Royal wedding timetable

Photo: AFP

Here are the key timings for the day:
--8:15am: The 1,900 guests start arriving at the Abbey. Many will in fact be watching on television screens in the abbey due to the layout.
--10:15am: Prince William and his younger brother and best man Prince Harry arrive at the Abbey. As a Royal Air Force helicopter pilot William is expected to wear military uniform.
--10:20am: Kate's mother Carole and brother James will leave the Goring Hotel, where the bride and her family will have stayed overnight, arriving at the abbey at 10:27am.
--10:35 am: British royals begin arriving in strict order of protocol, with Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, and his second wife Camilla getting to the abbey at 10:42am and Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip three minutes later.
--10:51 am: Kate and her father Michael leave the Goring Hotel. She will travel in a Rolls Royce limousine.
--11:00am: Marriage service begins -- though Kate could be a few minutes late, following a British tradition for brides.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the head of the Church of England, will marry the couple.
--12:15pm: The newlyweds travel in a procession to Buckingham Palace, accompanied by soldiers and police on horseback.
1:25pm: The queen and the newlyweds, together with their families, appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
1:30 pm: Flypast by Royal Air Force (RAF) jets.
Afternoon: The queen hosts an official wedding lunch for 650 guests at the palace.
Evening: Prince Charles hosts dinner-dance at the palace for 300 friends and family.