The principality of Monaco covers just 35,646 square metres of ground, but they are expecting more than 20,000 invited guests on the coming Saturday, for the royal wedding between Prince Albert and his beloved Charlene Wittstock. All commerce have adorned their facades and show windows with the photos of the would-be royal couple, and the citizens have put up flags of Monaco and South Africa in their balconies.
The ceremony will begin on Friday with the civil wedding, and on Saturday the religious ceremony, in open air, at the patio of the Palace. There will be a free concert for all of Jean Michel Jarre on the 1st of July, to welcome the successor of the unforgettable Grace Kelly, whose marriage with Rainiero in 1956 converted Monaco as Capital of Glamour.
All preparation is done as it should be, in line with such an important and happy event, but for the fairly loud whispers going around for a whole week now, especially in the media, about why the Spanish Royalty members have not been invited, except just for King Carlos who is, at present, still in convalescence after his knee operation on the 3rd of June. Although for the sake of protocol, the not too harmonious relationship between Monaco and Spain has not been too pointedly made obvious, since 2005, when some sources reckoned the motive sprouted during the Assembly of COI in Singapore, to select the head-quarter for the Olympic Games of 2012. Prince Albert questioned the security measures of Madrid after the terrorists attack of 11-M. Such a question greatly damaged and prejudiced the Spanish candidature and favoured that of London which was selected.
So far, only the royal families of Belgium and Sweden have confirmed their attendance to the ceremony on Saturday. I wonder whether they feel uneasy about being the only royals there? I would have if I was one of them.
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