 The former Labour prime ministers will not join the 1,900-strong royal wedding congregation at Westminster Abbey despite it being a “semi-state” occasion that they had been widely expected to attend. Campaigners in Britain complained when palace officials said Saturday that the prince was attending the nuptials, and some petitioned Foreign Secretary William Hague to revoke the invitation. More than 40 members of foreign royal families will be present, as will 60 governors general and overseas prime ministers, and celebrities including Sir Elton John and David and Victoria Beckham.
– The news that Bahrain's crown prince was ducking out of his troubled country to attend Prince William's much ballyhooed nuptials raised some eyebrows, and Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa today reversed course, sending Prince Charles his regrets. Saying he was "saddened and troubled" by British media stories, the AP reports that Prince Salman nevertheless sent William and Kate Middleton "all good wishes for Friday and every possible happiness for the future ahead." Prince Salman isn't the only dignitary sitting it out, notes the Telegraph: Former British PMs Tony Blair and Gordon Brown won't be attending, either. The Labour Party pols were apparently snubbed by the palace, which invited Conservative Party PMs Margaret Thatcher and John Major, though Thatcher declined for health reasons. Labour MPs called the snub "surprising" and "odd," though the Telegraph notes a frosty history between Buckingham Palace and Blair in particular.