Amid Wedding Bustle, a Private Moment
April 25 2011— -- When Prince William and Kate Middleton sign their marriage registrar April 29, they will enjoy one intimate moment together with their closest family members. This private exchange contrasts with their wedding ceremony, which 1,900 guests will attend, while approximately two billion people worldwide watch the event on television.
But after the ceremony finishes, the couple and their immediate family will slip away from TV cameras, behind the alter and through an ornate door, which leads to the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor, The Associated Press reports.
The Chapel is considered the holiest part of Westminster Abbey, containing the sacred Shrine of St. Edward the Confessor, who reigned as King of England from 1042 to 1066.
An ornate 15th-century carved stone screen surrounds the shrine and St Edward's body rests in a vault atop three levels of arched platforms, which serve as the focal point in the chapel.
Once inside this little, medieval chapel, the couple will privately and officially record their marriage in writing. Prince William and his bride will stand amid the tombs of past kings and queens, likely surrounded by their close family, who will act as witnesses for the historic registers.
St. Edward the Confessor is also the patron saint of difficult marriages, fortuitous for a couple who lives under such public scrutiny.
