Despite earlier statements that no official guest list would be released, Clarence House has today published a list of selected guests for the wedding of Prince William of Britain and Catherine Middleton in Westminster Abbey on Friday.
Members of reigning royal families with partners:
HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and HRH Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, Duke of Edinburgh
HM Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and HM Queen Saleha of Brunei
HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
HM King Mswati III of Swaziland
HM King Harald V of Norway and HM Queen Sonja of Norway
HH Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar and HH Sheikha Mohza bint Nasser Al Missned of Qatar [did after all not attend]
HRH Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and HRH Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
HSH Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco and Miss Charlene Wittstock
HM King George Tupou IV of Tonga
HM King Mizan Zainal Abidin of Malaysia, Sultan of Terengganu and HM Queen Nur Zanirah of Malaysia, Sultana of Terengganu
HM Queen Sofía of Spain
HRH Princess Consort Salma of Morocco
HRH Prince Charles of the United Kingdom, Prince of Wales and HRH Camilla, Princess of the United Kingdom, Duchess of Cornwall
HRH Prince Felipe of Spain, Prince of Asturias and HRH Letizia, Princess of Asturias
HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Duchess of Westrogothia and HRH Prince Daniel of Sweden, Duke of Westrogothia
HRH Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange and HRH Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
HRH Prince Philippe of Belgium, Duke of Brabant and HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant
HH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi
HRH Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa of Bahrain [cancelled his attendance on 24 April]
HRH Prince Henry of the United Kingdom (best man)
HRH Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom, Duke of York
HRH Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
HRH Princess Eugenie of the United Kingdom
HRH Prince Edward of the United Kingdom, Earl of Wessex and HRH Sophie, Princess of the United Kingdom, Countess of Wessex
HRH Princess Anne of the United Kingdom, Princess Royal and Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence
HRH Prince Richard of the United Kingdom, Duke of Gloucester and HRH Birgitte, Princess of the United Kingdom, Duchess of Gloucester
HRH Prince Edward of the United Kingdom, Duke of Kent and HRH Katharine, Princess of the United Kingdom, Duchess of Kent
HRH Prince Michael of the United Kingdom and HRH Marie-Christine, Princess Michael of the United Kingdom
HRH Princess Alexandra of the United Kingdom, the Hon Lady Ogilvy
HRH Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand
HH Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said of Oman
HRH Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso and HRH Princess Mabereng Seeiso of Lesotho
HRH Prince Mohamed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and HRH Princess Fadwa bint Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman of Saudi Arabia
HH Sheikh Ahmad al-Hamoud al-Sabah of Kuwait
Members of non-reigning royal families with partners:
HM ex-King Konstantinos II of the Hellenes and HM ex-Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes
HM ex-King Mihai I of Romania
HM ex-King Simeon II of the Bulgarians and HM ex-Queen Margarita of the Bulgarians
HRH ex-Crown Prince Pavlós of Greece and HRH ex-Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece
HRH ex-Crown Princess Margarita of Romania
HRH ex-Crown Prince Aleksandar of Yugoslavia and HRH ex-Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
HRH Prince Konstantinos Alexios of Greece
HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia
Descendants of royals with partners:
Lady Louise Windsor (daughter of the Earl of Wessex) (bridesmaid)
Mr Peter Phillips (son of Princess Anne of the UK) and Mrs Autumn Phillips
Miss Zara Phillips (daughter of Princess Anne of the UK) and Mr Mike Tindall
David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley (son of the late Princess Margaret of the UK) and Serena, Viscountess Linley
The Hon Charles Armstrong-Jones (son of Viscount Linley)
The Hon Margarita Armstrong-Jones (daughter of Viscount Linley) (bridesmaid)
Lady Sarah Chatto (daughter of the late Princess Margaret of the UK) and Mr Daniel Chatto
Mr Samuel Chatto (son of Lady Sarah Chatto)
Mr Arthur Chatto (son of Lady Sarah Chatto)
Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster (son of the Duke of Gloucester) and Claire, Countess of Ulster
Lady Davina Lewis (daughter of the Duke of Gloucester) and Mr Gary Lewis
Lady Rose Gilman (daughter of the Duke of Gloucester) and Mr George Gilman
George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews (son of the Duke of Kent) and Sylvana, Countess of St Andrews
Edward Windsor, Baron Downpatrick (son of Earl of St Andrews)
Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor (daughter of Earl of St Andrews)
Lady Amelia Windsor (daughter of Earl of St Andrews)
Lord Nicholas Windsor (son of the Duke of Kent) and Lady Nicholas (Paola) Windsor
Lady Helen Taylor (daughter of the Duke of Kent) and Mr Timothy Taylor
Lord Frederick Windsor (son of Prince Michael) and Lady Frederick (Sophie) Windsor
Lady Gabriella Windsor (daughter of Prince Michael)
Mr James Ogilvy (son of Princess Alexandra) and Mrs Julia Ogilvy
Mrs Marina Ogilvy (daughter of Princess Alexandra) [did not attend after all]
Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun (widowed daughter-in-law of the late former Princess Patricia of the UK)
Members of the bride’s family:
Mr Michael Middleton and Mrs Carole Middleton (parents of the bride)
Miss Philippa Middleton (sister of the bride) (maid of honour)
Mr James Middleton (brother of the bride)
Members of the late Diana, Princess of Wales’s family:
Charles, 9th Earl Spencer (brother of the late Princess) and Miss Karen Gordon
Lady Sarah McCorquodale (sister of the late Princess) and Mr Neil McCorquodale
Lady Jane Fellowes (sister of the late Princess) and Robert, Baron Fellowes of Shotesham
Lady Anne Wake-Walker (paternal aunt of the late Princess)
Among the other interesting guests are:
- The Governor-Generals of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
- The Prime Ministers or Premiers of Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vicent and the Grenadines, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as representatives of the crown colonies Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat and St Helena, and the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and other senior cabinet ministers (William Hague, George Osborne, Kenneth Clarke, Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt).
- Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour party.
- The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, and his equivalents from the Scottish Parliament and the assemblies of Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Lord Speaker.
- The Mayor of London, the Lord Mayor and the Lord Mayor of Westminster.
- The Cabinet Secretary.
- The Archbishops of Canterbury and York and several other representatives of various churches and faiths.
- Senior members of the Defence services.
- Ambassadors.
- Lord Lieutenants.
- Representatives of charities and organisations.
- Former Prime Minister Sir John Major.
- Various celebrities such as singer Elton John, film maker Guy Ritchie, footballer David Beckham and singer Victoria Beckham, singer Joss Stone, actor Rowan Atkinson and photographer Mario Testino.
Two relatives of Prince William who are not on this list but who have confirmed their presence to the media are Lady Brabourne, the estranged wife of a second cousin of Prince Charles, and the Hon Mrs (Margaret) Rhodes, a niece of the late Queen Mother.
This lists suggests that the only reigning royal families not to be represented in London on Friday will be Liechtenstein, Japan, Jordan, Bhutan and Cambodia. The court of Tokyo has earlier stated that no member of the Japanese imperial family would be attending due to the natural and nuclear disasters which recently struck the country. British media have reported that the King of Cambodia has not replied to his invitation, whereas the King and Queen of Jordan have been reported to have been invited.
One learns more about royal protocol all the time. First surprise: Prince Michel of the Kent is only referred to as Prince of the U.K not of Kent whereas in the The Consent to Mariage earlier published on your blog the groom himself is called Prince William of Wales.
ReplyDeleteSecond surprise: The royals from non-reigning families naturally come under a special heading pointing out that fact. On top of that a ex-something is added to their titles.Those happy enough to be born after the monarchies were abolished are called H.R.H. of Whatever without any ex before the title but others like H.R.H. the wife of the ex-Crown Prince of Grecce apparently became an ex-Crown Princess by marriage even if never ever having been a Crown Princess.
Martin Rahm
Why surprising? Have we not discussed this at great length recently and have I not taken quite a lot of time to explain it?
ReplyDeleteAs earlier explained the style "Prince William of Wales" is used within Britain, but both Prince William and Prince Michael are as much Princes of the UK as Prince Edward and Prince Andrew. Princess Anne was not "promoted" from Princess of Edinburgh to Princess of the UK in 1952; her style simply changed.
That I call the ex-King of the Bulgarians just so should not come as a surprise. Indeed I merely call them by their right names. Simeon II is the former King of the Bulgarians, not the King of the Bulgarians. It should not be more surprising than the fact that Thorbjörn Fälldin is called former Prime Minister of Sweden rather than the Prime Minister of Sweden.
What one should call the wife of an ex-King who is not actually an ex-Queen herself is a bit trickier, but for the sake of simplicity I have chosen to call them ex-Queen in this context. The other options would be "titular Queen", "'Queen'" or nothing at all. As a royal consort generally share the spouse's title I would also say it is not entirely unreasonable to call the wife of an ex-King "ex-Queen" even when she has never actually been queen (like Margarita of the Bulgarians).
It seems to be quite usual to refer to for instance Prince Konstantinos Alexios of Greece as Prince of Greece, not ex-Prince of Greece. Indeed I have never seen "ex" prefixed to the titles of junior members of deposed royal families, only to those of monarchs and heirs and their spouses.
As I see no point in spending time on explaining this each time I refer to a member of a former royal family I will in the future consider this explained once and for all and take the liberty of referring back to this explanation rather than repeating it over again.
Ia m sorry. I did not understand when reading your entry that the way you referred the guests to the wedding was the way you consider they shall be addressed and not the way they are referred to by the British court. I did know from before your opinion.
ReplyDeleteHowever I love the way the British court refers to the Swedish crownpincesessly (hate the expression)couple was referred to as the Crown Princess of Sweden and the Duke of Westrogothia!If I ever had to address them in public I would also call them (in Swedish) DD.KK.HH. Kronprinsessan och Hertigen av Västergötland.
But be confident I shall not revert to this subject.
Martin Rahm
Clarence House lists the guests in their own confused order - they treat Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania and Greece as if they were still monarchies and includes them along with the reigning royal families. They also list them alphabetically, beginning with "the Prince and Princess of the Asturias" (it is Asturias, not the Asturias), moving on past "King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of the Bulgrarians [sic]" and ending with "The Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia". In my list I have tried to make some order in the chaos and list them in different categories and according to the date of accession for reigning royal houses and date of deposal for former royal houses.
ReplyDeleteMost interesting is perhaps the fact that they mention "Mrs. Anne Wake-Walker" among the Spencers in the seating plan. Surely the daughter of the 7th Earl Spencer is *Lady* Anne Wake-Walker.
I promised not to comment.
ReplyDeleteMartin Rahm
For the record: You are always welcome to comment, but what I meant is that I see no reason and do not have the time to have the same (lengthy) discussions on the same topic twice.
ReplyDeleteClarence House lists the guests in their own confused order - they treat Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania and Greece as if they were still monarchies and includes them along with the reigning royal families.
ReplyDeleteAnd kudos to Clarence House, sir, for doing so.
As earlier explained the style "Prince William of Wales" is used within Britain, but both Prince William and Prince Michael are as much Princes of the UK as Prince Edward and Prince Andrew.
I have also participated in the previous descussion on this, but I would still like to add that Prince William was introduced recently in Christchurch as "HRH Prince William of Wales." This was in one of the Commonwealth Realms, but still outside Britain.
BTW, on an off-topic note, can we expect a "road's end" post on Mr. Claude Choules from your hand, sir?
It is my understanding that only the monarch has separate titles in each of the Commonwealth realms (in this case "Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith"), whereas the other members of the royal family go by the same titles as in Britain.
ReplyDeleteThis is of course quite different from in the Swedish-Norwegian union, where not only the monarch, but also the other members of the royal house were all titled "of Norway and Sweden" in Norway and "of Sweden and Norway" in Sweden. And it is also different from the Dano-Icelandic union, where the King, Queen, Crown Prince and Crown Princess were styled "of Denmark and Iceland", but the other royals only "of Denmark".
I am not certain if I will write anything about the death of Claude Choules. I was away when he died and have quite a lot to catch up with.