It’s thanks to Donald Trump that the myth of Obama as a sinister alien gathered strength – and seems doomed to continue A couple of years ago I was noting with astonishment on this page that 28% of American Republicans believed Barack Obama had not been born in the United States and was therefore ineligible to be president. A further 30% of Republicans were “not sure”, despite the fact that Obama’s birth in Honolulu on 4 August 1961 had been officially registered with the authorities at the time and his birth certificate published in two Hawaiian newspapers. What, I wondered, could persuade these millions of Americans to accept a fact that had been repeatedly investigated and verified? The answer seems to be nothing. No opinion poll has been published on the question since Obama produced his birth certificate for inspection this week; but a poll carried out by CBS News and the New York Times only a week ago showed that the percentage of Republicans believing that he was born in another country had risen to a staggering 45% (and that a quarter of all Americans, including Democrats, were of the same view). This willful denial of a seemingly incontrovertible truth is bewildering. But the myth of the president as a sinister alien and secret subversive has gathered new strength since its adoption by Donald Trump, the real-estate tycoon who is wondering whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination. Obama may have hoped that Trump would be chastened by the sight of his birth certificate, but, if so, he was to be disappointed. “Today, I’m very proud of myself because I accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish,” Trump said, claiming responsibility for its publication. And he promised he would still go on digging into the president’s past, despite the media’s efforts to “protect” him. His next target would be Obama’s college records. Obama had reputedly been “a terrible student” at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said Trump, but he had nevertheless gone on to both Columbia and Harvard universities. “How do you get into Harvard if you’re not a good student?” he asked. Like other leading “birthers”, as those questioning Obama’s origins are called, Trump also refused to accept the birth certificate at face value. He would examine it for authenticity, he said; as did Joseph Farah, the editor of an Obama-obsessed website, who declared that “it raises far more questions than it answers”. Another prominent Obama critic, Orly Taitz, questioned the certificate’s authenticity because it gave Obama’s father’s race as “African”. “It sounds like it would be written today, in the age of political correctness, and not in 1961, when they wrote white or Asian or ‘Negro’,” Taitz said. Be that as it may, the controversy seems doomed to continue. As the Washington Post put it yesterday: “Conspiracy theories have the self-sustaining gift of ramification: they sprout new tendrils, like a mad vine that has invaded from another continent. For the committed conspiracy theorist, there is always another angle to explore, another anomaly to scrutinize.” But in America, unfortunately, the conspiracy theorists are not just a few crazy people but millions of supposedly normal ones. The level of political debate in Britain is often dismal, as when an historic reform of the voting system is discussed mainly in terms of what it would cost and which political party it would hurt the most. But the world’s greatest democracy seems to take the cake. Tyrannical instincts Pride in our western civilisation, with its democratic and liberal values, is to be encouraged, but we shouldn’t overestimate its appeal to others. I remember in the late 1970s sitting with the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, in her garden in Delhi as she talked nostalgically about her old friends in the British Labour party and the bookshops on Charing Cross Road and thinking how odd it was that this same woman had imposed a state of emergency on her country and was ruling it by decree. Then there is Saif Gaddafi, described recently by his professor at the London School of Economics as “someone who looks to democracy, civil society and deep liberal values for the core of his inspiration”, now helping his father in the bloody repression of his people so as to preserve the family dictatorship. Then there is Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria. He is an ophthalmologist, looks like an ophthalmologist, and trained at the Western Eye Hospital in London. But his gentle appearance and his experience of the British way of life haven’t stopped him becoming a tyrannical monster. It’s only the royal protocol we need to change The Syrian ambassador to London, Sami Khiyami, speaks very soothingly on television, knows to call Jeremy Paxman “Jeremy” at every opportunity, and comes across as a man of wisdom and moderation. But he is an apologist for the vicious crackdown in Syria, and I am very glad that he won’t, after all, be allowed to attend today’s royal wedding. The invitation extended to him, but bizarrely denied to two former Labour prime ministers, has been explained by reference to rules of protocol that now clearly need to be changed. What sense does it make that only ex-prime ministers who are Knights of the Garter should be asked? But the wedding should not be criticised, as it has been by some, for presenting the world with an old-fashioned image of Britain. A country that rejects its history in order to appear cool and modern simply looks pathetic. Consider the reverence the Americans have for theirs? Obama administration United States US politics Barack Obama Donald Trump Indira Gandhi Bashar Al-Assad Syria Libya Alexander Chancellor guardian.co.uk
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Barbican Pit, London Told By An Idiot is a company that, since 1993, has achieved a reputation for wild, innovative comedy. Now, in a show conceived by Hayley Carmichael and Paul Hunter, they tackle politics for the first time. But, while I applaud the intention, I have mixed feelings about the result. While they cite Dario Fo as one of their sources, the show’s creators give no sign of possessing the Italian maestro’s strong ideological convictions that allow him to wring laughter out of murder and terrorism. What we are presented with here is a number of intersecting narratives all concerned with political violence. A student decides to attack bourgeois complacency by setting fire to a dog. Another revolutionary conceals an explosive device under her jumper as if it were a baby. And, in a direct echo of Hitchcock’s Sabotage and Conrad’s The Secret Agent, a guilt-ridden anarchist gets a young boy to transport a bomb across London in a suitcase. If anything binds the stories together, it is that the ultimate destination for most of the characters is the fifth-floor cafe of Grace’s department store from Are You Being Served? Along the way, there are one or two inspired touches. One particular scene in which the pussy-fixated Mrs Slocombe and the camp Mr Humphries exchange their familiar English innuendoes in German has a surreal madness. I also liked the idea of a group of Italian circus acrobats who, when held hostage by Protestant terrorists, drive their captors to suicide by their unstoppably cheery singing. And the scenes borrowed from Sabotage gain extra piquancy by the fact that the characters are mouthing words which are being spoken by off-stage actors into microphones. The dialogue even acquires the double entendres of the department store sitcom: at one Mr Verloc nervously looks out of the window and sees “two policemen across the street, one of them licking an Orange Maid”. But I constantly found myself asking what point the show was trying to make. It proves that, on a technical level, you can persuade an audience to laugh at the intractable subject of bomb-throwing violence. But I sense none of the political passion you get in a work like Accidental Death of an Anarchist where Fo builds farce out of police brutality. Admittedly the 90-minute piece is performed with quick-change versatility by Nick Haverson, Bettrys Jones, Martin Hyder, Annie Fitzmaurice and Jane Guernier and inventively directed by Hunter himself. But the lack of any identifiable viewpoint means that the show, however vivaciously performed by Told By An Idiot, ends up signifying nothing. Rating: 3/5 Theatre Michael Billington guardian.co.uk
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Ceasefire fails to hold as one Thai soldier killed and four wounded in fighting near ancient temples One Thai soldier has died and four wounded in further clashes on a disputed stretch of border between Thailand and Cambodia, a Thai military spokesman said, as a newly agreed ceasefire failed to hold. At least 16 people have died in the fighting over the past week, centred on ancient temples at two points on the border. Thai regional army commander Thawatchat Samutsakorn told Reuters four soldiers were wounded during two clashes involving guns and grenades, which he said had been started by the Cambodian side. “We are in close contact with Cambodia now and while gunfights broke out, it was not a major clash like before, so I consider this an improvement,” he said. “But it also shows tension is still there and we have to monitor the situation closely for another two or three days.” The ceasefire agreed on Thursday was supposed to end seven days of sporadic artillery and small-rocket fire that had fanned nationalist passions in both countries. Cambodia’s defence ministry said the two sides had agreed to keep troops in the area, hold regular meetings between field commanders and leave their territorial disputes to a joint demarcation commission. They also agreed to open border checkpoints near two disputed 12th-century Hindu temples at the heart of the fighting, although it was unclear when villagers would be allowed back to their remote, ravaged towns. More than 60,000 people have been evacuated during the fighting. Thailand Cambodia guardian.co.uk
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British national said to be among dozens injured in Marrakech cafe blast, as William Hague condemns terrorist bombing British embassy officials are trying to establish if any UK citizens were caught up in a terrorist bombing that ripped through a cafe in a popular Moroccan tourist spot , killing at least 15 people. The foreign secretary, William Hague, sent his condolences to the families of the victims, mostly foreign visitors, of Thursday’s attack. There was no official indication from the Moroccan authorities to verify a media report that one Briton was among the dead in the worst attack there in eight years. One British national was said by the casualty unit chief at Marrakech’s main Tofail Hospital to be among dozens injured by the blast. Gas canisters were initially blamed for the massive explosion in the main Jamaa-el-Fnaa square, which is well-known for its snake-charmers, fire-breathers and story-tellers. Within a short time, however, a Moroccan government spokesman said it had been a terrorist attack but it was too soon to lay the blame on any particular group. British tourists described how the front of the cafe had been blown away during the busy lunchtime period and the first floor left in ruins. Hague said he was “shocked and saddened” at yesterday’s “deeply worrying” attack. “I offer my condolences to all those who have lost relatives or been injured. Initial reports that this may have been a result of terrorism are deeply worrying. All acts of terrorism are utterly reprehensible. “British officials are in contact with the Moroccan authorities to establish the facts and to provide consular support to any British nationals who may have been caught up in the blast.” Ambassador Tim Morris was travelling to Marrakech to bolster the team there, he said. Andy Birnie, of north London, who is on his honeymoon in the city, witnessed the blast in the square. He said: “There was a huge bang, and lots of smoke went up. There was debris raining down from the sky. Hundreds of people were running in panic, some towards the cafe, some away from the square. The whole front of the cafe is blown away. “It was lunchtime so the square was very busy. We had just walked into the square, but were shielded by some stalls.” Another Briton, Hugo Somersham-Jones, who lives near the square, told the BBC: “It sounded like a bomb. I went outside and saw smoke and got to the cafe and saw falling masonry. I came out to the main square and saw the first floor of the cafe in ruins. “People had fire extinguishers, trying to put out the fire, and others were pulling people out from the building. It was pretty bad.” At least two French nationals were among the casualties, although it was not clear whether they were dead or wounded, officials in Paris said. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said the US condemned the attack “in the strongest terms”. She added: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims of this cowardly attack and stand with the people of Morocco at this difficult time.” Germany, which said none of its citizens had been injured, said the attack “must not lead to the reform process that has been initiated in Morocco being undermined”. Morocco Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
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Police tactics condemned after officers and protesters injured during overnight disturbances in Bristol city centre Police officers and protesters were injured in Bristol after further demonstrations against a Tesco store in the city centre turned violent. Problems began when bottles were thrown at officers in Cheltenham Road in Stokes Croft. The disturbances, which began around 1am on Friday according to eyewitnesses, took place after a peaceful event earlier in the evening. Avon and Somerset police said officers moved in to “contain a group of protesters” who were wearing masks and throwing bottles. A number of officers were injured, the force said. However, police tactics have been condemned by protesters. Richard Ayres, 39, told the BBC: “I received three blows to my legs and a blow to my head for which I have received hospital treatment.” He said he joined the protest to “show solidarity to those who had been treated violently” during previous protests last week. Mr Ayres claimed mounted police “rushed down the middle of the street” after Cheltenham Road was closed at about midnight. “We were knocked to the side by them and were then shoved back by riot police with helmets, shields, truncheons and dogs,” he said. “I remonstrated with them peacefully, flabbergasted at the sudden turn of events.” Police said neighbourhood officers were “actively engaging” with what was a peaceful gathering earlier in the evening outside the squat known as the Telepathic Heights. However, reinforcements were called in after a number of people became violent, put on masks and began throwing bottles at police. Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said: “Unfortunately a number of people attended this event to incite violence and cause criminal damage. “We will not tolerate this behaviour in our communities. Our primary concern is to keep people safe. “Throughout the week our neighbourhood officers have received the message from local residents and businesses that they do not want any further disruption. “There was further evidence of this earlier this evening during the buildup to the trouble. “A minority have clearly been intent on creating a volatile situation and committing criminal acts of disorder. We are taking swift and robust action to arrest those responsible.” Rick Palmer, service director at Bristol City Council, said: “What we have seen tonight is totally unacceptable behaviour which is clearly not supported by local people.” Last night’s skirmishes happened six days after a riot in same area when about 160 officers in riot gear swooped on a house to arrest four people they said were “a real threat to the local community”. The crowd dug up cobbles to throw at the police and a branch of Tesco Metro, which has been subject of a campaign to prevent its recent opening, was petrol-bombed. Protest Tesco guardian.co.uk
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They run workshops combating al-Qaida propaganda and face personal danger promoting moderate Islam. Haroon Siddique meets the Muslim women
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Live coverage of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey throughout the day 7.28am: Adam Gabbatt is on the Mall with the freezing crowds: Thousands of people are lining the Mall, which has been cordoned off on both sides with metal barriers, and almost every single one is bearing a union flag of some sort – OK! branded flags being particularly prevalent. Key points near Horse Guards Parade are already getting congested with revellers, many of whom have been camped out overnight. The area along the Mall is well furnished with portable toilets, some will be pleased to know, but only one small cafe van, which surely will struggle to meet demand. After a cold start to the day it’s warming up quickly, although a little overcast. At the moment crowds are amusing themselves by cheering police motorbikes, which are driving away from Buckingham Palace. Prince William will be driven down here just after 10 – if all goes to plan for the last time as a single man. Adam will be spending the day out and about among the crowds, tweeting and posting video and audio as he meets people along the way. His journey will be mapped out below as he goes . Navigate around the map and timeline to experience the royal wedding with him. _ 7.21am: My colleague Hannah Waldram is here with the weather: With a cloudy start to the day, forecasters predict lunchtime showers for the capital that could put a dampener on the royal wedding kiss – planned for the balcony of Buckingham Palace at 1.25pm. But Tom Morgan, a weather forecaster at the Met Office, said there was no risk of showers before lunchtime. The forecast for London today is a largely cloudy start to the day. Morgan said: “Generally it’s going to be dry and we are going to see a brightening up with some sunny spells. At lunchtime and the early part of the afternoon there’s about a 30% risk of some showers scattered about. If you catch one of those showers it might be quite heavy.” Morgan said the risk of showers would be mainly between 1-3pm for Londoners. The Press Association reports that the royal couple will travel from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in the open-top 1902 State Landau whatever the weather. The original plan was that they use the covered Glass Coach if it was raining. The afternoon promises a rise in temperatures (up to 19C) and some more sunny spells and dry weather as we head towards the early evening. The weather looks set to be kinder to other parts of the UK – including St Andrews in Fife, where the couple met as undergraduates. The area will host a wedding breakfast party with an expected 1,500 guests is forecast to be bathed in sunshine. 7.16am: Marina Hyde of the Guardian’s Lost in (Royal) Showbiz column has emailed with her first bulletin: Stuff that’s happened on ITV’s troubled breakfast show Daybreak: the programme began at 0600 hours, but we somehow got all the way to 6.16am before sofa guest Eve Pollard gave what may well be today’s first command by a “royal expert” to Kate’s uterus. “We want an Olympic baby,” she declared firmly. I literally can’t believe I’ve got to get through today sober … And re this much quoted “global television audience of 2bn” – is this a bit like when they say the Baftas are going to be seen “by a global television audience of 1bn”, and then afterwards it turns out that one in six people on the planet watching celebs shiver up the Leicester Square red carpet in the rain was a bit optimistic? A few years ago the LA Times touched on this in the context of the far more gigantic Academy Awards, quoting the Oscars executive director Bruce Davis as saying: “There has never been a television event in the history of the world that has had a billion viewers – it’s a handy number to throw around but it’s not true.” 7.02am: Thousands of well-wishers have lined the mile-and-a-half route to Westminster Abbey this morning, Stephen Bates, Sandra Laville and Lee Glendinning report . Yesterday evening, Prince William met the crowds waiting on the Mall, shaking hands and telling delighted members of the public he was focusing on “remembering the lines” for the “big day”. The Press Association news agency has more: Friends Sue Heppell, 59, Susie Record, 67, and Ann Burch, 65, travelled from Newcastle to find a good spot outside Clarence House at midday yesterday. Mrs Record said she had met William last night and he had seemed very relaxed about his impending nuptials. “He asked us whether we were sleeping out,” she said. “He didn’t seem surprised.” The Middleton family spent the evening quietly at the Goring hotel near Buckingham Palace, which was cordoned off with a marquee shielding the entrance so that the bride will be able to slip unobserved into one of Buckingham Palace’s Rolls Royces for her journey to the abbey at precisely 10.51am this morning. Her dress will not be revealed until she arrives at the abbey nine minutes later. The designer Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen appeared to have entered the hotel in disguise yesterday afternoon, suggesting she may have designed the dress. Other designers named as possible candidates are Jasper Conran and Bruce Oldfield . William will wear the red uniform of the Irish Guards of which he is colonel. The police and intelligence services launched an unprecedented security operation in London. Scotland Yard carried out a series of dawn raids, arresting 20 people in five squats across the capital. 7.00am: The rehearsals are over, the bunting is out , and the tasteful memorabilia is on display. And that’s just here at the Guardian, where, as you can imagine, we are gripped with royal wedding fever. Hopefully it’s just a 24-hour thing. The word’s media has arrived, unwelcome ambassadors have been disinvited , protests have been called on and called off , and at last the big day has arrived. And it wouldn’t be a national occasion without a live blog, so welcome to our coverage. We’ll be all over the service, the procession, the dress, the kiss, the fly-past, the parties – and all the rights and wrongs of royalism and republicanism – right here, all day. I’m not on my own. The Guardian has deployed a cast of several in order to bring you the top wedding news: Esther Addley is with the most ardent royalists camping out on the Mall, Adam Gabbatt has travelled down from Manchester with a coachload of revellers and is now tweeting his way around the capital . Hadley Freeman will be on hand from New York to share the full horror of the US media spectacle while Vicky Frost does the same for the UK, Kate Carter will cast her eye over all the outfits and our fashion guru Jess Cartner-Morley will give her verdict on The Dress. Crime correspondent Sandra Laville is at Scotland Yard keeping an eye on the security situation and Steven Morris has the view from Kate Middleton’s home village. We’re on the procession route too: Sam Jones is on Whitehall, while Peter Walker has the best view of the Buck House balcony from his vantage point at the Victoria memorial. Meanwhile, our man in morning dress is Stephen Bates , who has secured his place in the pews and will be reporting from inside Westminster Abbey. Finally, our Lost in (Royal) Showbiz columnist Marina Hyde will be on hand to give us a healthy dose of Guardian scepticism to keep us all in check. As if we could possibly get over-excited about a mere wedding. If even this gently sceptical tone is just too much then click on the top-right button on the Guardian home page: all our royal coverage melts magically away. There’s plenty of proper news for you to get stuck into. For those of you who remain, pull up a velvet cushion and break out the Babycham: here’s how we expect things to develop. Timetable 8am-9.45am: Congregation begins to arrive at Westminster Abbey. 10.10am: Prince William and Prince Harry leave Clarence House for the Abbey. 10.25am: Royals begin to leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey. 10.50am: Kate Middleton and her father leave Goring Hotel. 11am: Marriage service begins . 12.15pm: Marriage service over, the carriage procession leaves the Abbey for Buckingham Palace. 1.25pm: William and Kate appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with their families. 1.30pm: Fly-past by RAF and Battle of Britain memorial flight. Afternoon to around 3.30pm: Private afternoon reception hosted by the Queen. 7pm onwards: Private evening reception hosted by Prince Charles. The route to and from Westminster Abbey will take in The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Square, and Broad Sanctuary. Here’s a map of the route. The service will be broadcast through speakers along the route, and there are giant screens in Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square. There are more details on the royal wedding website here . The full programme and order of service is available online here (with a nice drawing of the route on pages four and five) and here . The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, John Hall, and the couple will be married by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, will give the address. Philippa Middleton, Kate’s sister, will be the maid of honour, while Prince Harry will be his brother’s best man. The bridesmaids and page boys are all young children, and mostly relatives. The music will be performed by two choirs, two fanfare teams and one orchestra: the choir of Westminster Abbey, the choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, the fanfare team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and the London Chamber Orchestra. More details of the musicians can be found here . Around 1,900 people have been invited, including 1,000 of the couple’s family and friends, as well as members of foreign royal families, politicians, diplomats, foreign leaders “from the Realms”, royal staff, and representatives from the armed forces, William’s charities, the Church of England and other religions. Around 650 people have been invited to the lunch reception hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and around 300 to the dinner Prince Charles is hosting in the early evening. The first royal wedding of the social networking age has quite properly got not only its own website , but also its own Twitter account , Facebook page , Flickr site and YouTube channel , which will be broadcasting the service live. Watch out if you sign up for that Facebook page; the resulting message “X likes the British monarchy” may come as an unwelcome surprise to some of your friends. There’s a map of the wedding route here , and information for those visiting London today here . Royal wedding Prince William Kate Middleton Monarchy Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
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Live coverage of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey throughout the day 7.28am: Adam Gabbatt is on the Mall with the freezing crowds: Thousands of people are lining the Mall, which has been cordoned off on both sides with metal barriers, and almost every single one is bearing a union flag of some sort – OK! branded flags being particularly prevalent. Key points near Horse Guards Parade are already getting congested with revellers, many of whom have been camped out overnight. The area along the Mall is well furnished with portable toilets, some will be pleased to know, but only one small cafe van, which surely will struggle to meet demand. After a cold start to the day it’s warming up quickly, although a little overcast. At the moment crowds are amusing themselves by cheering police motorbikes, which are driving away from Buckingham Palace. Prince William will be driven down here just after 10 – if all goes to plan for the last time as a single man. Adam will be spending the day out and about among the crowds, tweeting and posting video and audio as he meets people along the way. His journey will be mapped out below as he goes . Navigate around the map and timeline to experience the royal wedding with him. _ 7.21am: My colleague Hannah Waldram is here with the weather: With a cloudy start to the day, forecasters predict lunchtime showers for the capital that could put a dampener on the royal wedding kiss – planned for the balcony of Buckingham Palace at 1.25pm. But Tom Morgan, a weather forecaster at the Met Office, said there was no risk of showers before lunchtime. The forecast for London today is a largely cloudy start to the day. Morgan said: “Generally it’s going to be dry and we are going to see a brightening up with some sunny spells. At lunchtime and the early part of the afternoon there’s about a 30% risk of some showers scattered about. If you catch one of those showers it might be quite heavy.” Morgan said the risk of showers would be mainly between 1-3pm for Londoners. The Press Association reports that the royal couple will travel from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in the open-top 1902 State Landau whatever the weather. The original plan was that they use the covered Glass Coach if it was raining. The afternoon promises a rise in temperatures (up to 19C) and some more sunny spells and dry weather as we head towards the early evening. The weather looks set to be kinder to other parts of the UK – including St Andrews in Fife, where the couple met as undergraduates. The area will host a wedding breakfast party with an expected 1,500 guests is forecast to be bathed in sunshine. 7.16am: Marina Hyde of the Guardian’s Lost in (Royal) Showbiz column has emailed with her first bulletin: Stuff that’s happened on ITV’s troubled breakfast show Daybreak: the programme began at 0600 hours, but we somehow got all the way to 6.16am before sofa guest Eve Pollard gave what may well be today’s first command by a “royal expert” to Kate’s uterus. “We want an Olympic baby,” she declared firmly. I literally can’t believe I’ve got to get through today sober … And re this much quoted “global television audience of 2bn” – is this a bit like when they say the Baftas are going to be seen “by a global television audience of 1bn”, and then afterwards it turns out that one in six people on the planet watching celebs shiver up the Leicester Square red carpet in the rain was a bit optimistic? A few years ago the LA Times touched on this in the context of the far more gigantic Academy Awards, quoting the Oscars executive director Bruce Davis as saying: “There has never been a television event in the history of the world that has had a billion viewers – it’s a handy number to throw around but it’s not true.” 7.02am: Thousands of well-wishers have lined the mile-and-a-half route to Westminster Abbey this morning, Stephen Bates, Sandra Laville and Lee Glendinning report . Yesterday evening, Prince William met the crowds waiting on the Mall, shaking hands and telling delighted members of the public he was focusing on “remembering the lines” for the “big day”. The Press Association news agency has more: Friends Sue Heppell, 59, Susie Record, 67, and Ann Burch, 65, travelled from Newcastle to find a good spot outside Clarence House at midday yesterday. Mrs Record said she had met William last night and he had seemed very relaxed about his impending nuptials. “He asked us whether we were sleeping out,” she said. “He didn’t seem surprised.” The Middleton family spent the evening quietly at the Goring hotel near Buckingham Palace, which was cordoned off with a marquee shielding the entrance so that the bride will be able to slip unobserved into one of Buckingham Palace’s Rolls Royces for her journey to the abbey at precisely 10.51am this morning. Her dress will not be revealed until she arrives at the abbey nine minutes later. The designer Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen appeared to have entered the hotel in disguise yesterday afternoon, suggesting she may have designed the dress. Other designers named as possible candidates are Jasper Conran and Bruce Oldfield . William will wear the red uniform of the Irish Guards of which he is colonel. The police and intelligence services launched an unprecedented security operation in London. Scotland Yard carried out a series of dawn raids, arresting 20 people in five squats across the capital. 7.00am: The rehearsals are over, the bunting is out , and the tasteful memorabilia is on display. And that’s just here at the Guardian, where, as you can imagine, we are gripped with royal wedding fever. Hopefully it’s just a 24-hour thing. The word’s media has arrived, unwelcome ambassadors have been disinvited , protests have been called on and called off , and at last the big day has arrived. And it wouldn’t be a national occasion without a live blog, so welcome to our coverage. We’ll be all over the service, the procession, the dress, the kiss, the fly-past, the parties – and all the rights and wrongs of royalism and republicanism – right here, all day. I’m not on my own. The Guardian has deployed a cast of several in order to bring you the top wedding news: Esther Addley is with the most ardent royalists camping out on the Mall, Adam Gabbatt has travelled down from Manchester with a coachload of revellers and is now tweeting his way around the capital . Hadley Freeman will be on hand from New York to share the full horror of the US media spectacle while Vicky Frost does the same for the UK, Kate Carter will cast her eye over all the outfits and our fashion guru Jess Cartner-Morley will give her verdict on The Dress. Crime correspondent Sandra Laville is at Scotland Yard keeping an eye on the security situation and Steven Morris has the view from Kate Middleton’s home village. We’re on the procession route too: Sam Jones is on Whitehall, while Peter Walker has the best view of the Buck House balcony from his vantage point at the Victoria memorial. Meanwhile, our man in morning dress is Stephen Bates , who has secured his place in the pews and will be reporting from inside Westminster Abbey. Finally, our Lost in (Royal) Showbiz columnist Marina Hyde will be on hand to give us a healthy dose of Guardian scepticism to keep us all in check. As if we could possibly get over-excited about a mere wedding. If even this gently sceptical tone is just too much then click on the top-right button on the Guardian home page: all our royal coverage melts magically away. There’s plenty of proper news for you to get stuck into. For those of you who remain, pull up a velvet cushion and break out the Babycham: here’s how we expect things to develop. Timetable 8am-9.45am: Congregation begins to arrive at Westminster Abbey. 10.10am: Prince William and Prince Harry leave Clarence House for the Abbey. 10.25am: Royals begin to leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey. 10.50am: Kate Middleton and her father leave Goring Hotel. 11am: Marriage service begins . 12.15pm: Marriage service over, the carriage procession leaves the Abbey for Buckingham Palace. 1.25pm: William and Kate appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with their families. 1.30pm: Fly-past by RAF and Battle of Britain memorial flight. Afternoon to around 3.30pm: Private afternoon reception hosted by the Queen. 7pm onwards: Private evening reception hosted by Prince Charles. The route to and from Westminster Abbey will take in The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Square, and Broad Sanctuary. Here’s a map of the route. The service will be broadcast through speakers along the route, and there are giant screens in Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square. There are more details on the royal wedding website here . The full programme and order of service is available online here (with a nice drawing of the route on pages four and five) and here . The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, John Hall, and the couple will be married by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, will give the address. Philippa Middleton, Kate’s sister, will be the maid of honour, while Prince Harry will be his brother’s best man. The bridesmaids and page boys are all young children, and mostly relatives. The music will be performed by two choirs, two fanfare teams and one orchestra: the choir of Westminster Abbey, the choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, the fanfare team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and the London Chamber Orchestra. More details of the musicians can be found here . Around 1,900 people have been invited, including 1,000 of the couple’s family and friends, as well as members of foreign royal families, politicians, diplomats, foreign leaders “from the Realms”, royal staff, and representatives from the armed forces, William’s charities, the Church of England and other religions. Around 650 people have been invited to the lunch reception hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and around 300 to the dinner Prince Charles is hosting in the early evening. The first royal wedding of the social networking age has quite properly got not only its own website , but also its own Twitter account , Facebook page , Flickr site and YouTube channel , which will be broadcasting the service live. Watch out if you sign up for that Facebook page; the resulting message “X likes the British monarchy” may come as an unwelcome surprise to some of your friends. There’s a map of the wedding route here , and information for those visiting London today here . Royal wedding Prince William Kate Middleton Monarchy Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
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Live coverage of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey throughout the day 7.28am: Adam Gabbatt is on the Mall with the freezing crowds: Thousands of people are lining the Mall, which has been cordoned off on both sides with metal barriers, and almost every single one is bearing a union flag of some sort – OK! branded flags being particularly prevalent. Key points near Horse Guards Parade are already getting congested with revellers, many of whom have been camped out overnight. The area along the Mall is well furnished with portable toilets, some will be pleased to know, but only one small cafe van, which surely will struggle to meet demand. After a cold start to the day it’s warming up quickly, although a little overcast. At the moment crowds are amusing themselves by cheering police motorbikes, which are driving away from Buckingham Palace. Prince William will be driven down here just after 10 – if all goes to plan for the last time as a single man. Adam will be spending the day out and about among the crowds, tweeting and posting video and audio as he meets people along the way. His journey will be mapped out below as he goes . Navigate around the map and timeline to experience the royal wedding with him. _ 7.21am: My colleague Hannah Waldram is here with the weather: With a cloudy start to the day, forecasters predict lunchtime showers for the capital that could put a dampener on the royal wedding kiss – planned for the balcony of Buckingham Palace at 1.25pm. But Tom Morgan, a weather forecaster at the Met Office, said there was no risk of showers before lunchtime. The forecast for London today is a largely cloudy start to the day. Morgan said: “Generally it’s going to be dry and we are going to see a brightening up with some sunny spells. At lunchtime and the early part of the afternoon there’s about a 30% risk of some showers scattered about. If you catch one of those showers it might be quite heavy.” Morgan said the risk of showers would be mainly between 1-3pm for Londoners. The Press Association reports that the royal couple will travel from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in the open-top 1902 State Landau whatever the weather. The original plan was that they use the covered Glass Coach if it was raining. The afternoon promises a rise in temperatures (up to 19C) and some more sunny spells and dry weather as we head towards the early evening. The weather looks set to be kinder to other parts of the UK – including St Andrews in Fife, where the couple met as undergraduates. The area will host a wedding breakfast party with an expected 1,500 guests is forecast to be bathed in sunshine. 7.16am: Marina Hyde of the Guardian’s Lost in (Royal) Showbiz column has emailed with her first bulletin: Stuff that’s happened on ITV’s troubled breakfast show Daybreak: the programme began at 0600 hours, but we somehow got all the way to 6.16am before sofa guest Eve Pollard gave what may well be today’s first command by a “royal expert” to Kate’s uterus. “We want an Olympic baby,” she declared firmly. I literally can’t believe I’ve got to get through today sober … And re this much quoted “global television audience of 2bn” – is this a bit like when they say the Baftas are going to be seen “by a global television audience of 1bn”, and then afterwards it turns out that one in six people on the planet watching celebs shiver up the Leicester Square red carpet in the rain was a bit optimistic? A few years ago the LA Times touched on this in the context of the far more gigantic Academy Awards, quoting the Oscars executive director Bruce Davis as saying: “There has never been a television event in the history of the world that has had a billion viewers – it’s a handy number to throw around but it’s not true.” 7.02am: Thousands of well-wishers have lined the mile-and-a-half route to Westminster Abbey this morning, Stephen Bates, Sandra Laville and Lee Glendinning report . Yesterday evening, Prince William met the crowds waiting on the Mall, shaking hands and telling delighted members of the public he was focusing on “remembering the lines” for the “big day”. The Press Association news agency has more: Friends Sue Heppell, 59, Susie Record, 67, and Ann Burch, 65, travelled from Newcastle to find a good spot outside Clarence House at midday yesterday. Mrs Record said she had met William last night and he had seemed very relaxed about his impending nuptials. “He asked us whether we were sleeping out,” she said. “He didn’t seem surprised.” The Middleton family spent the evening quietly at the Goring hotel near Buckingham Palace, which was cordoned off with a marquee shielding the entrance so that the bride will be able to slip unobserved into one of Buckingham Palace’s Rolls Royces for her journey to the abbey at precisely 10.51am this morning. Her dress will not be revealed until she arrives at the abbey nine minutes later. The designer Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen appeared to have entered the hotel in disguise yesterday afternoon, suggesting she may have designed the dress. Other designers named as possible candidates are Jasper Conran and Bruce Oldfield . William will wear the red uniform of the Irish Guards of which he is colonel. The police and intelligence services launched an unprecedented security operation in London. Scotland Yard carried out a series of dawn raids, arresting 20 people in five squats across the capital. 7.00am: The rehearsals are over, the bunting is out , and the tasteful memorabilia is on display. And that’s just here at the Guardian, where, as you can imagine, we are gripped with royal wedding fever. Hopefully it’s just a 24-hour thing. The word’s media has arrived, unwelcome ambassadors have been disinvited , protests have been called on and called off , and at last the big day has arrived. And it wouldn’t be a national occasion without a live blog, so welcome to our coverage. We’ll be all over the service, the procession, the dress, the kiss, the fly-past, the parties – and all the rights and wrongs of royalism and republicanism – right here, all day. I’m not on my own. The Guardian has deployed a cast of several in order to bring you the top wedding news: Esther Addley is with the most ardent royalists camping out on the Mall, Adam Gabbatt has travelled down from Manchester with a coachload of revellers and is now tweeting his way around the capital . Hadley Freeman will be on hand from New York to share the full horror of the US media spectacle while Vicky Frost does the same for the UK, Kate Carter will cast her eye over all the outfits and our fashion guru Jess Cartner-Morley will give her verdict on The Dress. Crime correspondent Sandra Laville is at Scotland Yard keeping an eye on the security situation and Steven Morris has the view from Kate Middleton’s home village. We’re on the procession route too: Sam Jones is on Whitehall, while Peter Walker has the best view of the Buck House balcony from his vantage point at the Victoria memorial. Meanwhile, our man in morning dress is Stephen Bates , who has secured his place in the pews and will be reporting from inside Westminster Abbey. Finally, our Lost in (Royal) Showbiz columnist Marina Hyde will be on hand to give us a healthy dose of Guardian scepticism to keep us all in check. As if we could possibly get over-excited about a mere wedding. If even this gently sceptical tone is just too much then click on the top-right button on the Guardian home page: all our royal coverage melts magically away. There’s plenty of proper news for you to get stuck into. For those of you who remain, pull up a velvet cushion and break out the Babycham: here’s how we expect things to develop. Timetable 8am-9.45am: Congregation begins to arrive at Westminster Abbey. 10.10am: Prince William and Prince Harry leave Clarence House for the Abbey. 10.25am: Royals begin to leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey. 10.50am: Kate Middleton and her father leave Goring Hotel. 11am: Marriage service begins . 12.15pm: Marriage service over, the carriage procession leaves the Abbey for Buckingham Palace. 1.25pm: William and Kate appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with their families. 1.30pm: Fly-past by RAF and Battle of Britain memorial flight. Afternoon to around 3.30pm: Private afternoon reception hosted by the Queen. 7pm onwards: Private evening reception hosted by Prince Charles. The route to and from Westminster Abbey will take in The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Square, and Broad Sanctuary. Here’s a map of the route. The service will be broadcast through speakers along the route, and there are giant screens in Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square. There are more details on the royal wedding website here . The full programme and order of service is available online here (with a nice drawing of the route on pages four and five) and here . The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, John Hall, and the couple will be married by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, will give the address. Philippa Middleton, Kate’s sister, will be the maid of honour, while Prince Harry will be his brother’s best man. The bridesmaids and page boys are all young children, and mostly relatives. The music will be performed by two choirs, two fanfare teams and one orchestra: the choir of Westminster Abbey, the choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, the fanfare team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and the London Chamber Orchestra. More details of the musicians can be found here . Around 1,900 people have been invited, including 1,000 of the couple’s family and friends, as well as members of foreign royal families, politicians, diplomats, foreign leaders “from the Realms”, royal staff, and representatives from the armed forces, William’s charities, the Church of England and other religions. Around 650 people have been invited to the lunch reception hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and around 300 to the dinner Prince Charles is hosting in the early evening. The first royal wedding of the social networking age has quite properly got not only its own website , but also its own Twitter account , Facebook page , Flickr site and YouTube channel , which will be broadcasting the service live. Watch out if you sign up for that Facebook page; the resulting message “X likes the British monarchy” may come as an unwelcome surprise to some of your friends. There’s a map of the wedding route here , and information for those visiting London today here . Royal wedding Prince William Kate Middleton Monarchy Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Live coverage of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey throughout the day 7.28am: Adam Gabbatt is on the Mall with the freezing crowds: Thousands of people are lining the Mall, which has been cordoned off on both sides with metal barriers, and almost every single one is bearing a union flag of some sort – OK! branded flags being particularly prevalent. Key points near Horse Guards Parade are already getting congested with revellers, many of whom have been camped out overnight. The area along the Mall is well furnished with portable toilets, some will be pleased to know, but only one small cafe van, which surely will struggle to meet demand. After a cold start to the day it’s warming up quickly, although a little overcast. At the moment crowds are amusing themselves by cheering police motorbikes, which are driving away from Buckingham Palace. Prince William will be driven down here just after 10 – if all goes to plan for the last time as a single man. Adam will be spending the day out and about among the crowds, tweeting and posting video and audio as he meets people along the way. His journey will be mapped out below as he goes . Navigate around the map and timeline to experience the royal wedding with him. _ 7.21am: My colleague Hannah Waldram is here with the weather: With a cloudy start to the day, forecasters predict lunchtime showers for the capital that could put a dampener on the royal wedding kiss – planned for the balcony of Buckingham Palace at 1.25pm. But Tom Morgan, a weather forecaster at the Met Office, said there was no risk of showers before lunchtime. The forecast for London today is a largely cloudy start to the day. Morgan said: “Generally it’s going to be dry and we are going to see a brightening up with some sunny spells. At lunchtime and the early part of the afternoon there’s about a 30% risk of some showers scattered about. If you catch one of those showers it might be quite heavy.” Morgan said the risk of showers would be mainly between 1-3pm for Londoners. The Press Association reports that the royal couple will travel from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in the open-top 1902 State Landau whatever the weather. The original plan was that they use the covered Glass Coach if it was raining. The afternoon promises a rise in temperatures (up to 19C) and some more sunny spells and dry weather as we head towards the early evening. The weather looks set to be kinder to other parts of the UK – including St Andrews in Fife, where the couple met as undergraduates. The area will host a wedding breakfast party with an expected 1,500 guests is forecast to be bathed in sunshine. 7.16am: Marina Hyde of the Guardian’s Lost in (Royal) Showbiz column has emailed with her first bulletin: Stuff that’s happened on ITV’s troubled breakfast show Daybreak: the programme began at 0600 hours, but we somehow got all the way to 6.16am before sofa guest Eve Pollard gave what may well be today’s first command by a “royal expert” to Kate’s uterus. “We want an Olympic baby,” she declared firmly. I literally can’t believe I’ve got to get through today sober … And re this much quoted “global television audience of 2bn” – is this a bit like when they say the Baftas are going to be seen “by a global television audience of 1bn”, and then afterwards it turns out that one in six people on the planet watching celebs shiver up the Leicester Square red carpet in the rain was a bit optimistic? A few years ago the LA Times touched on this in the context of the far more gigantic Academy Awards, quoting the Oscars executive director Bruce Davis as saying: “There has never been a television event in the history of the world that has had a billion viewers – it’s a handy number to throw around but it’s not true.” 7.02am: Thousands of well-wishers have lined the mile-and-a-half route to Westminster Abbey this morning, Stephen Bates, Sandra Laville and Lee Glendinning report . Yesterday evening, Prince William met the crowds waiting on the Mall, shaking hands and telling delighted members of the public he was focusing on “remembering the lines” for the “big day”. The Press Association news agency has more: Friends Sue Heppell, 59, Susie Record, 67, and Ann Burch, 65, travelled from Newcastle to find a good spot outside Clarence House at midday yesterday. Mrs Record said she had met William last night and he had seemed very relaxed about his impending nuptials. “He asked us whether we were sleeping out,” she said. “He didn’t seem surprised.” The Middleton family spent the evening quietly at the Goring hotel near Buckingham Palace, which was cordoned off with a marquee shielding the entrance so that the bride will be able to slip unobserved into one of Buckingham Palace’s Rolls Royces for her journey to the abbey at precisely 10.51am this morning. Her dress will not be revealed until she arrives at the abbey nine minutes later. The designer Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen appeared to have entered the hotel in disguise yesterday afternoon, suggesting she may have designed the dress. Other designers named as possible candidates are Jasper Conran and Bruce Oldfield . William will wear the red uniform of the Irish Guards of which he is colonel. The police and intelligence services launched an unprecedented security operation in London. Scotland Yard carried out a series of dawn raids, arresting 20 people in five squats across the capital. 7.00am: The rehearsals are over, the bunting is out , and the tasteful memorabilia is on display. And that’s just here at the Guardian, where, as you can imagine, we are gripped with royal wedding fever. Hopefully it’s just a 24-hour thing. The word’s media has arrived, unwelcome ambassadors have been disinvited , protests have been called on and called off , and at last the big day has arrived. And it wouldn’t be a national occasion without a live blog, so welcome to our coverage. We’ll be all over the service, the procession, the dress, the kiss, the fly-past, the parties – and all the rights and wrongs of royalism and republicanism – right here, all day. I’m not on my own. The Guardian has deployed a cast of several in order to bring you the top wedding news: Esther Addley is with the most ardent royalists camping out on the Mall, Adam Gabbatt has travelled down from Manchester with a coachload of revellers and is now tweeting his way around the capital . Hadley Freeman will be on hand from New York to share the full horror of the US media spectacle while Vicky Frost does the same for the UK, Kate Carter will cast her eye over all the outfits and our fashion guru Jess Cartner-Morley will give her verdict on The Dress. Crime correspondent Sandra Laville is at Scotland Yard keeping an eye on the security situation and Steven Morris has the view from Kate Middleton’s home village. We’re on the procession route too: Sam Jones is on Whitehall, while Peter Walker has the best view of the Buck House balcony from his vantage point at the Victoria memorial. Meanwhile, our man in morning dress is Stephen Bates , who has secured his place in the pews and will be reporting from inside Westminster Abbey. Finally, our Lost in (Royal) Showbiz columnist Marina Hyde will be on hand to give us a healthy dose of Guardian scepticism to keep us all in check. As if we could possibly get over-excited about a mere wedding. If even this gently sceptical tone is just too much then click on the top-right button on the Guardian home page: all our royal coverage melts magically away. There’s plenty of proper news for you to get stuck into. For those of you who remain, pull up a velvet cushion and break out the Babycham: here’s how we expect things to develop. Timetable 8am-9.45am: Congregation begins to arrive at Westminster Abbey. 10.10am: Prince William and Prince Harry leave Clarence House for the Abbey. 10.25am: Royals begin to leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey. 10.50am: Kate Middleton and her father leave Goring Hotel. 11am: Marriage service begins . 12.15pm: Marriage service over, the carriage procession leaves the Abbey for Buckingham Palace. 1.25pm: William and Kate appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with their families. 1.30pm: Fly-past by RAF and Battle of Britain memorial flight. Afternoon to around 3.30pm: Private afternoon reception hosted by the Queen. 7pm onwards: Private evening reception hosted by Prince Charles. The route to and from Westminster Abbey will take in The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Square, and Broad Sanctuary. Here’s a map of the route. The service will be broadcast through speakers along the route, and there are giant screens in Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square. There are more details on the royal wedding website here . The full programme and order of service is available online here (with a nice drawing of the route on pages four and five) and here . The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, John Hall, and the couple will be married by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, will give the address. Philippa Middleton, Kate’s sister, will be the maid of honour, while Prince Harry will be his brother’s best man. The bridesmaids and page boys are all young children, and mostly relatives. The music will be performed by two choirs, two fanfare teams and one orchestra: the choir of Westminster Abbey, the choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, the fanfare team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and the London Chamber Orchestra. More details of the musicians can be found here . Around 1,900 people have been invited, including 1,000 of the couple’s family and friends, as well as members of foreign royal families, politicians, diplomats, foreign leaders “from the Realms”, royal staff, and representatives from the armed forces, William’s charities, the Church of England and other religions. Around 650 people have been invited to the lunch reception hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and around 300 to the dinner Prince Charles is hosting in the early evening. The first royal wedding of the social networking age has quite properly got not only its own website , but also its own Twitter account , Facebook page , Flickr site and YouTube channel , which will be broadcasting the service live. Watch out if you sign up for that Facebook page; the resulting message “X likes the British monarchy” may come as an unwelcome surprise to some of your friends. There’s a map of the wedding route here , and information for those visiting London today here . Royal wedding Prince William Kate Middleton Monarchy Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …