KATE MIDDLETON will not promise to obey Prince William when the pair get married at Westminster Abbey on Friday morning.


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Despite the royal event of the year being steeped in tradition, Middleton has had old-fashioned phrases involving “obey” and “serve” cut from the ceremony.

William’s mum, Princess Diana, also avoided telling Prince Charles she would obey, but happily the word’s omission is no predictor of a failed royal marriage. Both Princess Margaret and Princess Anne promised to obey their husbands and then ended up in the divorce courts.

Among the tunes chosen for the service – full details of which have now been released – are Cwm Rhondda (Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer), Jerusalem and, for the groom’s mother, God Save the Queen. Then it’s back to the palace for a right royal knees-up where Ellie Goulding is to sing for the newlyweds.

Will and Kate are said to have blocked out the pressure of performing in front of an estimated two billion TV watchers worldwide and the £6 billion the wedding is to cost
the UK.

“I think there has been a really concerted attempt to block it out and just concentrate on their marriage,” said ITN political editor Tom Bradby, a friend of William’s.

Meanwhile, be careful of cracking a smile near the Abbey as Australian TV company ABC have been banned from making jokes during their coverage of the wedding.