Just 100 days to go until the Royal Wedding and still so many details remain tightly guarded secrets.
The date and location are set and won't change: April 29, Westminster Abbey. But what about the dress? The guest list? And who will be behind the microphone when Prince William andhis bride Kate have their first dance as husband and wife?
Many of these questions simply won't be answered until April 29 arrives. But that hasn't stopped the rumour mill from churning out plenty of speculation.
The guest list is still a mystery and the names of the invitees likely won't be publicly revealed. But a few names seem assured. Of course, the couple's extended family will be invited. So will many of their university friends who've remained loyal and haven't leaked secrets to the tabloids. And of course, Prime Minister David Cameron will be there.
But which foreign dignitaries will make the cut? When Prince Charles and Princess Diana wed, their choice of St. Paul's Cathedral allowed them to invite 2,500 guests. That's many more than Westminster Abbey will allow William and Kate.
There are reports the couple wants only guests with whom they have some personal connection. So, the prime minister of New Zealand could be there, reports the BBC, but not U.S. President Barack Obama, for example.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will likely be invited. True, he and William are hardly close, but his invitation seems assured, as do those for Gov.-Gen. David Johnston and his wife, Sharon.
Also from Canada, Galen and Hilary Weston are likely to receive an invitation. Galen is a close friend and sometime polo partner of Prince Charles, and Charles and his sons stayed at the Weston chalet when they went to Whistler on a ski holiday in March 1998.
The British newspaper The Sun reports that the couple wants to invite 100 members of the public to their wedding, via a random draw, because Kate wants the wedding to be a "people's ceremony."
How the lucky members of the public will be chosen has still to be worked out, The Sun says, but it will be completely at random, "just like Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket draw in Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Also out of the rumour mill is a report that those who do get an invitation to the wedding may not have to worry about finding the perfect gift.
That's because the pair is reportedly considering asking guests to make donations to charity instead of sending them gifts. A spokesperson who asked not to be identified told the Associated Press the option is being considered but no firm decision has been made.
It's probably not a bad idea. In 1981, Prince Charles and Princess Diana received more than 6,000 wedding gifts. And really, what do you get "the royal couple who has everything."
Of course, for many royal watchers, there is really only one secret that they can't wait to be revealed: what will Kate's dress look like? Again, chances are we won't know until Kate steps out of her car on her wedding day.
The current consensus is that Bruce Oldfield, one of Britain's best known designers who was a longtime favourite of William's mother, Diana, has already snagged the job. That rumour began when the paparazzi snapped photos of Middleton and her mother and sister outside a boutique belonging to Oldfield.
But could it all be a ruse? Ex-Daily Mirror Royal editor James Whitaker tells the BBC that he suspects those photos may have been arranged by Clarence House, as part of a complicated diversion.
Palace officials and Oldfield himself have refused to confirm anything. But if indeed a designer has been chosen, he or she should be prepared to have their world turned upside down for the next few months if the Palace decides to reveal their identity early.
Elizabeth Emanuel who designed Princess Diana's dress along with her husband David in 1981 tells the BBC that after word got out that she would be designing Diana's dress, journalists rummaged through their garbage and attempted to bribe their staff to reveal details.
They had to keep the dress in a safe and hire two security guards to guard it. They even created a slightly modified backup-dress, in case the first was stolen.
All that we can be pretty well assured on is that the dress will be white or off-white. It's likely it will strike a balance between the pomp and glamour expected of her for this special day, and her own modest, understated style.
The couple is reportedly aiming for that very balance throughout their wedding. For example, though the couple plans to leave the church by carriage, they will arrive by car. The wedding dinner itself will reportedly be a buffet-style reception rather than a full-scale banquet.
As for what the wedding guests will eat off, that too has fuelled rumours. Reuters reported earlier this week that a Chinese porcelain manufacturing company had been selected to make the official tableware to be used at the royal wedding.
Guangxi Sanhuan Group, known in parts of China for its ceramics and porcelain ware, told the news agency they had been commissioned to produce some 16,000 porcelain tableware products to be used at the wedding.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace later shot down that report: "This simply isn't true. We have not authorized anything like that at all," the spokesperson said.
Asked if any company would be tasked with producing new plates, he responded: "We won't necessarily be using new ones."
Finally, there are rumours aplenty about who will perform at a Buckingham Palace reception after their nuptials. There were reports that Sir Paul McCartney had reportedly been approached to perform for the future king and his bride. But according to People magazine, the reports are false. McCartney's representative told the mag that it was simply "tabloid fodder."
Plenty of singers who have thrown their hat in the ring to say they would love to be a wedding singer for a day. Here are just a few: Nicole Scherzinger, Michael Buble, Westlife, Kings of Leon, James Blunt and Elton John.
Sir Tom "It's Not Unusual" Jones has also reportedly offered to sing, while Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber has also said he hopes to be asked to compose a tune for the big day.
But once again, it seems the couple would prefer musicians with whom they have a connection. The Telegraph quotes a friend of the future king as saying that the couple hopes that some of the musicians connected to the Prince's Trust will play at the party.
The Prince's Trust, which is the charity established by the Prince of Wales in 1976 to help young people, include Phil Collins, Bryan Adams, Joss Stone, and tenor Russell Watson.
Joss Stone appears to have a good chance of making the cut. The 23-year-old soul singer, has proved a big hit in the past with William, who warmly embraced her at an event to honour the Armed Forces in 2008.
So many details still to be revealed. But thankfully, we will only have to hold our collective breath for a mere 100 more days.
For more features on the royal wedding, go to theroyals.ca.
