William, Kate try to carve out some private time

LONDON — Shunning an immediate overseas honeymoon and opting instead for a quiet weekend at a secret British location, Prince William and Kate Middleton made it clear Saturday they want to carve out some space for themselves.

This fight for privacy is crucial if they are to avoid being hounded like William’s mother, the late Princess Diana, whose every move was tailed.

The royal newlyweds started the day by asking the media not to intrude this weekend and to leave them alone when they eventually start their honeymoon. Separately, palace officials also asked the media not to reveal where the couple live near William’s Royal Air Force base in Wales.

He will return to military duty there as a helicopter rescue pilot after the holiday weekend, which ends Monday.

The request for privacy was in stark contrast to their accessibility to the public over the previous two days. On the eve of Friday’s wedding at Westminster Abbey, William greeted crowds on the streets outside his official residence in an impromptu gesture.

The royal couple also dazzled the masses on their wedding day with an open-topped carriage ride from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace and a pair of kisses on a palace balcony. They also emerged from the gates of the palace with the prince at the wheel of his father’s Aston Martin, which had balloons on the back and a “Just Wed” license plate.

William and Middleton, who have the titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, now seem determined not to let paparazzi armed with long-lensed cameras make it impossible for them to go about their business without constantly feeling they are being stalked.

The couple, walking hand in hand on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, boarded a helicopter Saturday morning to a secret location, then issued a statement asking to be left alone.

“The couple have asked that their privacy be respected during the coming weekend and during their honeymoon,” according to a message posted on the official royal wedding website.

Previously, officials said William had scheduled two weeks of leave from his military duties amid indications that the honeymoon would begin a day or two after the wedding. But the couple said on the website that they would take an overseas honeymoon at a later date.

The ultimate destination remains a closely-guarded secret, although a number of idyllic locations have been mentioned. German media reports, which were not confirmed, suggested the couple planned to spend a honeymoon at a small private island in the Seychelles.

The reports were based on the comments of a German real estate agent who claimed to have rented the island to the British royals.

Privacy has long been the couple’s main concern while planning their honeymoon. They are thought to have considered private islands in the Caribbean — although photographers on boats could conceivably get pictures of them cavorting on a beach — and hideaways in Africa, where William has traveled extensively in the past.

Another option, one they may be using this weekend, is Queen Elizabeth II’s Balmoral Estate in Scotland, which contains vast secluded areas where the couple would be likely left alone.

But the desire for privacy — something they enjoyed during their university days because the usually voracious British media agreed to give the young prince some space — may become a dominant theme of their marriage, especially with the worldwide interest generated by their glamorous wedding.

The BBC said 17.5 million viewers watched Kate Middleton arrive at Westminster Abbey in her wedding gown. Sky News said 661,000 viewers watched her entrance, and around a million logged on to their website. Millions more watched around the world, and the images from the wedding will be reprinted for years.

Certainly, the Middletons and the royal family appeared to want to send out a clear signal that the wedding was definitely over. Middleton’s parents, her brother and sister left their London hotel in the afternoon, smiled and waved at waiting photographers, and then drove back to their home in Bucklebury, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of London.

Royal commentator Dickie Arbiter said the couple is likely to be able to live normally when they return to the area around the military base in north Wales where William is based.

“They’ve been left alone there in the past and there’s no reason they won’t be left alone there now,” he said.

Arbiter said that it will be relatively easy for the prince’s staff, which has wide experience in security and logistics, to set up the honeymoon so the couple would not be disturbed. The honeymoon is expected to be briefer than that of William’s parents, Prince Charles and Diana, who combined a two-week Mediterranean cruise with several extended breaks in Britain.

William and Middleton celebrated their wedding in style Friday night and Saturday morning with a dinner and dance party at Buckingham Palace hosted by Charles. Middleton wore a second gown designed by Sarah Burton of the Alexander McQueen fashion house, while William wore a double-breasted tuxedo.

Some of the prominent guests, including Middleton’s sister Pippa and Prince Harry’s sometimes girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, returned to their rooms at the Goring Hotel at about 3 a.m. Saturday as the palace celebrations wound down.

Harry had announced plans to make an early morning “fry up” breakfast for anyone with the constitution to stay awake through the night, but it is not known how many hungry partygoers he fed.

There was no fear about keeping quiet to avoid waking grandma — Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip had left the palace to the kids and retreated to another royal residence.

The often contentious British media pronounced the wedding day an unqualified success, filling special souvenir editions with dozens of photos from a day that saw an estimated 1 million people throng the streets and parks of London to celebrate.

Middleton’s bridal bouquet was laid on the tomb of the unknown warrior — a memorial in Westminster Abbey that holds the remains of a solider killed in World War I that is now a memorial for all war dead.

Queen Elizabeth II’s mother, the late Queen mother, began the tradition of laying royal bridal bouquets on the tomb when she left her own bouquet there after her wedding to the Duke of York, later George VI in 1923.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood
Crash in Lynnwood blocks Highway 99 south

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, fully blocked southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.