The Queen will be among members of the Royal Family gathering in Edinburgh later for the wedding of her granddaughter Zara Phillips and England rugby star Mike Tindall.
The couple will exchange vows in a church in Scotland’s capital surrounded by their families and friends.
Their nuptials are set to be a low-key affair compared to the wedding three months ago of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, which was watched by a worldwide TV audience of hundreds of millions.
The doors of Canongate Kirk, where Tindall, 32, will first catch sight of his 30-year-old bride in her wedding gown, are to be closed to the press and public when the ceremony begins at 3pm.
But large crowds are still expected in Edinburgh’s Old Town to watch the arrival of the Royal Family.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will join Zara’s parents the Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips at the kirk.
Also believed to be attending are the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, William and Kate, Prince Harry, the Duke of York and his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Some of England’s top rugby players are also expected.
Like most modern brides Zara is expected to say she will “honour” her groom rather than “obey” when she exchanges marriage vows with him.
On Friday evening the couple were guests of honour at a black-tie party on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, permanently moored in Leith, Edinburgh.
The journey to the altar began last December when Tindall proposed to Zara at their £800,000 regency townhouse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, after they had been an item for the previous seven years.
The England rugby star, who has captained his country, had a stag do in Miami while his fiancee – one of Britain’s leading equestrian competitors – had her hen party at a spa in Portugal.
His best man is fellow England player Iain Balshaw and Zara’s maid of honour has not been announced but could be Autumn, the wife of her brother Peter Phillips, who was part of her hen do.
The wedding reception will be held in the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the official Scottish home of the Queen.
The couple are expected to postpone their honeymoon as Zara will be competing in the Gatcombe Park horse trials later this week and Tindall is likely to feature in an England rugby match against Wales next Saturday.
A spokeswoman for the royal would not divulge any details of the nuptials ahead of the event, stressing it was a private family affair.
Source : Orange
