Speculation is still rife over who will design Kate Middleton's wedding gown, but her groom has already picked out his attire for the big day.
Prince William, 28, will follow family tradition and wear a military dress uniform when he says "I do" in Westminster Abbey on April 29, British media reported today.
While William, who's second in line to the throne, is eligible to wear the uniform of the army, Royal Navy or Royal Air Force, he's expected to go with the last. Flight Lt. Wales, as he's known, is serving as a helicopter pilot with the RAF's Search and Rescue Force.
Tailors Gieves & Hawkes -– a venerable firm on London's Savile Row known for outfitting such historic figures as the Duke of Wellington, Adm. Nelson and Sir Winston Churchill –- have been selected to make William's uniform, Hello! magazine reported.
The starting price for a Gieves & Hawkes RAF uniform is around $4,500, the Daily Mail says.
William's father, Prince Charles, wore a Royal Navy uniform when he married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. Prince Andrew, William's uncle, and his grandfather, Prince Philip, also wore the navy uniform for their weddings.
As a knight of the Order of the Garter, Britain's most prestigious order of chivalry, William is also eligible to wear the order's blue sash with its attached badge and star, the Daily Mail pointed out.
In other royal wedding news, there's talk that William and Kate will forgo an exotic honeymoon and stay closer to home. The couple could opt to go the Isles of Scilly, off Cornwall in southwestern Britain. As a boy, William vacationed there in 1989 with his parents and brother, Prince Henry.
There had been speculation that the royal newlyweds would return to Kenya, where William proposed to his longtime girlfriend, but now they are said to be considering less expensive options.
"The couple have reportedly drawn up a shortlist of British honeymoon destinations -- because Palace officials don't want them going on an expensive foreign break while Britons see their living standards squeezed," the Mail said.
Word has been that Wills and Kate will live quietly in North Wales for the first two years of their marriage, to allow him to serve out his commitment to the RAF -- and to give her time to adjust to married life and her new royal role.
But The Sun reports the couple will kick off their life together with an official tour of Canada. The two-week trip with start on Canada's east coast and end in British Columbia, the paper says.
"Aides are agonizing over the details of the trip because they know the couple –- particularly Kate –- will be under the microscope," The Sun said. "William is understood to be personally overseeing the program to ensure it does not overwhelm his new wife, who has agreed to do one social engagement."
More tidbits:
Is the off-and-on again romance between Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy back on? Harry has made sure that the 25-year-old blond Zimbabwean has an invite to his big brother's wedding, the Daily Express reports.Kate has quit her job with her family's party-planning company to concentrate on preparing for her wedding, but she has yet to attend to one important task for her role. The princess-to-be has yet to apply to the Royal College of Arms for her own coat of arms, the Daily Mail said. "Although not a legality, an insignia is a prerequisite for those marrying into the Royal Family," the Mail says. As the daughter of an earl, Lady Diana Spencer already had her own family coat of arms when she joined the royal family. The middle-class Middletons don't have such aristocratic trappings.And the location of another royal wedding has been revealed. William's cousin Zara Phillips, the daughter of Princess Anne, will trade vows with fiance Mike Tindall on July 30 at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Daily Mail said. Phillips is the oldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. The 29-year-old equestrian became engaged to rugby star Tindall, 32, in December.
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