Prince William, Kate Middleton 'visit Diana grave'

Prince William and Kate Middleton have reportedly made an emotional visit to Princess Diana's final resting place.

The couple, who will marry next Friday, visited the tomb where Diana is buried on a small island within the Northamptonshire grounds of the Althorp Estate yesterday, The Mirror reports.

"It was very important for William to take Kate to visit his mum just before their wedding day," a source told the paper. "Diana is still a huge part of her boys' everyday life and always will be.

"It is tragic that she won't be there to see the wedding, and that she never got to meet his bride."

The insider continued: "But even though Kate never met Diana, she knows what an incredible woman she was and it is very important to her to be able to share and understand William's love and grief for his mum."

Prince William is said to have shown his bride-to-be where he and his brother Prince Harry planted trees on the island as children.

The 28-year-old paid tribute to his mother by giving Kate Diana's diamond and sapphire ring. Speaking after announcing their engagement, he admitted that it was his "way of making sure my mother didn't miss out on today and the excitement".

The couple made the trip as Middleton's parents Michael and Carole enjoyed a 'light lunch' with the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry at 11am in Westminster Abbey next Friday, April 29.

Kate Middleton and Princess Diana - worlds apart

LONDON: From the moment Prince William put his mother's sapphire and diamond ring on Kate Middleton's finger, comparisons between his wife-to-be and the late princess Diana became inevitable.

More than a decade after Diana's death, the "People's Princess" remains adored and the new royal bride will be measured against the young, shy blonde who captivated the world at her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981.

The royals are understandably wary of comparisons between the two women, and William himself insisted soon after the engagement that "no one is trying to fill my mother's shoes".

Diana's marriage was a famously unhappy union which broke down amid infidelity on both sides, ending in a bitter divorce and then tragedy, when the princess died in a Paris car crash in 1997.

It is not a tale to comfort a nervous bride, but fortunately, commentators see more differences than similarities between the two women.

Despite her lack of aristocratic blood, Kate will be far better prepared than Diana ever was for royal life when she walks down the aisle of Westminster Abbey on April 29.

"Kate's been very carefully groomed, it's been a long process over a period of time and she's got people around her who understand the modern media.

"She knows exactly what she's getting," said Max Clifford, a top British PR man who has represented many celebrities.

Kate and William have been together for eight years, whereas Diana was courted for just six months. In fact, Kate has been waiting so long for her boyfriend to pop the question that the press dubbed her "Waity Katy".

But Clifford says the length of time puts their relationship on a strong footing, saying "William seems to be totally in love with her and vice versa".

The young couple have had a very modern courtship.

They lived together while at St Andrews University in Scotland, where they met, and in recent months Kate has stayed with William on the island of Anglesey in Wales, where he works as a helicopter search and rescue pilot.

At the age of 29, Kate also has considerable life experience compared to Diana, who was only 20 on her wedding day, 12 years younger than Charles. Just five months separate Kate and William, who is 28.

Diana had left school before finishing her studies and her work experience was limited to a stint at a nursery.

By contrast, Kate graduated with a degree in art history from a top university, although her jobs as an accessories buyer for a clothing brand and then for her family's party goods firm have been criticised as lightweight.

Kate also had a happier and more stable childhood than Diana, whose parents divorced when she was young. Kate is close to her mother Carole and sister Pippa, her maid of honour, and says her family is a major source of support.

Up to now, William's bride has also had a better relationship with the press, which hounded the late princess right up to the moment of her death.

Despite a rocky start following Kate's move to London after graduation, when photographers mobbed her every time she left the house, warning letters from lawyers and the palace have caused the media to back off.

Kate "is an intelligent girl. She has a good head on her shoulders and is so much older than Diana was and she knows William," said royal historian Hugo Vickers.

The royal family "must be delighted. She's cautious. She's very measured -- confidence is not quite the right word, but she is assured," he added.

Diana was beautiful, charismatic and almost universally loved, but she was also unstable and the explosive fallout of her split with Charles cast a pall over the royal family that is only now starting to lift.

She also overshadowed the other royals, staying firmly in the limelight even after the divorce through her charitable causes.

"Diana became far more popular worldwide than the royal family, and in this country -- she was the one everyone wanted to see, wanted to hear, wanted to be around," said Clifford.

The royals "would have learned from that", he said.

Kate has shown no sign of Diana's love of publicity, although only time will tell how far her careful plans survive the pressure of being a fully paid-up member of the royal family. (AFP)

Kate's parents to spend 100,000 pounds on her wedding

London: With their daughter set to marry Prince William, parents of Kate Middleton will be spending about 100,000 pounds to pay for expenses like bridal gowns and hotel suites bills.

According to a report in 'The Sunday Times', Carole and Michael Middleton, mother and father of Kate will also contribute to the cost of an evening reception and disco hosted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, apart from paying bills for hotel suites, bridal gowns, bridemaids dresses, the maid of honour's outfit and the honeymoon.

Kate's parents have made millions from their mail order party business.

They will pay for several suites at the Goring hotel in Belgravia including 4,000 pounds-a-night two-bedroom, five-room suite for Kate and her sister Pippa, the maid of honour.

One-room Belgravia suites costing 1,140 pounds each including Vat will be taken for Carole and Michael, their son James, Kate's brother, plus a number of other close relatives and friends.

The Goring is not far from Buckingham Palace.

The hotel bill alone is expected to touch 20,000 pounds, including dinner, breakfast and drinks.

Other expenses include 30,000 pounds for Kate's bridal gowns and 20,000 pounds for Pippa's dress.

Prince Charles will cover most of the other costs and the Queen will host the lunchtime reception.

The cost of Prince Charles' wedding to Lady Diana in 1981 was estimated to have been 30 million pounds, but most of the security costs were picked up by the taxpayer.

Even Charles's modest wedding to his second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, may have cost 5 million pounds.

An official spokesman for Prince Charles said, "The Middletons have offered to contribute to the cost of the wedding. How much they contribute is a private matter".