The most sought-after invitations in the land are currently dropping through the letterboxes of the country's best connected households, and many more from ordinary walks of life who have come to know the royal couple through their work.But who exactly will be taking their places in the pews of Westminister Abbey when Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot?
Clarence House will not be issuing a final guest list, though there's been endless speculation about who will be attending.Reports are circulating that the Beckhams will be there. While these stories have not been confirmed, courtiers have said that a "small number" of celebrities are on the guest list.Among these could be Tara Palmer Tomkinson (below right) – daughter of Prince Charles' best friends Patti and Charles and Ben Fogle (below left), William's TV presenter and adventurer friend.The congregation will also contain a good proportion of soldiers and pilots, as well as 80 charity workers.These will no doubt include people involved with homeless charity Centrepoint, the child Bereavement Charity and the Tusk Trust conservation fund.The largest proportion of guests will be 1,000 friends and family.Likely to be remembered are Kate's former employers Belle and John Robinson – the owners of Jigsaw.
The couple let William and Kate stay at their villa in Mustique and Belle supported Kate in the press, saying Kate mucked in at Jigsaw and "wasn't precious".
ITN correspondent Tom Bradbury will also probably be there. He's known William for over a decade and when the couple gave their first interview together marking their engagement, they asked especially for Tom to conduct it.
He went out of his way, he said, to "make sure it was all relaxed enough for them to be themselves", and they were thrilled with the results. Kate also knows his jewellery designer wife Claire after collaborating with her on a Jigsaw project.
There might also be room for Kate's ex Rupert Finch, who has remained loyal by not talking about her.
And there's sure to be several of William's ex girlfriends, including Jecca Craig (below left), who first met William when he was 16.
The pair became close when William was staying in Kenya on his gap year – and both William and Kate have stayed at her Jecca's parents' Lewa Downs ranch.Guy Pelly (below right) - nightclub promoter who is busy planning the stag with Prince Harry – will probably be there.
And one certainity is William's former nanny Tiggy Pettifer – nee Legge-Bourke. Upon finding out about the engagement, the 45-year-old said: "It's just fan-flamingtastic and I am just thrilled for them," adding that she was "going to get a new hat".
Earl Spencer is also likely to be attend with his new fiancée, Canadian philanthropist Karen Gordon.
There will be 1,900 guests at Westminster Abbey. Of those, 600 will be invited to a reception hosted by the Queen, and 300 of those will go onto a private dinner hosted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
The royal set
- The Queen
- The Duke of Edinburgh
- Prince Charles
- The Duchess of Cornwall
- Princess Anne
- Timothy Lawrence
- Prince Andrew
- Prince Edward
- Sophie, Countess of Wessex
- Prince Harry
- Chelsy Davy, girlfriend of Harry
- Princess Beatrice
- Dave Clarke, boyfriend of Beatrice
- Princess Eugenie
- Lord Frederik Windsor, William's cousin
- Sophie Winkleman, Frederik's wife
- Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
- Lady Ella Windsor, their daughter
- Zara Phillips
- Mike Tindall, her fiancé
- Peter Phillips
- Autumn Phillips
- Earl Spencer, William's uncle and Princess Diana's brother
- Karen Gordon, Earl Spencer's fiancée
- Lady Kitty Spencer, Lady Eliza Spencer, Lady Amelia Spencer, his daughters
- Lady Jane Fellows, Princess Diana's sister
- Sarah McCorquodale, Princess Diana's sister
- Tom Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall's son
- Sarah Parker Bowles, his wife
- Laura Lopez, Duchess of Cornwall's daughter
- Harry Lopez, Laura's husband
- Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, daughter of Prince Charles' best friends Patti and Charles
- Santa Montefiore, Tara's sister
Kate's family and friends
- Michael Middleton, Carole Middleton, Kate's parents
- Pippa Middleton, Kate's sister
- James Middleton, Kate's brother
- Gary Goldsmith, Kate's uncle who lives in Ibiza
- Alicia Fox-Pitt, one of Kate's closest friends, who got her involved with the Sisterhood charity boat race
- Ben Fogle, adventurer and TV presenter friend of Kate and Wills
- Tom Bradbury, ITN political correspondent
- Bell Robinson, John Robinson , Jigsaw owners
- Olly Hicks, Kate's rower pal
- Sam Waley-Cohen, jockey who reunited Kate and Wills following their 2007 split
- Rupert Finch, Kate's ex-boyfriend
- Willem Marx, Kate's boyfriend at Marlborough
- Holly Branson, Sam Branson, Children of Richard Branson
Society pals
- George Percy, Duke of Northumberland's son and Pippa Middleton's flatmate at Edinburgh University
- Edward Innes-Ker, son of the Duke of Roxburghe, also shared a flat with Pippa
- Lady Catherine Percy, daughter of Duke of Northumberland and Wills and Kate's shooting partner
- Lady Melissa Percy, daughter of Duke of Northumberland
- Jack Mann, polo-playing pal of William
- JJ Jardine Petterson, ex boyfriend of Pippa Middleton
- Natasha Rufus Isaacs , daughter of the Marquess of Reading
- Viscount Erleigh sister of Natasha, who introduced Prince Harry to Chelsy
- Thomas van Straubenzee, went on tour with William in New Zealand in 2005
- Guy Pelly , club promoter who's helping organise the stag do
- Tom Inskip , aka 'Skippy' – Wills' redhad schoolpal who's also helping with the stag do
- Victoria Inskip, Tom's sister
- Ben Vestey, polo playing Eaton pal of Wills
- Archie Kenswick, heir to the Jardine Matheson Hong Kong trading house
- Harry Meade, son of Olympic gold medallist Richard Meade
- Luke Tomlinson, captain of England polo team
William's former loves
- Jecca Craig, First met Wills when she was 16
- Arabella Musgrave, daughter of Captain Musgrave, and head of Gucci PR
- Davina Duckworth-Chad, former model
- Rose Farquhar, aspiring actress and William's first love
- Ovilia Hunt, linked to William while he was at St Andrews
- Anna Sloan, American heiress who met Wills when she studied at Edinburgh University
- Natalie Hicks-Lobbecke , linked to Wills when she was part of the Beaufort Polo Club set a decade ago
