On the morning of Friday, 29th April, 2011, Prince William and Catherine Middleton will travel separately but along pretty much the same route to their wedding service at Westminster Abbey (Photo courtesy of Oliver Bruchez). Make sure you read the rest of this post as there is a 3D map of the route.
Prince William will set off from Buckingham Palace, while Catherine will take the route from The Goring Hotel, which is just a stone’s throw away from Buckingham Palace.
People travelling to central London in order to watch the Royal wedding procession or to see the TV coverage of the wedding ceremony are being urged to dress up for the occasion so that they can actually feel like wedding guests. However, to get a good viewing point on the route you will probably need to camp out overnight. Don’t forget to take a raincoat too!
If you are going to London and cannot get close to the route, try going to Hyde Park, Chelsea Physic Garden or Trafalgar Square to watch the wedding on a large screen. The sites open at 7am on Friday but you should be lining up for a place long before that.
For the more adventurous, you can buy a camping pass for a three night stay on Clapham Common for £75. There will be hot showers, a wedding party and perhaps even free hot drinks. This could be fun if you’re into camping.
For more information about the route and places to go…
Read more about the Wedding Procession Route
Even if it rains, when the 29th April dawns, very little will be able to spoil the excitement of watching the procession live, in person. No doubt some people will congregate outside the Goring Hotel to catch the first glimpse of Catherine Middleton in her wedding dress as she steps into the Rolls Royce which is expected to transport her and her father, Michael, to Westminster Abbey. We expect it do be very busy with press photographers and well wishers at the The Goring. Ofcourse, by that point, Prince William should have made his way from Buckingham Palace and be waiting nervously with brother and best man, Prince Harry, in Westminster Abbey.
At the Abbey, it is thought that there will be a canopy to shelter wedding guests and the happy couple in case of rain. The aisle will be covered in a red carpet, as it was for the Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip in 1947. The only stone not covered by the carpet along the way will be the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in the nave. The carpet will divert around this grave which is always surrounded by artificial poppies and there are rumours that Prince William and his Princes will stop to pay tribute here. Queen Elizabeth laid her wedding bouquet there at her own wedding and it will be a very touching moment if Catherine does something similar.
The most thrilling procession will be when William and Catherine leave the abbey as husband and wife and travel back to Buckingham Palace together, in a horse-drawn carriage, either closed or open as the weather permits. It is that route which we will go into detail about now.
The Royal Wedding Procession Route
Below is a short 3D Google map of the Wedding Procession Route. Let us know what you think about it below. We think it’s pretty amazing and gives a real feel of London and the route the happy couple will take.
A million wedding guests!
Over a million people are expected to line the wedding processional route from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. The best spots to see anything will probably be on the wide paths of The Mall or standing on the steps which lead up to the statue of the Duke of York in Carlton House Terrace. Expect them to be busy!
The procession will go along the Mall, down Horse Guards Parade into Whitehall and then will go around Parliament Square to Westminster Abbey on the way to the service and take exactly the same route on the way back. It is a short procession but on the way back from the wedding, the horse-drawn carriage will travel slowly to allow the thousands of well-wishers expected to throng the streets a chance to greet the happy couple.
There are several places of historical and architectural interest along the wedding procession route, such as the Palace of Westminster, where the House of Commons and the House of Lord sit. The procession will go pas the west face of the building, so Big Ben and its clock tower will be seen (Big Ben is actually a bell, although many people wrongly believe it is the clock).
Standing by the west side of the Houses of Parliament should give you a good view of the start of the wedding procession from Westminster Abbey.
From there, the procession will turn up Whitehall. Later, you can take the opportunity to check out the Churchill War Rooms in this area. Lying beneath the Treasury building, this is where the Prime Minister directed the British war effort between 1940 and 1945. They are perfectly preserved and offer an interesting insight into the war effort and Churchill the man. This is right beside Downing Street, which is of course worth a look at the current house of the serving Prime Minister.
After passing the Women of World War II monument on Whitehall, the procession will pass Horse Guards Parade. The mounted guard of the Household Cavalry will be there, guarding the royal family and the palace. There is a museum dedicated to them here where you can see the horses and hear about their training and that of the guards.
St. James’ Park, the oldest of the royal parks, is next on the route. It will probably be packed with people on Friday Carlton House Terrace runs parallel to the Mall and is a good place from which to see the procession. The British Academy and the Royal Society are both here, as is The Turf Club, Britain’s most exclusive Gentleman’s Club, of which Prince William is rumoured to hold membership.
From there, the procession will pass St. James’ Palace on Pall Mall. This is actually the Queen’s official residence where she lives most of the time. Clarence House is also part of the same massive residential complex. This is where Prince Charles. Prince William and Prince Harry all officially live at the moment.
The Kiss
Then they arrive back at Buckingham Palace and we wait to see Prince William and his new Princess appear on the balcony. Rumour has it that we will also see them kiss. Apparently, it has been officially scheduled!
