Snub For Obamas As Royal Sources Reveal They Will Not Be Invited To Prince William's

[Ryan Ruck]

Snub For Obamas As Royal Sources Reveal They Will Not Be Invited To Prince William's Wedding

December 17, 2010

President Obama and his wife Michelle will not be invited to Prince William's wedding next year.

Because Prince William is not yet heir to the throne, his wedding to Kate Middleton is not classed as a ‘state occasion’ – and the couple feel under no pressure to fill the 2,000-strong guest list with heads of state, the Mail understands.

They are more eager to ask ordinary citizens and charity workers than foreign dignitaries and VIPs to what will be the first royal ‘people’s wedding’, courtiers suggested.

A handful of heads of state are likely to be invited in line with previous royal weddings, possibly including France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni.

But the decision to exclude the American premier and his wife Michelle from the celebrations marks a break from tradition.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana invited then-American president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy to their 1981 ceremony – though she came alone because the president was too ill to travel following an assassination attempt on him.

A senior courtier said: ‘It is certainly not the case that all foreign heads of state will be excluded. The guest list is still being drawn up and could change, but as things stand it’s right (to say Mr Obama will not be invited).’

A St James’s Palace spokesman said: ‘The wedding will not be a formal state occasion since Prince William is neither the sovereign nor the heir to the throne.’

The decision is an example of William’s single-minded desire to hold the first ever ‘people’s wedding’ by packing the pews with members of the public who have worked with his 21 charities.

And as William and Kate continue to thrash out the plans for Westminster Abbey on April 29, they are understood to be looking towards the Queen and Prince Philip’s austere 1947 nuptials as a template.

With a post-war Government facing huge cuts, the then Chancellor Hugh Dalton said only the decorations in Whitehall and outside the palace could be funded by the taxpayer.

And the Archbishop of York compared the wedding to that of a commoner ‘married this afternoon in some small country church’.

Conscious of the credit crunch and rising unemployment rates, William has vowed to have a wedding that is not as ‘ostentatious’ as his parents’ St Paul’s Cathedral ceremony, with 3,500 guests.

But the couple still want to encourage a ‘street party’ atmosphere to sweep the country – and Kate’s dress is expected to cost considerably more than Princess Elizabeth’s £1,200 gown, partly paid for with 300 rationing coupons.

A royal aide said: ‘It will be done properly and well, but not in an ostentatious and lavish manner. This time is more analogous with 1947. In 1981 a lot more people were invited to the wedding. The route to St Paul’s was also longer than it is to the Abbey. It was undeniably a bigger wedding.’

A St James’s Palace spokesman said: ‘The couple will be drawing on inspiration from elements of the 1947 and 1981 weddings – there are obvious similarities to both. They want to strike the right balance between intimacy and providing an occasion that can be enjoyed by everyone.’

In a growing sign of Kate’s formal acceptance into the royal fold, she was invited to the Queen’s annual pre-Christmas lunch with about 50 members of the Royal Family yesterday.

The traditional banquet at Buckingham Palace is reserved for family members – and following her engagement to William following an eight-year courtship, Kate finally counts in Her Majesty’s eyes.

She met many minor members of her new family for the first time, including children who may be among her bridesmaids.

The smiling 28-year-old was seen leaving Buckingham Palace with her fiance and his brother Prince Harry, 26, yesterday afternoon.

The Queen and Prince Philip hosted the sumptuous meal, understood to have been held in the Palace’s Bow Room, with their four children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward - and their families.

Among the guests pictured at the palace yesterday were Charles and Camilla, Princess Beatrice, Zara Phillips (sporting a shorter bob haircut) and her brother Peter with his wife Autumn, who is due to give birth to their first child this month.

Edward’s wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, drove their seven-year-old daughter Lady Louise Windsor – tipped to be among Kate’s bridesmaids - to the lunch, while Princess Alexandra and James and Julia Ogilvy arrived with a boot full of Christmas presents.

Also there were Princess Michael of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent, the Queen’s nephew Lord Linley and his family, Lady Sarah Chatto and her son Arthur, Lady Gabriella Windsor, Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor, and Lady Davina Lewis and her husband Gary.

[American Patriot]

Must be tough to be a President.... /chuckles

[vector7]

tit for tat...

Obama Returns Churchill Bust To England: British Press Sees Snub

Newsweek | 02/22/09



Newsweek:
Has America's even- tempered new president already ruffled feathers in the land that spawned Borat and Benny Hill?

That's certainly how the spiky British press responded after the White House sent back to the British Embassy a bust of Sir Winston Churchill that had occupied a cherished spot in President Bush's Oval Office.

Intended as a symbol of transatlantic solidarity, the bust was a loaner from former British prime minister Tony Blair following the September 11 attacks. A bust of Abraham Lincoln--Obama's historical hero--now sits in its place.

A White House spokesperson says the Churchill bust was removed before Obama's inauguration as part of the usual changeover operations, adding that every president puts his own stamp on the Oval Office.

Read the whole story: Newsweek

[Ryan Ruck]

Royal Snub For The Obamas

January 15, 2011

It was announced several weeks ago that Mr. and Mrs. Obama had not been invited to the forthcoming Royal wedding in Britain. I reproduce below a commentary of unknown authorship on the matter. I have tidied up a few infelicities in it.

Despite official denials, the non-invitation is obviously a slight to the Obamas personally — principally motivated, one imagines, by the airs that the bumptious Mrs Obama customarily gives herself. What a contrast Mrs. Obama is to the ladylike and discreet Laura Bush! The observation below that Mrs. Obama has “no class” is obviously subjective but in this case richly deserved, I think. That she apparently once called the mother of the groom an “over-sexed clothes-horse” would by itself be fatal. Prince William is devoted to the memory of his late mother, Princess Diana.

I am not sure that all the allegations below are well-sourced — some would have to be speculation — but they seem plausible. That Mrs. Obama is burnt up about the non-invitation has to be true, I think

Michelle is livid over the snub and Obama can’t believe it… “What is happening and what can I do about it?” seems to be the thoughts in Obama’s head. Meanwhile, William and Kate have it together.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are planning a royal wedding in April, 2011. It appears that Prince William personally told the wedding planners to strike the Obamas from the guest list. He apparently stated, “He did not want Michelle Obama trying to pull her center of attention ploy trying to upstage Kate on Kate’s wedding day”.

Sources reveal that William states, “She may run Obama, but she doesn’t run him or England”. The Democrats and Obama would like to play the race card as they have done so many times in America, but it is difficult when other black heads of states are invited to the wedding and will be warmly received.

Now, what are the future King of England’s reasons for snubbing the Obamas to the world and making them a laughing stock? It has nothing to do with America beyond our being so stupid as to elect such a low class imperfection to the office of President and First Lady. The decisions that they make can and will affect the world.

Secondly, Michelle called the Prince’s mother Diana an over-sexed clothes horse and further stated that she, Michelle, was more popular than Diana ever was.

Thirdly, Michelle Obama showed her butt at every major social function endeavoring to be the Queen in the limelight. In other words, just a lack of class.

Fourthly, the Queen, William’s grandmother also has her reasons. Obama refused to bow to her, but a few days later bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia . Michelle manhandled her by becoming too familiar by putting her arm around her. The Queen only shakes hands with gloves on… That is the tradition and it is still honored by the Royals. The Queen said to her staff, “Never allow that woman to be in the same room with me again” and she meant every word of it.

The gifts from Obama and Michelle were both tacky and in poor taste… It is all a matter of class. In addition the Queen supported Prince William in his decision, due to the fact the word is out about the lavish booze parties at the White House, the expensive vacations and state visits that cost the American tax payers billions of dollars unnecessarily when the American people need the resources… We here can’t decide if it is just low class, no class, big a_s or all that has just been mentioned.

The Obamas are desperately trying to make it a slight against America. Every past Head of State has always been invited… This is not a state function and William is not yet a Sovereign. It is just a multi-million dollar private wedding and the Obamas have been royally snubbed by the British Royals; not America , just the present classless leaders…