Lots of drama for 'minor' royal wedding

LONDON - It sounds like your average wedding dramas - a nervous bride, pushy mother-in-law and problems working out how to pay for the whole shebang.

Throw in the royal family and it takes on a whole new dimension.

The happy couple in question, Lord Freddie Windsor - cousin to the Queen and 32nd in line to the throne - and English actress Sophie Winkleman, had hoped, like many couples, to have a quiet and simple wedding.

But with his high society connections and the hunger of the British media for a royal wedding - even if it involved a "minor" member of the Windsor family - that was never going to be possible.

For starters, the guest list.

The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and princes William and Harry all turned down their invitations to what was meant to be the royal wedding of the year at King Henry VIII's former home, Hampton Court Palace, on Saturday.

Prince Andrew's daughter, Princess Eugenie, was the most senior royal to turn up, despite the best efforts of Freddie's mother, Princess Michael of Kent, to convince the more high-profile Windsors to attend.

Lord Freddie's mum, dubbed "Princess Pushy" by the British press, took over the role of organising the wedding after apparently being distressed by the couple's decision not to hire a wedding planner.

According to press reports, Sophie's parents, Barry and Cindy Winkleman, had set aside