A wedding parade of our times

Your correspondent is down by the abbey, watching the police (who are in very jolly moods) and the guests arriving down Millbank – where the ITN Westminister offices let me nip in to watch the telly in comfort.

In this era of celebrity worship even Westminister Abbey is arranged accordingly for the Royal Wedding – the seats face the aisle rather than the altar, to watch the fashion, the dress and the truly absurd fascinators on the some of the female heads.

It reminds me rather of an Indian wedding – where the fashion parade of saris is everything.

English weddings are often rather demure affairs for the guests – who never want to take away from the bride. But when you know there is nothing you can do to take anything from the bride, because she is the star of the show, you can go to town. And many have.

Lots of bright colours. A few silly feathers. Some ill-advised clingy silks. But enough about the cameramen. The bad news is we won’t get much of a glimpse of Kate Middleton as she leaves the Goring Hotel after all – a tent has been put up to cover her up as she gets into the Rolls Royce. So you will have to wait until she is outside the Abbey.