Second royal wedding, but which unusual places can you get married

LONDON — Britain will celebrate its second royal wedding of the season Saturday, with equestrian star Zara Phillips — eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II — taking center stage as she marries England rugby stalwart Mike Tindall.

A regal supporting cast is expected as the queen leads her extended brood to Edinburgh, Scotland for the private festivities. Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are expected, along with Prince Harry (still single) and bright lights from Britain's sports and show business worlds.

The nuptials of Phillips, 30, and Tindall, 32, are expected to be far more low-key than William's wedding in late April, which was watched live on television throughout much of the world. Phillips — who does not carry a royal title — and Tindall prefer to stay out of the limelight when they are not competing, and the wedding has been organized to reflect their desires.

The Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips and England rugby star Mike Tindall will be married in the beautiful Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, with their reception in the Palace of Holyroodhouse - the official Scottish residence of the Queen.

But not all of us can afford a castle wedding, so what unusual alternatives are there and can you afford them?

Because the prices for all the venues vary so much according to the size of your party and the type of reception you have, I've put them in price ranges as a guide. Most have various options so if you have a smaller party you can hire out a section of the venue, cutting your costs slightly.

On a ship

HMS Belfast: Right on the Thames and with spectacular views of Tower Bridge and London Bridge, a wedding on this now famous London landmark could be something very special and unique. Voted the eighth most popular wedding location in the world, you can have both your ceremony and reception on board, with a maximum of 450 guests in total.

By the seaside

For something really different, you can get married on Brighton Pier - serve your guests fish and chips, have your wedding photos on the Carousel - there are endless options for your big day here.

At a classic sporting venue

Mad about cricket? Then Lord's cricket ground is a perfect option for you. An iconic ground and a Grade II listed Pavillion, there are various options for different sized receptions and services - the largest being the famous Long Room which can hold up to 230 guests. £££

On an island

No, not a tropical island, an island on the Thames. Temple Island in Henley to be exact. The location for the start of the Henley Royal Regatta this is a beautiful and very intimate location better suited to smaller parties. The ultimate novelty for the bride and groom ? Arriving at their reception by boat.

Mike Tindall

Michael James Tindall, MBE born 18 October 1978 is a rugby player who plays Outside centre for Gloucester Rugby and has captained the England team. His fiancée is Zara Phillips, the daughter of HRH The Princess Royal and the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II.

Tindall was born in Otley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, and was educated at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, while his father Phil captained Otley. He refused braces to straighten his teeth, one of his greatest regrets; and served fish and chips from a van while studying.

Bath

Tindall joined Bath straight from school, as an 18-year-old in 1997. At that point the centre pairing at Bath and England were Jeremy Guscott and Phil de Glanville. But after the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Tindall stepped up to become a regular fixture at both club and country level, making his debut against Ireland at Twickenham in 2000 alongside Mike Catt.

Despite receiving criticism over the years, in particular from Will Carling and ex-Bath fly-half Stuart Barnes, he cemented the outside centre position as his own with a partnership with inside centre Will Greenwood, playing in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Tindall played in the number 12 jersey and played at outside centre, with Greenwood in the number 13. The shirt numbers frequently misled people into thinking they played the other way around, though in fact those who watched saw that Tindall all but invariably lined up outside Greenwood. He was dropped for the semi-final in favour of Mike Catt, whose kicking was required in the rainy weather, but reinstated in the final.

Tindall missed the 2005 Six Nations with a foot injury and subsequently failed to regain his fitness for the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. Described by England's former head coach, Andy Robinson as the 'heartbeat' of the side, Tindall was gradually finding his way back to form following a lengthy absence from the game during 2005.

Personal life

Tindall has two criminal convictions for drunk driving. On 8 January 2009 he was convicted, was banned from driving for three years and fined £500 for drink-driving, with £75 costs. This was the consequence of an incident on the M4 motorway on 15 March 2008, following a day out at Cheltenham Racing Festival with Zara Phillips. This was Tindall's second drunk driving conviction. The earlier conviction, in 2000, resulted in a 16-month disqualification (which was in itself in excess of the obligatory 12-month disqualification for a first offence).

On 21 December 2010 it was announced that he was engaged to Zara Phillips, the daughter of HRH The Princess Anne, Princess Royal, and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips. Phillips is the granddaughter of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The wedding is set for July 30, 2011.

Gloucester Rugby

After returning from injury in the Autumn of 2005, Tindall regained his England place but this time at number 12. However at club level he continued to play at 13 with the 12 shirt going to Henry Paul. The partnership was heavily criticised as being flat and boring and Tindall spent much of the season showing a poor run of form despite selection week in, week out. It wasn't until an incident at Tindall's girlfriend's birthday party that Henry Paul broke club rules and fell out of favour with Gloucester Rugby coach, Dean Ryan. This brought in the introduction of young centre Anthony Allen, which towards the end of the season helped forged what became the start of a very powerful centre partnership. His partnership with Jamie Noon for England was much criticised, with many people claiming that the bulky partnership lacked imagination and play-making ability.Tindall has a strong cult following however, and is often nicknamed "The Fridge" due to his sizeable bulk.

During his recuperation from another injury in 2005, Tindall entered the prestigious British Poker Open tournament, finishing in 3rd place in his heat before being eliminated by John Gale. On 18 November 2006 Tindall made his first Guinness Premiership start of the season against third-placed Wasps. Troubled by a calf injury so far into the 2006/07 season, he had made only two appearances as a replacement, against Worcester and Irish Tindall came back from his injury however with a much more highly rated run of form. His 10, 12 and 13 partnership of Ryan Lamb, Anthony Allen and himself inspired him to play more attacking and exciting rugby and since has become a Gloucester Rugby favourite. Gloucester supporters now affectionately hold him with high regard and he continued the season extremely well in helping Gloucester Rugby with his own running abilities, powerful defence and tactical kicking to top spot of the Guinness Premiership.

Tindall was again included in the England starting line up for the 2007 Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham, under new head coach Brian Ashton. Selected to play outside former Rugby League star Andy Farrell, the pair combined to make what is arguably the largest centre partnership in international history.

In April 2007 playing away against Newcastle Falcons in the Guinness Premiership, Tindall broke his leg in a tackle on Toby Flood and this forced him to miss the rest of the season, including the Guinness Premiership final, where his leadership would have been critical in a young backline. This also precluded his selection for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

In October 2007 Tindall returned to the Gloucester Rugby starting line up after recovering from injury against Worcester Warriors at home in the Guinness Premiership. Tindall had a fairytale comeback, scoring a try to the Shed's delight. He has since played most of Gloucester Rugby's games scoring a handful of tries including one against Ulster Rugby in the Heineken Cup, where he contributed to Gloucester Rugby setting a new record in the Tournament's history, the fastest time to score 4 tries and collect the try bonus point.

On 7 December 2007 against Bourgoin in the Heineken Cup, Tindall limped off the field with a severe shin injury sustained in a similar tackle from that done against Newcastle last season when Tindall broke his leg. Despite this injury, Tindall recovered fast and played the following week, and continued his form for Gloucester.

In February 2008 Tindall was named in England Head Coach Brian Ashton's squad for the upcoming 6 Nations tournament, and thus started for England at outside centre against Wales at Twickenham on 2 February 2008. Early in the second half of the game, Tindall dived on the ball in open play, landing on Welsh full-back Lee Byrne's foot which pressed up into his chest. Tindall was stretchered off showing signs of severe pain, but the immediate belief was damage to his ribcage, however 45 minutes later he was rushed to hospital, where it became clear he had punctured his lung, and also torn a 2 inch tear in his liver, in which 2 pints of blood bled before clotting. Tindall spent the following 5 days in intensive care before he was released to return to his home at Gatcombe Park.

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Edinburgh set to benefit from Royal nuptials

Marriage of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk today is expected to provide a £10 million boost for Edinburgh's economy.

Experts at The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce predict the royal windfall could be even higher as VIP guests travel from around the world to watch the Queen's granddaughter and her England rugby star fiance tie the knot.

Hoteliers have reported a rise in occupancy levels on previous years, according to Marketing Edinburgh, while VisitScotland has announced a boom for regal attractions, including the Palace of Holyrood House, Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The national tourism body has flown in media representatives from China, Australia and the United States, with around 150 journalists believed to be covering the occasion.

Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce spokesman Graham Bell said: "This again bares out that Edinburgh is just a fantastic venue for public events.

"Few cities in Britain can challenge it for streetscapes and views. It is not over-supplied with quality hotels, but this is improving and occupancy levels are second only to London.

"These are the things, alongside efficient transport connections, that attracts people to Edinburgh and keeps them coming back after a great first-time experience."

The wedding celebrations started last night when VIP guests - including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - joined the happy couple for a private party on the Royal Yacht.

Prince Harry was also among the guests, and was cheered by the party as as he went inside.

Earlier in the day, they were greeted by a small crowd of well-wishers as they arrived at the church for a rehearsal, spending about 50 minutes inside before emerging with family and friends to cheers.

Tourist bosses expect the wedding to bring benefits to the capital and the country, according to reports.

Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, said: “The wedding between Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall is wonderful news for Edinburgh and the whole of Scotland.

“It’s a great opportunity for tourism in this country and we would urge businesses to take advantage of this great occasion.”

According to reports, people were camping out with sleeping bags to ensure a good view of the event which will take place at the city’s Canongate Kirk.

Zara Phillips marry Mike Tindall

Zara Phillips ties the knot today with strapping rugby hero Mike Tindall – and it’s already clear who wears the trousers.

The Queen’s 30-year-old granddaughter banned 6ft 2in Mike from training in case he suffered a shiner and ruined the wedding snaps.

So it’s a pity best man Iain Balshaw was still sporting a sore-looking shiner from a recent moped accident in France during yesterday’s wedding rehearsal at 17th century Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh.

England captain Lewis Moody revealed Zara’s training ban at a charity event in aid of HopeHiv on Thursday. At the fundraiser, called An Evening with Lewis, Simon, Jamie and Ben, Lewis said: “Mike didn’t play today – he’s afraid he’s going to get a black eye for the wedding. The missus is in charge.”

He added: “There’ll be loads of us going to the wedding. ”

Players from England and Gloucester Rugby Club will be mingling with royal guests, including Prince William and Kate, Prince Harry and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Then it’s all back to the Queen’s Holyroodhouse for a party. But for the bride-to-be, the celebrations started three days ago. Zara, who will wear a stunning Stewart Parvin ivory dress, was spotted clubbing at Edinburgh’s swanky Tigerlily hotel and later in its Lulu bar, on Thursday.

This wedding won't be a lavish feast for royal watchers, however. "It's a private family wedding," said a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman. "We're not giving out any details."

That said, here are some details. They'll say their vows at Canongate Kirk, the parish church of Edinburgh Castle, with a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the queen's official residence in Scotland. Phillips and Tindall, as well as Princess Anne, were photographed Friday leaving the church after their rehearsal. Zara had also been spotted earlier in the week getting a rare-for-her spa treatment, and some business-as-usual exercise.

That's a bit different than the wedding seen round the world in April -- that of Prince Charles' son Prince William to Kate Middleton, now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Being closer to the front of the line for the throne does have its implications, among them a million people hanging around in the streets for your big day.

Phillips, 30, the daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips, has long been considered one of the most down-to-earth members of the royal family. The successful equestrian has no royal title. Tindall, 32, plays rugby.

According to the Daily Mail, guests are expected to include Queen Elizabeth II and most of the royal family -- the Tindall family hasn't yet met the queen -- and many sports figures, including a former England rugby player as best man.

Zara Phillips partying prewedding to Mike Tindall

Zara Phillips, this afternoon – grand-daughter of the Queen, cousin of the Duke of Cambridge and niece of the Prince of Wales – will wed her rugby-playing boyfriend, Mike Tindall. They travelled from their home in Cheltenham to Edinburgh yesterday, to be married by the Rev Neil Gardner, minister of Canongate Kirk and domestic chaplain to the Queen in Scotland. Afterwards, they will celebrate with a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Not that you’d know it.

While the world and its dog knew every detail of the royal wedding – you know, that one, at Westminster Abbey, with the cartwheeling verger and the sister with the bottom – it seems as if this one could pass off without so much as a street party. There will be no need to erect a giant box to accommodate the world’s media, as happened outside Buckingham Palace last April. There will be no bank holiday, and barely any squealing monarchists who have camped out all week to catch a fleeting glimpse of the newly married couple – they can’t, because the streets surrounding the church are too narrow. Granted, a ring of steel will be thrown around the city, but one would expect that at an event attended by the Queen (and the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, stepping out in public for the first time since their triumphant tour of North America).

Mr Tindall, who plays rugby for England and is the captain of Gloucester, is thought to be wearing a kilt. But even the news that Zara is to wear a gown designed by Stewart Parvin, one of the Queen’s favourite couturiers, barely registered on the radar of journalists who salivated over every rumour concerning what Kate Middleton might wear, before combusting in excitement when we finally saw it was Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

Zara has been able to go for jogs and facials relatively unmolested by paparazzi. 

This week she was photographed near her home wearing a tracksuit, a garment that would have caused the world to topple off its axis had it been worn by the Duchess of Cambridge in the run-up to her wedding.

England captain Lewis Moody revealed Zara’s training ban at a charity event in aid of HopeHiv on Thursday. At the fundraiser, called An Evening with Lewis, Simon, Jamie and Ben, Lewis said: “Mike didn’t play today – he’s afraid he’s going to get a black eye for the wedding. The missus is in charge.”

He added: “There’ll be loads of us going to the wedding. ”

Players from England and Gloucester Rugby Club will be mingling with royal guests, including Prince William and Kate, Prince Harry and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Then it’s all back to the Queen’s Holyroodhouse for a party. But for the bride-to-be, the celebrations started three days ago. Zara, who will wear a stunning Stewart Parvin ivory dress, was spotted clubbing at Edinburgh’s swanky Tigerlily hotel and later in its Lulu bar, on Thursday.

She followed it up with a boozy three-hour breakfast with 10 female friends in the five-star Balmoral Hotel, where 300 of the 400 wedding guests are staying.

Zara’s group – including Natalie Pinkham, Sky Sports presenter Di Dougherty and brother Peter’s wife Autumn Kelly – sank six bottles of £95-a-pop pink champagne. She told them: “I’m nervous, excited but very happy.” She also admitted she’d been texting Mike that very morning as he celebrated with his rugby pals including Lewis, Iain and Ben Foden.

In the early evening they met up for their dressed-down wedding rehearsal – Zara in jeans and a striped top, Mike, 32, in a white shirt and torn denims.

They kissed after spending an hour in the Kirk being put through their paces by Rev Neil Gardner, watched by Princess Anne and her husband Tim Lawrence, and Zara’s father Mark Phillips.

Then last night, Zara and Mike held a drinks party on the Royal Yacht Britannia, moored at nearby Leith. Close friends and family – including Prince William and Kate, who wore the emerald number first seen on her trip to LA earlier this month – saw the sun set to the strains of a jazz band.

Norway attacks boost political parties' membership

Last week's Oslo terrorist attacks are raising delicate questions of immigration and integration here after the admitted attacker cited anti-Muslim views as motivating the assaults.

A country of less than 5 million people, Norway has seen its once homogeneous population change in recent years with new arrivals from Africa and the Middle East. This transformation, in part, drove Anders Behring Breivik, charged with Friday's car bombing and shooting spree that killed at least 76 people in the span of a few hours.

Now, even as this country still grieves for its victims, many say how Norway responds to the attacks could define immigration policy in the future.

Progress Party has fairly mainstream anti-immigrant views. It proposed this year that immigrants should receive lower welfare payments than Norwegian citizens.

However, a leaflet used in the 2005 election featured a gun and the caption "...the perpetrator was of foreign origin."

"We have never expressed such a thing that Muslims are taking over the country, or anything else like that, so I don't think that we have anything to be ashamed of or change when it comes to politics," Keshvare said.

"Problems surrounding this issue haven't changed because of this tragic event," he added.

Labour's Hansen said he hoped rhetoric would be toned down.

"One of the things I hope that we will draw as a lesson from this is that we have to talk about immigration, integration, Muslims and so on in another language .... We have to change language to one more in line with reality," he said.

Norway has lower levels of immigration than most other Western countries.

For Tunisian-born Norwegian Izzeddine al-Saweih, 57, change will not come soon enough.

"There has to be a debate on the right principles, an open debate, and Muslims must take part," he shouted at an outdoor gathering of Labor Party politicians in Oslo Thursday.

Labor turns its back on 'victim' Christine Nixon

Legal expert has suggested the former top cop could be held in contempt of the bushfires royal commission for criticising the inquiry in her new book.

Leading barrister Peter Faris, QC, who has appeared for clients at other royal commissions, said Ms Nixon's comments about a "kangaroo court" could be contempt.

"This is probably a contempt of the royal commission but I can hardly imagine that for practical purposes there would be any prosecution," he said.

He was puzzled that Ms Nixon was upset at the robust way she was cross-examined by Ms Doyle.

"She's a police officer. Police get cross-examined all day," Mr Faris said.

"They are very experienced at being cross-examined.

Former Liberal federal MP Fran Bailey, whose electorate of McEwen was devastated by the fires, said Ms Nixon's "kangaroo court" comment was disgraceful and a betrayal of the Black Saturday survivors.

Ms Nixon writes in her book that royal commissions can become "the worst kind of kangaroo court" and "a public flogging".

Ms Bailey told The Australian: "I would see that as an act of betrayal of all of those good people who survived Black Saturday."

She said Ms Nixon's comments that she had suffered particular criticism from "reactionary male voices" and that there was a "fattist" agenda at work against her, was "an absolute nonsense".

But Ms Nixon defended her comments last night. "I'm not paranoid," she told the ABC's 7.30 program. "I am just suggesting there were people who took delight in what happened to me."

Melbourne University Publishing chief Louise Adler, whose company is publishing the book, said Ms Nixon was treated more harshly because she was a woman and overweight.

"If you want to analyse success in a leadership role, one looks at all sorts of criteria," she said.

"I wouldn't have thought body image was of any relevance whatsoever. The coverage by the tabloid media has been constructed in such a way as to give the impression this woman is not equipped to do this job."

Former assistant commissioner Noel Ashby, who holds Ms Nixon partly responsibly for an Office of Police Integrity investigation that destroyed his career, said Ms Nixon could not shift the blame for the flaws in her testimony to the royal commission.

Carbon cop handed tough new powers

As part of the government's carbon tax package released yesterday, the new Clean Energy Regulator will be given extensive powers to conduct investigations on company premises, compel people to testify even if it requires providing self-incriminating evidence and to make copies of sensitive documents, according to a report by The Australian.

The new regulator will enforce the new six cents per litre fuel tax that will be charged to some 60,000 businesses, among other measures introduced as part of the carbon tax, the report said.

The new powers given to the regulator come with the threat of up to 10 years in prison or up to $1.1 million in fines for corporations that do not cooperate or who break the carbon tax laws.

Australian Tax Office data shows that this tax increase will directly affect up to 60,000 businesses from 1 July, 2012, and nearly 100,000 companies when an additional 40,000 road transport businesses are captured by the tax on 1 July, 2014," an MCA spokesman said.

He added that it would raise $3.3 billion in the first three years and $16bn to 2020, including the change to aviation excise.

The government has consistently claimed the tax would directly apply to only 500 firms. Last night it argued the fuel treatment in the scheme did not change those figures as the companies concerned faced no extra administrative arrangements and were not liable to directly pay for pollution permits. This was limited to about 500 companies that emitted more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year and would be liable to pay for pollution permits.

The MCA spokesman said that, based on Australian Taxation Office data, from July 1 next year, 22,500 construction firms, 5300 manufacturing businesses and 1500 mining operators would pay more for fuel.

A spokesman for Mr Combet said the government announced on July 10 that there would be a carbon price for off-road business fuel use through reduced fuel tax credits -- but this would not apply to the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries. He said households paid 38c a litre in fuel excise and would pay no more.

"By contrast, off-road business fuel use is normally free of excise, due to fuel tax credits," he said. "The government will reduce the fuel tax credits by around 6c a litre. This will not impose any additional administrative burdens because businesses already fill out the forms for fuel tax credits, but it will create incentives to improve fuel efficiency and lower pollution from the transport sector."

Tony Abbott, speaking yesterday in the northern NSW electorate held by Tony Windsor, taunted Julia Gillard to resume her carbon tax promotion tour. "The Prime Minister is hiding . . . refusing to talk to the Australian people," the Opposition Leader said. "Not only did she not wear out the shoe leather, she didn't even wear the shoes in. At the first sign of a blister she's back in her office hiding . . . because she knows the more she talks about this tax the less people like it.