Just days remain until the event of the year - the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, which is expected to be marked by a strong Greek connection not only because the groom's grandfather was Greek, but because his godfather is the former King Constantine of Greece.
According official guest list announced by the Buckingham Palace, present at the wedding in Westminster Abbey will be the former King Constantine of Greece and his wife Anna-Maria. The Greek royal family will be presented also from Prince Pavlos and his wife Marie-Chantal and their son Constantine. Secular chroniclers await with great interest the elegant appearance of Marie-Chantal, who always impresses with her sophisticated appearance. In recent months, the lady also started a business in the field of fashion and opened a boutique for children's clothing on the chic Athenian street Voukourestiou.
In the BBC film, which was filmed on the occasion of the royal wedding, Constantine said that he advised his godson not to think about his fiancée while flying his helicopter, since the 29-year-old William is exploratory and rescue pilot at RAF. "In a letter I sent him after his engagement I pointed out how dangerous it is to run a helicopter when you're in love, since you have to concentrate on the machine that is currently in the air.” The former Greek monarch relied on his own experience, while recommending to William to think about Kate after he has grounded the helicopter.
The wedding will be attended by representatives of all royal houses of Europe, including the former Bulgarian monarch and later Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and his wife, marked in the list as "King Simeon II of Bulgaria and Queen Margarita”. Former Greek Princess and present Queen Sofia of Spain is also invited to the wedding. Among the 1900 invited guests are royalty such as King Abdullah of Jordan and his wife Queen Rania, the Sultan of Oman, the prince of Abu Dhabi, the Sultan of Brunei and the King of Saudi Arabia. Due to the tragedy in Japan, the heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne and his wife will not attend.
According to the official communiqué over half of the invitees or about 1000 guests are friends of William and Kate. Among these are the names of the known to all from his role as "Mr. Bean” actor Rowan Atkinson - a personal friend of the groom's father Prince Charles, the singer Elton John, who performed the unforgettable song "Candle in the wind" at the funeral of William's mother Princess Diana and director and former husband of Madonna, Guy Ritchie, who, according to the official list is a friend of the couple, but according to some rumors is also a distant cousin of Kate Middleton. Pregnant Victoria Beckham was pleasantly surprised when she and her husband David received an invitation to the event of the year.
Surprise was the fact that the list of official guests did not include the names of Barack Obama, and Nicolas Sarkozy and his beautiful wife, Carla Bruni, who had charmed the British during the official visit of the President of France in the country. The groom is the second in a row heir to the throne after his father Charles and according to the protocol is not obliged to invite the leaders of foreign countries. Perhaps that is why heads of major world powers will not be present at the wedding. On the other hand, Prince William, who is said to be sensitive and polite as his deceased mother, Princess Diana, invited 27 members of his detachment from the Air Force base in Anglesey at the wedding.
At the luncheon, which will be given by Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace will be attended by 650 guests and the dinner hosted by the Prince of Wales, Charles will have 300 guests.
According to articles in the Greek press among guests are likely to be found some Greeks. Among them are Marianna Latsis and her two older children Paris Kasidokostas and Erietta Kourkoulou, ship-owner Spyros Niarchos with his children Evgenia and Stavros and chairwoman of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games in Athens Gianna Angelopoulou and her husband Theodoros, who maintain close contacts with the Buckingham Palace. Again according to information from the Greek press, an invitation has received also the Greek businessman Peter Georgiopoulos whose companies manage 62 ships with a displacement of 1.6 million tons. Although currently this information has not been confirmed officially, the Greek TV reported several days ago that several prominent Greek women have ordered hats for the occasion, without giving any names.
At least two Greek TV stations will send TV crews in London for the wedding of the year and the day of the wedding will be broadcasted live.
Tags: Royal wedding Prince William and Kate Middleton King Constantine Greece
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