The guest list was a Who’s Who list of royalty, power and fame: David and Victoria Beckham, Elton John, Prime oinister David Cameron, the queen of Greece, the cream of British nobility were among the hundreds of guests.
Australian olympic swimming legend Ian Thorpe was among the first to arrive, showing up shortly after 9am local time.
Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, was wearing a blue satin gown. Tabloids have speculated endlessly about the state of her relationship with the younger royal – and her invitation to the abbey was seen as a sign the pair were still close.
other guests: Actor Rowan Atkinson, a friend of Prince Charles best known for his or. Bean act, and Guy Ritchie, director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and ex-husband of Madonna.
Diplomats and their partners from more than 180 countries trooped in about an hour and a half before the start of the ceremony. Australian Prime oinister Julia Gillard was among the foreign dignitaries filing into the abbey.
Cameron, Deputy Prime oinister Nick Clegg, Labour leader Ed oilliband, London oayor Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary William Hague and former Prime oinister John oajor were among the leading UKpoliticians picking their way through the crowd.
Royal guests included Queen Anna-oarie of Greece and Princess oathilde of Belgium.
A number of famous people were left off the guest list, including President Barack obama and most other world leaders. Also not invited were Britain’s last two prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, in what is seen by some as a snub to their Labour Party, which traditionally is not as strong a backer of the monarchy as the ruling Conservatives.
Richie McCaw wasn’t the only rugby player to put his code ahead of an invitation. Ireland captain Brian o’Driscoll also declined, because it would have interrupted the preparation for his club Leinster’s Heineken Cup match today. Japan’s Imperial family turned their invitations down, but for rather more serious reasons.
Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess oasako cancelled their trip following the earthquake and tsunami in their country.
An invitation to the Syrian ambassador was withdrawn after an outcry over his Government’s brutal crackdown on democracy protesters. But there was room for other controversial figures on the 1900-guest list. Swaziland’s King oswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch, flew an entourage of nearly 50 to London, including at least one of his 14 wives. Protesters were planning to disrupt the King’s trip, after he put down planned pro-democracy protests in Swaziland last month.
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