Getting a gift for someone who is about to have everything in less than a week is a mind-wrecking job, but Kate Middleton’s family rose to the challenge and got her the perfect gift – a coat of arms. Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, custom-built a family crest to highlight their daughter’s royal wedding on the 29^th of April, barely a week from now.

Working hand-in-hand with an artist from the College of Arms, the Middletons fashioned a coat of arms shaped like a lozenge and is hanging from a blue ribbon; the ribbon signifies that Kate is still officially single. The three acorns in the coat of arms represent Kate and her other two siblings Pippa and James. On the other hand, the oak tree is a symbol of the place where the family lived and grew for 30 years – west Berkshire. Other details like the division on the middle of the crest is a lose representation of the family’s last name, Middle-ton. The gold chevron symbolizes “Goldsmith” which is Carole’s maiden name.

Thomas Woodcock, the artist who helped design the crest, said that although having a coat of arms is not compulsory, it might come in handy as she is marrying the Prince of Wales. Artists will remove the blue ribbon after the wedding and place Kate’s shield in the middle of her husband-to-be’s coat of arms, signifying that the two has become one.

Some aristocrats, however, rolled their eyes on the Middleton’s family crest; saying that the crest should have included balloons as the family started in the party supplies industry. Although the public has learned to accept that Prince William is marrying a commoner, some members of the British royalty have not.

The Crown Prince of Bahrain, Prince Salman bin Halmad al-Khalifa, declined the invitation to attend the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. The Crown Prince said he regrets not going to Britain’s royal wedding but in light of what is going on in his country, he respectfully declined thru a letter he sent on Sunday.

In the past few months, Bahrain government has been unsettled because of a growing outcry for more freedom from a group of people. Since February of this year, at least 30 pro-democracy individuals have already been killed by the country’s security forces. Moreover, Prince Salman’s father also sought the assistance of Saudi Arabia in sweeping off demonstrators from the streets. Now, more than a hundred of them are sent to jail.

When the invitations were sent to the Crown Prince of Bahrain, the media criticized what they call an insensitive move from the British royal family. Although Prince William and Prince Salman are old friends, the Clarence House’s Foreign Office advisers (the ones who helped in the guest list) should have withdrawn the invitation as the situations in Bahrain continued to worsen.

Prince Salman bin Halmad al-Khalifa said in his letter to Prince Charles, father of the groom-to-be Prince William, that he intentionally delayed sending his letter of regrets because he was hoping that the conditions in his country would improve and he wiould have the chance to join the wedding. Reports say that the Royal Family understood Prince Salman’s decision completely.

It would be wise for the prince, who is next in line to the throne, to prepare a prenuptial agreement with bride-to-be Kate Middleton, British lawyers said. They even left the prince with a warning that not all fairy tales end in happy ever after.

James Stewart, a divorce lawyer, said that if the prince will base it on statistics, it is really best to sign a prenup. Stewart handled the divorce case between Guy Ritchie and Madonna.

The royal family of Britain is unfortunately plagued by many failed messages. Queen Elizabeth II’s three children come from failed marriages and Prince William’s uncle, Charles Spencer, went through divorce twice. The office of Prince William did not comment on this issue, however.

Prenuptial agreements are certainly common in the U.S., but that is not the case in Britain. This only became acceptable in British courts after London was tagged as the divorce capital of the world.

Stewart mentioned that all the members of the Royal family, royal and regal as they are, must understand that they are still commoners in the eyes of U.K. law. Their huge trust funds should be enough to push them to straighten out the details of their finances before they tie the knot.

A prenup may be perceived as an opposition to the idea that when you say “until death do us part”, it means forever. However, Professor Matthew Brundson Tully said that we should not and could not ignore the statistics.

Prince William’s camp is still silent about the possibility of a prenuptial agreement.

Prince William and fiancée Kate Middleton have lined up a very traditional royal wedding, except for their wedding cake which is inspired by an all-American celebration. Prince William, who is known for having a knack for sweets, requested a groom’s cake (a tradition in the southern part of the United States) made of chocolate and cookies.

The groom’s cake will be served along with the classic wedding fruit cake. Prince William’s cake will be prepared by British cookie masters McVitie’s. Sources said that they will use a recipe coming straight from the royal kitchen. Paul Courtney, head chef of McVitie’s, said that the cake will be made up of 1,700 Rich Tea cookies, and 17 kilos of chocolate. He further said that that the cookies will be covered by beautiful chocolate decorations.

On the other side, wife-to-be Kate Middleton will look over the details of their official wedding cake – traditional fruit cake. World-renowned cake designer Fiona Cairns will make the gigantic multi-tiered cake with white floral and cream decorations.

Cairns said that Middleton contributed ideas on how she wants her wedding cake to look. Traditional with a modern hint as Cairns would describe it. Kate personally requested the handmade decorations that reflect the Buckingham Palace. The overall theme of the cake, however, is floral and each flower has a special meaning.

10 people are currently working on the huge multi-tiered cake with handmade decorations. They simply had to make sure that it is more than enough to cater for the couple’s long list of guests.