Guessing Off-Base on Royal Wedding Performers?
Speculation about the entertainment when Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot in April has centered around the likes of Elton John and George Michael.
But that speculation may be skewing too old for the taste of the royal couple, someone in-the-know in Buckingham Palace.
Neil Sean told "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith Friday, "Here's a bit of inside gossip for you. You may have read in the U.S. press people like George Michael, Sir Elton John … he was offering his services. They (William and Kate) kind of think he's a little too old. They like a group -- their song, actually, is a track called "I Like the Way You Move," by The Body Rockers -- very cool!"
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Sean says William and Kate were planning a quiet New Year's Eve. "We're in a moment of austerity here, not just in Britain, of course, but around the world," Sean pointed out. "The palace had been quite secretive about what plans they have got. We do know they're down at their little home in Wales, and there's obviously gonna be a small celebration down there. But you're not going to see this big flash party. I think they're saving all their money for the wedding! So they haven't got too much to splash around. But obviously, it's going to be a nice new year for them, the start of their new life, obviously."
William, who's a helicopter rescue pilot, has the day off, but is on call, Sean says, adding, "Basically, if a major sort of rescue operation were needed, extra staff, he would have to go out and do that."
Sean says no one should expect William and Kate to suddenly burst upon the public stage. "A lot of people are sort of saying that are they easing Kate, or Katherine (as Buckingham Palace now wants her to be known) into the royal role," Sean observes. "She's not a titled lady or a titled member of the royal family until she becomes married, so she has no need to do that. What you saw a couple weeks ago, when she attended a concert with Prince William at Norfolk -- that was, of course, his invitation that he took her along. So, there's no sort of plans, basically. What you're gonna see a lot more of are her going for hair design meetings, dress meetings, cake meetings, everything a girl has to do to have the perfect wedding. So, don't expect too many royal engagements."
And Sean pooh-poohed stories saying the couple will be going without servants - at least not for their nuptials. "What you are going to see with them is, yeah, they're gonna be hands-on, but it's a royal wedding. Royal weddings are made around you. Kate will, of course, have a lot of say and everybody sort of defers a question like well, 'Look what poor Princess Diana went through.' But, remember, she was ten years younger. So I think Katherine is gonna be a little bit more hands-on. I'm not saying she's not gonna have any say. But there'll be very little. It's all planned around them."