LONDON // Millions of Britons were last night poised for the biggest party the nation has seen in a generation as the countdown continued to today's marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton.
As the couple issued a statement saying they had been "incredibly moved" by the public's show of affection towards them, organisers around the country were putting the final touches to almost 6,000 street parties - the most since Queen Elizabeth's silver jubilee in 1977. More than 800 are being held in London alone.
Just as with most weddings, the main concerns centred on the weather after forecasters' suggestions that showers, blustery wind and maybe even thunderstorms could make it day for umbrellas rather than barbecues.
Yet the hundreds of people already camping out along the processional route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey were not prepared to let a little rain spoil their celebration.
"Even if there was a thunderstorm, it's not going to dampen the spirit," Faith Nicholson, one of those camping out along the Mall, said yesterday. "We're all looking forward to this. Bring it on, I don't care. I'm here and that's all I want."
Dozens of Union Jack flags fluttered around Parliament Square outside the abbey where, hours before, empty flagpoles had stood. In the overcast skies above, news helicopters criss-crossed the overcast skies.
The pavement across from the vast abbey doors, through which the newlyweds will emerge, was filled by the hardy campers who continued to arrive all day.
Twenty-four hours earlier there had been a sparse smattering of tents. By midmorning yesterday, there was a dense tented village bedecked with bunting, balloons and home-made banners wishing the couple luck.
All along Whitehall, Union Jacks hung from lampposts and shop and restaurant awnings. In Trafalgar Square, where several thousand are expected to gather to watch the event on two huge screens, the sculpted lions that guard the four corners of the base of Nelson's Column now do so from a cage of lighting and speaker struts.
Through Admiralty Arch and down onto the Mall, the crowds and the clutter of flags, tents, banners and canvas chairs were more apparent with every step along the processional route to Buckingham Palace.
Friends Renee Gauthier, from Canada's West Coast, Janet Sanburg, from Australia, and Londoner Babs Kell and her daughter Phoebe, were busily setting up a campsite at the top of the Mall.
"It's always been my dream to attend a state occasion," said Ms Sanburg. "I guess it was either going to be a wedding or a funeral. I'm glad it's this."
The campers are expected to be joined by 600,000 other spectators along the route for the wedding, to be attended by 1,900 guests.
Thousands of journalists and camera crews from around the world have also been setting up temporary studios along the route and outside Buckingham Palace, ready to bring minute-by-minute reports and pictures to a television audience that is estimated to be anywhere between one and two billion.
Not everyone was in a festive mood, however. Bahraini pro-democracy campaigners mounted a vigil outside Saudi Arabia's embassy in London to protest the wedding invitation to Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, following the Saudi military intervention in their country.
As well, the wedding invitation to the Syrian ambassador was withdrawn at the last minute yesterday because of the brutal suppression of anti-government protests in his country and there were rumblings of discontent among Labour Party politicians because ex-premiers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had been left off the guest list, while the former Conservative prime minister, John Major, had not.
Prince William and his bride-to-be spent yesterday well away from the spotlight that will envelop them today. Prince William was to spend last night with his father, Prince Charles, his stepmother, the Duchess of Cornwall, and his brother, Prince Harry, at Clarence House, the family's official residence.
Miss Middleton and her family gathered for the night at the Goring Hotel in Belgravia, just around the corner from the palace, which had been sealed off by armed police earlier in the day.
The Queen, meanwhile, hosted an event for British and foreign royals, including Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, near Hyde Park, which had also been sealed off.
On Wednesday evening, Prince William and Miss Middleton had taken part in their final wedding rehearsal ahead of their big day, accompanied at the abbey by Prince Harry - the best man - Miss Middleton's parents, and senior clergy.
Yesterday, the official souvenir wedding programme was released, in which the couple wrote: "We are both so delighted that you are able to join us in celebrating what we hope will be one of the happiest days of our lives.
"The affection shown to us by so many people during our engagement has been incredibly moving, and has touched us both deeply. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone most sincerely for their kindness."
It was also revealed that Miss Middleton will not promise to "obey" her new husband when they exchange wedding vows. Instead of the traditional vow to "love, honour and obey" her husband, she will promise to "love, comfort, honour and keep" him.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Match on Bein Sports
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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