We’re in the homestretch now. By this time tomorrow, Prince William and Kate Middleton will have been officially declared man and wife, and celebrations will be in full effect across not only their United Kingdom, but around the very world itself. One can only wonder if at the exclusive reception after the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony, Prince Charles will display his paternal pride by reprising some of the royally funky dances moves he gamely displayed back in this snippet from the mid-80’s. In the unlikely event that this happens, we here at The Windsor Knot sincerely hope someone has a Flip cam handy.

Be sure to tune into TODAY's special royal wedding coverage. Don't miss a moment.

Guy Ritchie, David Beckham and Mr. Bean were all invited to the wedding. But why not two former prime ministers?

By Ian Johnston

The crown prince of troubled Bahrain, David Beckham, Madonna's ex-husband and even the actor who played the comic character "Mr Bean" all received a much-coveted invitation to Britain's royal wedding.

But, in what one commentator described Wednesday as "a snub of historic proportions," two rather conspicuous figures did not: the U.K.'s last two prime ministers, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair.

That might be bad enough, but it gets worse.

For while these two former leaders — both members of the traditionally left-leaning Labour Party — were not asked to Prince William and Kate Middleton's marriage, former Conservative Party prime ministers Sir John Major and Baronness Thatcher did receive invitations.

Speculation about the reasons and accusations of political bias were growing Wednesday with even columnists in normally Conservative-supporting newspapers suggesting a mistake had been made.

According to Buckingham Palace, there was no reason to invite Blair and Brown.

This wedding, unlike that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981, is not a state occasion because William is not first in line to the throne and "so there is no protocol reason to invite former Prime Ministers," Nick Loughran, a spokesman for Prince William, said in a statement emailed to msnbc.com.

So it's simply the marriage of two young people in love, in front of 1,900 family and friends. Oh and the Zimbabwean ambassador to London. And Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia and King Mswati III of Swaziland.

Slideshow: Who's invited to the royal wedding?

The invitations to Thatcher, who declined for health reasons, and Major were made as they are both members of what is essentially a club for royalty and their friends dating back to the 14th Century.

"Sir John Major and Baroness Thatcher were invited as they are both Knights of the Garter, along with Prince William," Loughran said. "Furthermore, Sir John Major has a personal connection to Prince William, as he was appointed Guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry following the death of the late Diana, Princess of Wales."

When contacted, Hugh Peskett, editor-in-chief of Burke's Peerage and Gentry, which describes itself as "the definitive guide to the genealogical history of the royal families of Europe," began listing the reasons why Blair and Brown didn't have to be there.

"It's his (William's) personal choice, it's not a state wedding, not a state occasion because he is the grandson of a monarch, not the son of a monarch," Peskett said.

But then he admitted "it’s all sort of a bit airy fairy ... they've invited all the ambassadors and things. There is a contradiction I can see in this."

"I think I'd have said 'hmm, it might have been tactful to invite them,'" Peskett added when asked what he would have said if he had been asked for advice.

A Labour Party lawmaker, Denis MacShane, has tabled a formal question in parliament to ask what role Conservative government's officials played in selecting the guests, BBC News reported Wednesday.

"If you look at the guest list, it's huge, and it's just slightly odd that two men who've occupied the highest office of the land aren't on it," MacShane told the BBC, adding that "denigrating Tony Blair and Gordon Brown seems to be an obsession" of the current prime minister, David Cameron.

An emerging theory is that William dislikes Blair because of his handling of Princess Diana's death.

Click here for a slideshow of Prince William through the years

Blair, as prime minister when William's mother died in a traffic accident in Paris, christened her the "People's Princess." Some felt he captured the national mood of mourning. Others felt he took the chance to score political points.

"He certainly did," Peskett told msnbc.com. "He was never one to miss an opportunity like that. It must have been dreadful time for Prince William and Prince Harry as well. This man (Blair) was trying to make political capital out of it."

Damian Thompson, writing a blog on the Telegraph newspaper's website, said William simply "cannot stand Tony Blair."

"The Prince has a long memory and a capacity for cold fury," he wrote. "We catch a glimpse of it in the section of Blair's memoirs relating to the week after Diana's death: 'I had also spoken to William who was not only still grieving but angry. He knew, rationally, why the week between Diana’s death and the funeral had to be as it had been. But he felt acutely the conflict between public position and private emotion.'"

Brown, he reasoned, was not invited to avoid bringing "the feud into the open" and to allow the Knights of the Garter cover story to be deployed.

But Stephen Glover, writing in the Daily Mail newspaper, said there was a serious side to all this.

"The Queen has been so adept at remaining impartial above the political fray that it is difficult to believe she vetoed the invitation of these two former leaders out of spite, dislike or political prejudice," he wrote.

"Whatever the explanation, this is a decision that will damage the monarchy more than the feelings of Mr Blair and Mr Brown," Glover added. "Once the Crown appears to be taking sides — and that is the impression, if not the intention — our delicate constitutional arrangements are imperilled."

A "last-minute invitation" to both men might help repair the damage, he suggested.

Why sit alone when you can gab about Kate's dress with your nearest and dearest? With NBC's royal wedding app, you can create a royal wedding party and invite friends and family to view it with you. Click on the show you plan to watch, and then send out the invites via Facebook.

NBC's coverage of the big day starts at 4 a.m. ET, with TODAY's Matt, Meredith, Al, Ann and Natalie reporting on the exciting event. The program will include live coverage of ongoing wedding celebrations in London, originating from Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey.

Read complete details of TODAY's royal wedding coverage on air and online

Tune in to Morning Joe on MSNBC at 5 a.m. If you’re more of a night owl, Dateline will have the big day covered, starting at 9 p.m. ET.

With the entertainment set, all you need to do now is set your alarm!

Related: NBC's royally big plans for Will and Kate's wedding

BEN STANSALL / AFP - Getty Images

The Goring Hotel, where Kate was said to be spending Thursday night. The bride-to-be may have changed her plans.

By Anne Chertoff

Has Kate made a last-minute adjustment to the path she'll travel on Friday?

That's the buzz among British wedding planners.

According to the wedding day schedule, Kate Middleton and her father, Michael, will leave for Westminster Abbey from The Goring Hotel at precisely 10:51 a.m. But according to sources in London, this may not be the final plan.

Wedding planner Mark Niemierko, who is not planning the royal wedding, has learned from the planners involved that Kate Middleton will actually be leaving from Buckingham Palace. The bride will either spend the night at the palace or wake up early and get ready there.

“There is no underground car park or secluded back entrance as such," at the Goring Hotel, where it had been reported Kate would spend the night Thursday, Niemierko told TODAY.com. “And with the front entrance being directly on a public pavement it would be highly difficult to keep the public and press from seeing too much of her in her wedding dress.” 

It has been reported that guests of the wedding have taken over the 71-room hotel, which is a short walk to Buckingham Palace. Mr. and Mrs. Middleton are hosting a celebration at the Goring for friends and family not invited to the 650-person luncheon hosted by the queen after the ceremony.

Eddie Keogh / Reuters

Kate Middleton's online domain has been snapped up by some residents of Edmonton.

Kevin Hayden

Greg Kureluk and Carole Lemire snapped up katemiddleton.com. They'll use it to blog about the future princess.

Kate Middleton’s domain may someday encompass entire countries but online, it belongs to someone else.

The domain name katemiddleton.com has been snapped up by a Canadian designer, blogger and photographer, who grabbed the URL for just over $2,000, reports the Edmonton Journal.

Greg Kureluk, 33, joined forces with his wife, Carole Lemire, 31, and a group of business partners to buy the domain, which they’ll turn into a gossip site devoted to the future princess (and potential queen of England and Canada).

The couple will tag-team blogging about Kate, from her fashion to her wedding photos.

Should Kate want her online name back, Kureluk told the paper, she only need ask. Well, ask in person.

"When she's here in July, if she has tea with us, we'd be happy to give her her domain back," he said.

Check out a slideshow of Kate Middleton's life

Carl Court / AFP - Getty Images

By Andrew Roberts, NBC royal contributor

The excitement about the royal wedding is palpable here in sunny London. Brian, who runs the closest souvenir stand to Trafalgar Square, tells me that he’s sold out of Wills’n’Kate tea towels, mugs and porcelain bells three times already this morning. What are the bells for, I ask? "Gawd knows, mate," he replies in finest Cockney, "but they’re going like hot cakes." Business is even brisker than for Charles and Diana in 1981, he tells me. Meanwhile, local councils have been inundated with no fewer than 5,500 requests from residents to close off their roads for huge street parties for an estimated 2 million people. In a society that is getting increasingly atomized, this is a great opportunity for people to get out and meet their neighbors.

Of course there are some cynics in the media and amongst the intelligentsia about the wedding, but then that’s true about anything in which ordinary people come out and have unaffected, genuine fun. Overall, though, the monarchy has never been more popular in Britain, and her majesty the queen regularly receives 85% approval ratings, and is easily the most trusted person in British public life. Rather surprisingly, a large majority of people responding to a recent survey said they would trust her to fix their car, which seems an unlikely thing to happen, even though the queen did serve in the Auxiliary Transport Service in the Second World War.

One place that’s almost as excited as Britain is the USA, which is easily Britain’s most loyal ex-colony. Friends tell me of pajama parties they’re attending from 4 a.m. on Friday, with a good few of them staying up through from the night before. NBC is fielding a really superb team covering the great event, and I’m proud to be one of them, although it does involve memorizing a 352-page briefing book about everything to do with it. The professionalism and level of organization is simply stunning, even for someone like me who has worked with the BBC for 20 years.

While of course it’s fine to criticize the royal family over lots of things, you should try to get your facts right. Andrea Peyser, a columnist for the New York Post, describes the House of Windsor as "scum" because they are lazy. Here are the facts. In the calendar year 2010, her majesty the queen, at the age of 84, undertook no fewer than 387 official visits, opening ceremonies, receptions, lunches, investitures, audiences, meetings and other royal duties. Prince Philip, who’ll be 90 in June, undertook 308. Prince Charles performed 499, Princess Anne 427 and Prince Edward 247. Altogether, the top 12 royals clocked up 2,897 official appearances between them. Ms. Peyser obviously loathes the Windsors for any number of reasons, but to accuse them of being work-shy is just plain incorrect.

I hope she’s not going to be watching the wedding on Friday, because the sheer explosion of love, loyalty and support for the House of Windsor up and down the length of Britain and in the queen’s 15 other realms will probably give Ms. Peyser a bad turn. For the rest of us, though, it’ll be a wonderfully memorable day.

Andrew Roberts’ e-book , ‘The Royal House of Windsor’ is available on Kindle from amazon.com 

Pub owner John Haley has an invitation to the royal wedding, with guest.

But this morning he told TODAY's Natalie Morales he's got no one to take! So he turned to the cameras and asked if any of our viewers want to go. 

Luckily our fans already have a front-row seat, when our full coverage starts at 4 a.m. ET on April 29, so Haley can feel free to invite one of his pals. Seriously, guys, he was probably kidding, so don't book that ticket to London.

So what's it like to get that golden ticket?

"When the announcement comes through you think, 'I wonder if I'm going to get an invite,'" said Haley, who owns the Old Boot pub, a spot that the "relaxed" couple has frequented for over a decade. "But then I was away one day visiting my mother, and there was a phone call...and someone said to me, 'Kate would like to invite you to a wedding.' And I said, 'What day is that? Cause I know I'm busy a couple of days in April.'"

Julio Cortez / AP file

Jay-Z and Beyonce.

Prince William liked it so he put a ring on it, but did he also ask Beyonce and Jay-Z to perform at his wedding reception? That's the buzz coming from the Daily Star, anyway.

A source close to the royals told the publication, “Both William and Kate are massive fans of Beyonce and Jay-Z. They really wanted to make their big day even more special and what better way than by getting pop royalty to perform at the party?”

The Palace did not confirm or deny the rumor, and reps for Jay-Z and Beyonce did not respond to TODAY.com's requests for comment.

As for whether "99 Problems" might become a problem at a Royal event, the source said the musical performance would be part of a less-formal reception. "Will and Kate will have an official reception for hundreds of dignitaries before throwing a less formal bash for loved-ones," the source said.

Related content:

• The latest on the wedding at The Windsor Knot
• Beyonce slideshow

Ben Stansall/Reuters

Prince William, left, speaks to patients, including Lance-Corporal Martyn Compton (second from right), during a tour of the Help for Heroes Rehabilitation Complex in Surrey, England, in June 2010. Compton, who served alongside the prince in the Household Cavalry, will attend the royal wedding.

Mingling with the celebrities, royalty, politicians and sports stars who will attend the royal wedding Friday will be another special guest: an Afghan war veteran who was so severely burned in a 2006 ambush that he lost his ears and nose.

Lance-Corporal Martyn Compton is a friend of Prince William, who served beside him in the Household Cavalry. Burned over 70 percent of his body in the ambush, he was in a coma for three months. But despite his severe injuries, by July 2008 he was able to attend another important wedding: his own, to Michelle Clifford, a secondary-school teacher he met in 2006.

Compton had proposed to her just two weeks before his four-month stint in Helmand province, one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan. Five weeks into it, his convoy was ambushed by Taliban fighters and a rocket-powered grenade hit the vehicle Compton was driving. Engulfed in flames, he jumped from the vehicle, breaking one arm before managing to pull off his helmet and body armor with the other.

After putting out the flames by rolling in sand, he tried to crawl to cover but was shot in the leg by a Taliban fighter before his comrades, risking their lives, pulled him to safety in a tank. Compton "died" three times en route back to the British base, but was revived each time.

In May 2008, Prince William honored his friend at a special pageant in London. "Compo, you're more famous than me," the prince joked, according to the U.K. Daily Mail. "You're in the papers every day."

Toby Melville / Reuters

Thought your wedding walk was nerve-racking? Kate will get the red carpet treatment for her down-the-aisle moment in Westminster Abbey.

By royal expert Camilla Tominey

Kate's walk down the aisle to marry Prince William will take a Hollywood turn: She'll make her way on a red carpet.

The royal household reportedly made the request after rehearsals sparked fears that Kate might trip without it. But the carpet serves another purpose: keeping the abbey clean on the big day as hundreds of guests file into the ancient royal church for the ceremony. 

Kate will be following in the footsteps of royal predecessors who have married at Westminster Abbey. The queen also had a red carpet when she married the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, although Fergie had a blue carpet when she married Prince Andrew in 1986.

Kate will stick to other traditions, too. She'll wear a wedding ring made from a nugget of Welsh gold that has been used since the queen mother married. 

And now she has said she will follow another tradition set by the queen mother by laying her bridal bouquet on one of Westminster Abbey's most poignant memorials -- the grave of the Unknown Warrior.

Kate will leave her flowers on a black marble slab that covers the remains of the First World War soldier. The queen mother began the long-standing tradition when she left her posy at the grave in 1923 following her wedding to the Duke of York, later George VI. She left the flowers in memory of her brother Fergus, killed in 1915 in the global conflict.

The location of the Unknown Warrior's resting place at the west end of the abbey in the center of the nave will also have a bearing on the bride's procession to the altar. Kate and her father Michael will have to make their way around it -- it's the only stone in the abbey that congregations are forbidden to walk on.

I also expect Kate will follow another royal tradition by having a sprig of myrtle in her wedding flowers. Every royal bride since Queen Victoria has carried a sprig cut from a tree that still grows in Victoria's personal garden at her seaside palace, Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight.

Known as "the herb of love," it is a near certainty that some of the creamy-white, starlike flowers will be incorporated into Kate's bridal bouquet.

Getty

Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton posing for photographers during a photocall to mark their engagement, in the State Rooms of St James's Palace, central London.

Just how obsessed is the public with the royal wedding? According to a study from specialist technology firm Greenlight, the highly anticipated nuptials are generating an incredible amount of online buzz, including:

• Around 9,000 mentions a day online (or one every 10 seconds)
• During March and April, there have been 158,000 posts related to the wedding on online media, with nearly 61,000, or 38 percent, coming in the last seven days alone.
• YouTube and Facebook (public posts) accounted for the smallest share of the posts, at 1 and 8 percent respectively, while online news sources accounted for 30 percent, followed by blog posts (29 percent). Twitter accounted for 17 percent and forums 16 percent (those proportions could change, however, now that the wedding will be available on YouTube via an official royal channel).
• Posts about Middleton's dress (23 percent), the guest list (20 percent) and gifts (18 percent) were the most popular. Internationally, those excited by the royal wedding outweigh the naysayers by 6 to 1.

  How can you keep up with the hoopla surrounding everything Will and Kate-related? Download our royal wedding app for the iPad and iPhone. Described as the “best way to keep up with that royal wedding thing" by Gizmodo, the app includes more than 300 photos, 40 videos, an interactive royal family tree, the latest news from our royal experts and much more. And online, TODAY.com will be the hub for news and information, including archived video and interviews, on April 29. And, of course, we'll be firing up our tweets at @royalwedding, and you can RSVP to our royal watch party on Facebook.

Got a question about the wedding? From Kate's dress to Prince Harry's Best Man toast, our royal experts will be inside the wedding with the latest revealing details. Ask our royal watchers your question and they may answer it live on TODAY.

With reporting from Reuters

ADAM BUTLER / AP

In most vocations, the unfortunate happenstance of fainting on the job is usually greeted with sympathy, concern and -- at the very least -- earns one some time off to recuperate. Likewise, in even the busiest of professions, one is generally allowed the odd sprint to the restroom to answer nature’s inevitable call. It’s considerations like these that keep even the most tirelessly efficient operation tolerable to work for.

The British Army, however, is no ordinary operation.

For troops ordered to line the procession route for the royal wedding next Friday, the stipulations for absolute excellence are unwavering. The Guardsmen’s splendid and -- in many instances -- uncomfortably cumbersome uniforms must be immaculate. For four straight hours, the Guardsmen, resplendent in brilliant red and black, must demonstrate the utmost in stone-faced precision. It will be the proud culmination of hours of meticulous training and discipline.

But in the dewy warmth of the impending spring day, what if one of the troops – beneath his heavy scarlet coat and towering bearskin headgear – should succumb to the heat and pressure of the occasion? There are, evidently, even scrupulous rules about that. “You have to faint to attention,” said Maj. Dai Bevan of the Welsh Guards to Britain’s The Times. “It will probably involve a broken nose and a whole lot of missing teeth.”

Per protocol, troops stricken by such compromising human failings are absolutely forbidden to break rank in a limb-flailing display of torpor. Rather, they must fall forward, stiff and disciplined like, well, a toppling toy solider. Deviation from this command is unacceptable.

Similarly, there are absolutely no bathroom breaks. Guardsmen are expected to remain steadfastly at their posts, regardless of their bodily needs. Should they surrender to the processes of their bladders, the soldiers are expected to stoically live with the consequences.  “You might get a few little puddles,” Guardsman Shan Marsden, 25, tells the Times.

Gap Inc.

What did Kate buy from Banana Republic? Maybe something from the current collection in stores, shown here.

On a shopping spree in Britain yesterday, Kate Middleton made a stop at a store familiar to most of us: Banana Republic. 

Yes, even the future princess appreciates well-priced separates, and though the company wouldn't divulge what she bought, an eyewitness quoted in the Telegraph said the bride told staffers how much she "loves" the brand and that she would be "shopping with them in future." 

The trip, which included interludes at various shops, sent speculation rampant that the bride-to-be was stocking up on honeymoon essentials (many of her purchases veered toward the beachy). 

For their part, Banana Republic is understandably thrilled (can you say free advertising?). From the official Gap Inc. blog: "We're a little excited that Kate Middleton stopped by our Banana Republic store on King's Road, in London, yesterday. We’re not here to brag about it … OK, just a bit. She bought a few pieces from the summer collection, and charmed everyone in the store. Now, of course, she’s got other things to attend to, such as, you know, preparing for a Royal Wedding … Good luck next week, Kate!"

In a somewhat predictable move in advance of the royal wedding of Prince William and his blushing bride-to-be, Kate Middleton, a dating website called beautifulpeople.com recently conducted a poll of its users to determine who was – wait for it – the fairest princess of all time. How did your favorite royals rank? The answers may surprise you. See the poll's full results here.

Who do you think is the fairest of them all? Watch the video below and share your thoughts in the comments section.

REUTERS/Hugo Correia

The wedding's not Britain's only big event: Prince Charles sets a world record today.

By Anne Chertoff

With the whole world buzzing about Will and Kate's wedding on April 29, it’s no wonder so many other royal milestones have gone unheralded.

Today, Prince Charles, William’s father, sets a record as the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He’s been waiting 59 years, two months and 14 days to be King of England. Now 62, Charles became heir apparent at the age of 3, when his mother took the throne as Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. The previous record was held by King Edward VII, Prince Charles’ great-great-grandfather, who became king after his mother Queen Victoria passed away in 1901.

Tomorrow, Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 85th birthday. While no official celebration has been planned to mark this milestone, Australia -- as a member of the Commonwealth -- has released a coin and stamp with the queen’s likeness.

Will and Kate got engaged last November. But in all that hoopla, you may have missed that a month later, Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and daughter of Princess Anne, got engaged, too, to a hunky rugby player named Mike Tindall.  The couple, who have been together for seven years, will have a private wedding on July 30 in Scotland.

And shortly after that, the Queen becomes a great-grandmother. Savannah Phillips was born to Peter Phillips, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and son of Princess Anne, and his wife Autumn. The baby is 12th in line to the throne.

Congrats, everybody! Now about that wedding...

Pool / REUTERS

Britain's Prince William sits at the controls of a Sea King helicopter during a training exercise at Holyhead Mountain, in Wales on March 31.

From Reuters:

Don't have your head in the clouds thinking of Kate when flying, Britain's most famous pilot Prince William has been told by his godfather.

William, second-in-line to the throne, is a search and rescue helicopter pilot. He will marry long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton on April 29th.

"I did actually mention to him in my letter to him when he got engaged -- because I went through that experience myself -- that it's quite dangerous to fly a helicopter when you're in love because you have to concentrate on keeping that machine in the air.

"So I said: 'Be careful, concentrate on that helicopter now and think of Catherine later on'," the former king of Greece Constantine told the BBC in an interview.