Smyth-Osbourne
Brigadier Smyth-Osbourne was Prince William and Prince Harry’s Commanding Officer in the Household Regiment and acted as their military mentor. He was also Prince Harry’s Commanding Officer when The Prince undertook active service in Afghanistan.

Major William Bartle-Jones
Major Bartle-Jones was Prince William’s Squadron Leader in the Household Cavalry Regiment based at Windsor.

Wing Commander Steven Bentley
Wg Cdr Steve Bentley is Prince William’s Search and Rescue Force Squadron Leader at RAF Valley, Anglesey.

Sergeant Keith Best
Sgt Keith Best is a colleague of Prince William’s at RAF Valley, in Anglesey, North Wales. The Winchman was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in the Air after playing a major role in the rescue efforts in the Cumbrian floods in 2009.

Squadron Leader Paul Bolton
Sqn Ldr Paul Bolton is a colleague of Prince William’s at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales.

Wing Commander Kevin Marsh
Wing Commander Kevin Marsh met Prince William through his service in the RAF. He will be one of the Path Liners outside Westminster Abbey on the wedding day.

Lance-Corporal Martyn Compton
Martyn is a Lance-Corporal in the Household Cavalry. He was injured in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2006, which put him in a coma for three months and left him with 75 per cent burns.

Miss Holly Dyer
Holly is sister to 2nd Lieutenant Joanna Dyer, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2007. Joanna was a close friend of Prince William’s at Sandhurst. In a statement released by Clarence House at the time, Prince William said he was “deeply saddened to hear the tragic news and he is very much thinking of her family and friends right now and they will remain in his thoughts and prayers.”

Mrs. Susie Roberts
Susie Roberts is the widow of Major Alexis Roberts, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007. Major Alexis Roberts was Prince William’s Platoon Commander at Sandhurst. In a statement released at the time, Prince William said he was deeply saddened to learn of Major Robert’s Death. The Prince remembers him with ‘great fondness and respect’.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryn Parry
Former soldier Bryn Parry and his wife Emma founded the charity Help for Heroes to assist wounded service men and women. Both Prince William and Prince Harry are supporters of the charity and Prince William previously opened a new swimming pool at Headley Court in 2010, which had been funded by Help for Heroes.

Mr. Edward Gould
Mr. Edward Gould was Master of Marlborough College whilst Miss Middleton was a student.

Dr. Andrew Gailey
Dr Andrew Gailey is the Vice-Provost of Eaton College and was Prince William’s Housemaster.

The Hon. Edward Dawson-Damer
Australian Ed Dawson-Damer is an ex-Irish Guards officer, who was Equerry to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the 1980’s. He hosted Prince William for a section of his visit to Australia in January 2010.

Mr. Sam Stevenson
New Zealander Sam Stevenson was Prince William’s New Zealand equerry during his visit to the country in July 2005. At the time, Sam was a Captain within the New Zealand Defence Forces. During the visit, Prince William undertook official engagements representing The Queen in Wellington and Auckland at events to commemorate the end of the Second World War.

Sir John Major
Following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, Sir John Major was appointed a Guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry with responsibility for legal and administrative matters.

Mr. Rowan Atkinson
Actor Rowan Atkinson is a close friend of The Prince of Wales.

Mr. Tom Bradby
The journalist and news reporter Tom Bradby has known both Prince William and Miss Middleton for some time. He conducted their first joint interview together on the day their engagement was announced.

Mr. Ben Fogle
Ben Fogle is best known as a travel writer, television presenter and adventurer and has met Prince William on a number of occasions.

Sir Elton John
Sir Elton John is a singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He performed at the funeral of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Mr. and Mrs. David Beckham
Prince William, as President of the Football Association, has met footballer David Beckham on a number of occasions. They recently worked together as Ambassadors of England’s 2018 World Cup Bid.

Mr. Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie is a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton. He is a well-established filmmaker, who directed Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Revolver.

Miss Joss Stone
Joss Stone is best known as an English Soul singer and songwriter. She performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley in 2007 and at City Salute in 2008.

Mr. Mario Testino
Photographer Mario Testino took Prince William and Miss Middleton’s official portrait photographs to mark their engagement.

Miss Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
Tara Palmer Tomkinson is a friend of The Prince of Wales and his family.

Mr. Sam Waley-Cohen
Amateur jockey Sam Waley Cohen is a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton.

Mr. Galen Weston
Canadians Galen and Hilary Weston are friends of The Prince of Wales and his family.

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