William, Kate Get Planning, Speculation Swirls
Updated at 7:19 a.m. Eastern.
Let the speculation begin: Will it be a spring or summer wedding? Will the future King and Queen of England chose to wed at London's historic St. Paul's Cathedral, or will it be the equally historic Westminster Abbey? Will it be a starkly simple affair, or will it be glittering and grand?
All this, and much more, is to be decided in the weeks and months to come, and as CBS' "The Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill reports, the real work begins Wednesday.
After spending last night basking in their post-engagement announcement glory together at Clarence House, just around the corner from Buckingham Palace, Prince William and fiancé Kate Middleton were to meet today with advisors to plan Britain's most anticipated wedding in decades.
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Prince William and Kate Middleton
"It's been really exciting. We've been talking about it for a long time so, for us, it's a real relief and it's really nice to be able to tell everybody," remarked the prince, seated Tuesday night beside his bride-to-be for the couple's first post-engagement television interview.
Prince William carried his mother's engagement ring in his backpack for three weeks before finally proposing last month while vacationing in Kenya. When asked, Kate said details about just how he popped the question - bended knee or otherwise - would remain private.
We do know Kate tried on the ring - it fit - and then she gave it back to her fiancé, for safe-keeping.
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For three weeks, the engagement remained their secret.
The announcement Tuesday even caught the Queen by surprise. She said she was delighted, as was the father of the groom.
"I am absolutely thrilled. They've been practicing long enough," said Prince Charles.
The Queen's reported elation comes after rumors and speculation in the British press in recent years that the British Monarch had been less than impressed with William's choice of women.
"The Queen doesn't know her, they've only met once," Ingrid Seward, a longtime royal watcher and editor of "Majesty" magazine told "The Early Show's" Hill. "But Prince Charles is extremely fond of her."
According to Seward, Middleton, is exactly what Britain's royal family needs to help shed its image of dust-covered pomp and circumstance. "An injection of glamour and beauty and youth is exactly what they need," she told Hill.
Prince Harry said he was "ecstatic" to finally have a sister, while William's future in-laws also couldn't be happier.
Just where and when their future together will begin isn't yet clear.
Planning a wedding in the midst of a recession presents unique challenges for Britain's royal family.
Even the Queen has had to make cuts in palace staff this year due to budget tightening, and the palace says they'll need to plan a wedding simple enough to be considered tasteful, yet grand enough to give the country a much-needed morale boost.
While the world awaits news on that front, Britain's souvenir makers have kicked into high-gear - already printing novelty plates to commemorate the royal wedding.
The bookies' favorite date is August 13, other safe bets are August 6 and July 30. The bet-takers say Westminster Abbey has emerged as the favorite venue over St. Paul's, with odds of 6 to 5, and the favored new title for the royal couple seems, at this stage, to be Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
More on the Royal Engagement:
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Engaged Couple Make Public Debut
Two Royal Weddings in One Season
A Look Back at Charles and Diana's Wedding
Royal Engagement Announced on Twitter
Middleton: Princess Diana is Inspirational
Engagement Sets off Media Frenzy
Kate Middleton Has Ties to Famous Americans
Photos:
Prince William and Kate Middleton
Kate Middleton
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Remembering Diana
Kate Middleton's American Relatives