Royal Wedding Invitation of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

 The official wedding invitation of Prince William

Last Thursday, February 17, 2011, the office of the Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, dispatched the official wedding invitations of Prince William to almost 1,800 invited guests. The invitation came in a royal tradition format using the monarch's insignia and symbol. EiiR means Elizabeth II, Regina (Elizabeth II, the Queen).

It is always a British royal tradition to designate the office of the Lord Chamberlain to do the task of creating and dispatching royal wedding invitations to the guests. So the invitation message is always under the name of the Lord Chamberlain, stating that Her Majesty, the Queen, commanded him to cordially invite selected guests to the occasion. 

The format is very simple accompanied by the initials of the Queen and the crown. Normally, it is the royal family who will decide the names of guests to be included in the list.

All members of the European royal families are expected to attend, but it is still uncertain how many invitations are given to the family of Catherine. It is a reality that any person who will marry a member of the British royal family has no freedom to select his or her guests. 

When Prince Philip married the Queen in 1947, he was only allowed to invite ten people and he was advised not to invite his royal German relatives including his sisters because of anti-German sentiments in England at that time. In 1981, Lady Diana Spencer was only allowed to invite less than 50 people out of the 1,800 invited guests.

Prince William's wedding invitation further stipulates that the guests are expected to wear a morning coat, formal dress, and hats for the ladies. The wedding will be on April 29, 2011, at 11:00 in the morning at Westminster Abbey, London. The Queen will host the traditional wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace because the Prince is a direct heir to the throne.

Wedding breakfast is the term used for the reception immediately following the wedding ceremony, irrespective of the time it is held. Prince Charles will be hosting the couple's wedding dinner reception.