Thursday, Apr. 07, 2011

Westminster Abbey vs. St. Paul's Cathedral

According to the official website of St. Paul's Cathedral, Diana and Charles chose to marry there because they were on a "mission to become the people's prince and princess." Translation? They needed seating for a spectacle: St. Paul's Cathedral can hold 3,500 guests. But William and Kate have consistently said they want a scaled-back wedding and, according to the prince's private secretary, decided to become the 16th royal couple to marry at Westminster Abbey — capacity just 2,000 — "because of its staggering beauty, its 1,000 years of royal history and its relative intimacy despite its size." Any wedding day is emotional. But for William, getting married in Westminster Abbey has even more poignancy. His mother's funeral services were held there in 1997, when he was just 15 years old.