viernes, 29 de abril de 2011

Royal wedding: Prince William marries in Irish Guards red - Telegraph.co.uk

The last such occasion to feature a groom marrying in "red" was that of Captain Mark Phillips, at the time an officer with the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards who married the Princess Royal in 1973.

The Prince, who is commissioned in all three Armed Services, has seen active service with the Army, in The Household Cavalry Regiment, as well as with the RAF, with whom he is currently serving as a flight lieutenant.

The Queen appointed him to the honorary rank of Colonel of the 1st Bn Irish Guards in February this year.

An officer from the Foot Guards said that the Army was "chuffed to bits" about the Prince's choice of military dress: "The Irish Guards have just returned from a pretty tough tour of Helmand so they are immensely pleased that they will be represented but we would not like this to be at the detriment of anyone else."

However, senior RAF officers said the service was a "bit disappointed" that the Prince was not wearing the light blue uniform.

"I am sorry that he's not wearing an Air Force uniform," one officer said. "That's what all his RAF colleagues thought he was going to be wearing so it's a bit of a shame. I think we are all slightly surprised and slightly disappointed but maybe his Army uniform goes better with the dress. It seems a pity that no one in the Royals will be wearing RAF uniform especially as the Service is working so hard out in Libya."

The Prince's tunic, in Guards' Red, features the Irish Guards' distinctive arrangement of buttons in groups of four, featuring the Harp of Ireland surmounted by the Crown Imperial. The arrangement of buttons on the uniform denotes the Irish Guards' position in the Order of Battle as the Fourth Regiment of Foot Guards.

The Insignia of the Irish Guards on the Forage Cap is the eight-pointed Star of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick, and features the Regiment's motto.

The Prince will also wear gold sword slings, but no sword, the Garter Sash with the Wings of the Royal Air Force, the Garter Star and the Golden Jubilee Medal. The uniform was fitted by Kashket and Partners, military and civilian tailors who hold a royal warrant from the Queen.

St James's Palace insisted that the Prince had chosen the uniform of the Irish Guards because it was his "highest rank". A palace spokesman said: "If he had not gone for that he would have had to have chosen between his RAF and Household Cavalry uniforms and because he is a similar rank in both of those, it would have been quite a difficult decision."

The Prince will travel to Westminster Abbey with his brother and best man, Prince Harry, who will wear a Blues and Royals' officer's uniform in dismounted review order, with a forage cap.

Their father, the Prince of Wales, will wear the full Royal Navy Number One ceremonial uniform in the rank of Admiral, which he has held since 2006.

Other senior members of the Royal family will also wear full military dress to the service. The Duke of Edinburgh will wear a Garter sash with his Grenadier Guards uniform, which consists of a scarlet tunic similar to his grandson's. The Duke of York - Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy - will also sport a Garter sash, as will the Earl of Wessex, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent, who will all be wearing their military dress.

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