Royal couple ‘moved by affection’

Spectators have already begun to camp outside Westminster Abbey

Final preparations are taking place ahead of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in London on Friday.

It comes after the couple attended a rehearsal at Westminster Abbey with the bride’s parents and Prince Harry.

William is due to spend the evening with the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Harry while Miss Middleton and her family will gather at a hotel.

Meanwhile, St James’s Palace has confirmed the Syrian ambassador to London is due to attend the wedding.

The Queen is hosting an event for British and foreign royals on Thursday night.

The drinks reception and dinner is taking place at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, near Hyde Park, in central London.

Among those thought to be attending are the Duke of York and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Zara Phillips with her fiance, England rugby player Mike Tindall.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are expected to attend the reception before returning to Clarence House for their private dinner.

Some 50 foreign heads of state are among the 1,900 invited guests attending the wedding.

VisitBritain has predicted an extra 600,000 people will be in the capital on Friday, with some royal enthusiasts already beginning to pitch tents outside the abbey.

Guide to the occasion

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It is anticipated the events will be watched by up to two billion people worldwide on television. Thousands of media representatives have descended on London and makeshift studios have sprung up outside Buckingham Palace and along the wedding route.

At 1100 BST, a souvenir wedding programme will be available for downloading from the official Royal Wedding website. The booklet will be also be sold for £2 a copy along the processional route on the day of the wedding, with proceeds going to the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.

On Friday, a carriage procession will pass along The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, through Horse Guards Arch, along Whitehall, along the south side of Parliament Square and into Broad Sanctuary.

Up to 1,000 members of the military took part in a full-scale walk-through procession along the wedding route in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Later, the rehearsal saw the wedding party arrive at Westminster Abbey at 1930 BST in three silver-coloured people carriers with blacked-out windows.

The convoy, accompanied by police and security officials, drove into Dean’s Yard out of the sight of spectators but William and his fiancee, along with Harry, were captured leaving the vehicles by some TV crews.

Miss Middleton’s parents, Michael and Carole, had earlier left their Berkshire home for the drive to London, where they will be staying at the Goring hotel in Belgravia for the next three nights.

The abbey closed its doors to the public on Tuesday so that preparations could get under way.

Large containers of green cuttings have been arriving from the royal estates of Sandringham and Windsor and gardeners have set up an “avenue of trees” inside the abbey.

Six field maples and two hornbeams are to flank the route to the altar as part of Kate Middleton’s floral plans.

The Met Office says there is a 70% chance of rain on Friday, with heavier showers more likely later in the day. The forecasters expect temperatures will reach a high of 18C (64F).

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