LONDON: Kate Middleton's parents will pay nearly £100,000 ($163,000) for their daughter's wedding to Prince William later this month, a report said Sunday. Hotel suites, bridal gowns, bridesmaids' dresses, the maid of honor's outfit and the honeymoon will all be paid for by Carole and Michael Middleton, The Sunday Times newspaper said, without citing its sources. They will pay for several suites at the Goring hotel in the upmarket London district of Belgravia, including a two-bedroom, five-room suite for Kate and her sister Pippa, her maid of honour, said the paper. Carole and Michael and their son James, Kate's brother, will also reportedly take rooms in the hotel, not far from Buckingham Palace, for the April 29 wedding at London's Westminster Abbey. The hotel bill alone is expected to exceed £20,000, the paper said. The Middletons, who have earned millions from their party goods business “Party Pieces”, are thought to have paid £30,000 for Kate's bridal gowns and £20,000 for Pippa's dress, it added. The royal family is sharing the cost of the wedding with the Middletons, while the government is picking up the bill for security. George Michael records song George Michael isn't invited to the royal wedding, but he has recorded a song for Prince William and Kate Middleton. The musician is making the track available to download for free, but hopes fans will make a donation to the Royal Wedding Charity Fund. The former Wham! singer, whose solo hits include “Faith” and “Freedom,” spent a month in jail last year for crashing his Range Rover while under the influence of drugs. Michael was a friend of William's mother, the late Princess Diana, but said he wasn't expecting to attend the April 29 wedding. He tweeted that the couple should be “surrounded by people they love, not dodgy ex-con pop stars.” Visiting places William and Kate are eyeing up three super-luxury holidays for their honeymoon. They have shortlisted the Seychelles, Kenya and Mustique — exotic destinations they have visited before and which hold fond memories. But Wills, 28, and Kate, 29, are keeping tight-lipped about their final choice and have sworn all their staff and closest relatives to secrecy until they jet off. Kate has royal wedding ring shrunk Super-slim Kate is having her famous engagement ring shrunk to fit her finger. The bride-to-be has asked royal jewelers to fit two beads inside the 32 million pound sapphire band — once worn by Princess Di — to stop it slipping.
