Inside Scoop on the Royal Wedding
ANDERSON: Well, my esteemed colleague, royal correspondent extraordinaire, Max Foster, is with me in the studio here. And welcome to Simon Perry, our chief foreign correspondent for "People" magazine --- or of "People" magazine, of course, he's going to help us get through tonight's show. Both are here to give us the inside scoop on the big day. I'm going to pull a Rumsfeld on you tonight. Simon, starting with you, known knowns at this point?</s>SIMON PERRY, CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Well, it's all the flowers going in today. But we've had the fact that William isn't going to wear a ring, which is quite an interesting one. It caused a lot of a stir, from our magazine's point of view. Lots of women were perturbed that he wasn't going to wear his badge of marriage on his finger. So that was an interesting one.</s>ANDERSON: It was.</s>PERRY: And yes, they're just planning on there and picking out the day that they really want to, which is a lot of their best friends around them.</s>ANDERSON: All right. So known knowns is that the ring isn't going to appear on his finger. She's going to have one, as any woman would -- and, Max, what's the inside scoop on the flora, then, as Simon suggested...</s>MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Flora?</s>ANDERSON: Yes.</s>FOSTER: Yes. We've got this exclusive, haven't we?</s>ANDERSON: Yes.</s>FOSTER: Never would I have thought I had a flower exclusive. So the flowers -- and we were with the florists last week collecting them. And they're all coming from the -- a royal park. So William had to ask permission of his grandmother to gather them. But we did see some trees arriving today, as well. And here's the story, Becky.</s>FOSTER (voice-over): All sorts of shrubs and greenery have been delivered to the Abbey from every corner of the United Kingdom. Trees in huge pots have been brought in to line the aisle. The plan is to create an avenue of trees leading right up to the altar. Catherine wants to save the surprise, but we know that most of the plants have been gathered from the royal estates. William reportedly had to ask his grandmother, the queen, for permission to plunder her gardens. (on camera): Many of the flowers are being gathered here. We're in Windsor Great Park, in the shadows of Windsor Castle. And we're just to the west of London. (voice-over): The area is bursting with color. But royal wedding florist Shane Connolly seems to be homing in on one particular color.</s>SHANE CONNOLLY, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF ROYAL WEDDING FLOWERS: The flowers really are flowering shrubs. So one of the things that has been very important to Catherine and to me are the meanings of flowers and the language of flowers. So we have tried, especially in the wedding bouquets, which you'll see on the day, we've tried very much to make beautiful stories. And the flowers that are coming from here, the azaleas, for instance, are the Chinese symbol of femininity. Blossoms are -- represent spiritual beauty.</s>FOSTER (on camera): And Catherine, I presume, has been very involved in...</s>CONNOLLY: Hugely involved with the flowers.</s>FOSTER: -- in some of the symbolism of the flowers.</s>CONNOLLY: The symbolism means a lot to her. And also the -- the sourcing has been hugely important. She's -- she's approached this wedding like few other brides I've ever met. She's approached it with such care.</s>FOSTER (voice-over): John Connolly has been working with Graham Sanderson from Windsor Great Park to identify which cuttings to take. Graham has had a problem with the weather, though. It's been an incredibly dry spring.</s>GRAHAM SANDERSON, WINDSOR GREAT PARK: Most of the stuff that we looked at in the early days have actually -- has gone over pretty quickly. So we're -- we're having to sort of continually look at what we're going to choose and how are we -- how we're doing it.</s>FOSTER (voice-over): John Connolly has worked with the royal family before. But the Middletons have also brought in their own local florist to work with him.</s>EMMA SAMPSON, MIDDLETON'S FLORIST: We're hoping to do one of two large pedestals. Shane's planning on doing the other. And we'll be working as a general part of a team preparing all the flowers to the Abbey.</s>FOSTER: All the plants were cut in Windsor Park on Tuesday and delivered to the Abbey. Between now and the wedding, the florists will try to create Catherine's vision of elegance and understatement. After the wedding, everything from here will be brought back and used as compost. The trees will be replanted at another estate. A green wedding in every way, with a bit of white.</s>FOSTER: Everything, Becky, epic. We were saying that yesterday, weren't we? But a team of 20 putting together those flowers in the Abbey. And they're doing the flowers at the two receptions.</s>ANDERSON: Those are awesome.</s>FOSTER: They're going to be pretty stressed</s>ANDERSON: All right, well, we know just how many flowers there are about doing the rounds at this point. We certainly know how many media are around. I think it's 7,000 accredited journalists, some 40 broadcasters, the paparazzi are going to be out, and we know, in their tens, if not thousands. Have a listen, guys, to just what one said about what he's looking forward to and what he thinks about the royal wedding. Have a listen to this.</s>CHRIS KNIGHT, ANARCHIST: This royal fiesta of families.</s>DARRYN LYONS, FOUNDER, BIG PICTURES: I think that what you're going to see with William and Kate, and it probably will push the price up even more, is even in the last three to four months, the pictures have been like gold dust around the world. They're a much more difficult couple to photograph than ever the Prince of Wales of past was.</s>ANDERSON: Yes, all right. That's your man, Mr. Lyons.</s>ANDERSON: Looking as splendid as ever. Listen, you know, we talked last night about just how important these photos are to the world's press. "People" magazine. I mean just how big a story is this for you guys?</s>PERRY: Oh, I've been -- it's been massive ever since the engagement was announced back in November. We've been covering it every single week, most days, in fact, since Christmas anyway. So, yes, well, people are really excited. They can't wait to see pictures of her. They're still few and far between and...</s>ANDERSON: What do your readers want to see?</s>PERRY: Uh...</s>ANDERSON: What do they want to know at this point? What do we don't know?</s>PERRY: On -- on the day of our readers it's the big reveal, the moment she steps out of that car on -- at about 11:00, we're going to be told the dress, who's made that lovely gown. Our readers are all largely women and they can't wait to know who -- one, who's made it, and how it's been made.</s>ANDERSON: On the gown, there's been much speculation. Are we any closer to finding out or it being leaked at this point?</s>FOSTER: No, we're further and further away.</s>ANDERSON: Where is it being made? Do we know?</s>FOSTER: We don't know anything. And everyone is -- it's like a conspiracy, because the designers all have an interest in us speculating about them because their brand is going up. That works for the palace, as well. You confuse -- we keep getting confused, as well, because Carol is having a dress, Pippa is having a dress and Katie is having a dress. And the impression is, well, what difference design</s>ANDERSON: Some -- a little bird told me that actually the dress has been designed in there...</s>ANDERSON: -- under lock and key.</s>FOSTER: -- it was housed in there.</s>ANDERSON: Oh, really?</s>PERRY: And even designed by her was another little birdie.</s>ANDERSON: Oh, really?</s>PERRY: So -- by Katie herself.</s>ANDERSON: Extraordinary.</s>PERRY: So who knows?</s>PERRY: And we were able...</s>PERRY: -- two or three days to go and hopefully...</s>FOSTER: -- Matthew Williamson and he said he would -- he doesn't envy the pressure on her. He's a big danger. He was touted, wasn't he, at one point?</s>ANDERSON: Yes.</s>FOSTER: And he said, you know, she's got to get this right for the whole wedding fashion world.</s>ANDERSON: Yes.</s>ANDERSON: Well, with two billion people watching, I guess it's kind of -- it's a good shop front, isn't it?</s>FOSTER: The second biggest in the world.</s>ANDERSON: All right. Let's not forget that not everybody is -- is as excited as we are about this wedding. I just want to get the voice of one -- he's been described to me as an anarchist, so that's how I'm -- how I'm going to describe him. I've forgotten what his name is. Let's have a listen to our chap, the anarchist, tonight.</s>KNIGHT: This royal festive of family should have a wedding at our expense, at this place, in Central London, at this time, isn't amusing. I mean it really is a provocation.</s>ANDERSON: Chris has got a point, that many people will buy into, of course. There are a lot of tourists here this week. There are an awful lot of British people who've actually left town. And it happens to be a big long bank holiday week. But, you know, there is a buzz. There is excitement, but perhaps a little muted. Is that -- are you finding that?</s>PERRY: Yes, I think the Brits are only getting into it right now if - - you know, in these last few days. It's been all -- while in the Americas, our readers have been going mad for this for weeks and weeks and weeks and...</s>ANDERSON: Why do you think that is, Simon?</s>PERRY: I think there's an old case of stiff upper lip, oh, it will happen and almost pretend it's not happening. And we'll -- and we'll get - - we'll get to it and we'll get excited. I think it's really feeling like it now, having said that...</s>ANDERSON: Yes.</s>PERRY: -- the big papers are really pushing it every day on the front when they weren't maybe two weeks ago.</s>ANDERSON: Yes...</s>ANDERSON: -- and I'd wager that in the next 48 hours, it's going to get pretty busy, isn't it?</s>FOSTER: Yes. And a palace source, if I can call her that, who has pointed out that there are 10,000 journalists and only 10 press officers. So the -- the amount of -- it expresses, doesn't it, the amount of interest in every detail of this?</s>ANDERSON: Yes.</s>FOSTER: We're still waiting to hear on the title, by the way, on Katie, because there's a lot of debate there and it's quite difficult. I know they're struggling a bit, because if she doesn't get a -- if the queen doesn't give her a title between now and the wedding, she still will be Kate Middleton. That won't happen. William's name is Prince William of Wales. So her automatic title would, in thy, be Princess William of Wales and this time, you know, the feminists, I think, would have a few words to say about that. But, also, Princess of Wales is too close to Diana. And also, if anyone was going to have that, it would be Camilla. So they're agonizing over what this title is going to be. So the suggestion is that William will have a new surname of some sort or something. But all I've been told is we will know her as Princess Catherine.</s>ANDERSON: It's a -- OK. It's a rather busy week for them, isn't it?</s>PERRY: Yes.</s>ANDERSON: Well, you're changing your name. You get a new coat of arms...</s>FOSTER: Yes.</s>ANDERSON: -- in the past week or so...</s>PERRY: Yes.</s>ANDERSON: -- a new dress. I mean it -- it's quite remarkable. And we've said before, and we'll say it again, it must be a -- it must be a scary thought for two billion people to be able to watch you as you trip along on the aisles...</s>ANDERSON: Have you been into Westminster Abbey yet? I mean I know you have. It's a phenomenal setting.</s>PERRY: Yes. Yes. And we walked down the aisle the other day just to sort of see the...</s>ANDERSON: Oh, you did?</s>PERRY: Yes. We -- to see how -- what it's going to be like on -- on -- on Friday, of course. It's going to -- it's going to be amazing how, obviously, they're that close with -- with all the -- the trees going in there and the flowers.</s>FOSTER: The trees. What do you make of that?</s>PERRY: Astonishing. It's going to be -- actually, it's hard to believe the...</s>FOSTER: They're enormous.</s>PERRY: -- press speculation that she might wear flowers in her hair, even though they were sort of like creating a little forest in there or something.</s>FOSTER: Yes, a forest.</s>ANDERSON: All right, guys.</s>FOSTER: Yes.</s>ANDERSON: Stay with me. We're going to take a very short break. We've got to pay for the show. We'll be back with more royal wedding stuff. Then we're going to take a break. Actually, I've decided not to do that. Have you ever met Prince William? That's what I want to know. Have you got anything you want to say to him as he gets ready to walk down that aisle? It's what we've been talking about. We want to hear from you. Head to CNN.com/connect. Tell us about your memories and remember to let us know where you're writing in from. We're going to bring you the best of your stories and comments on the show tomorrow, Wednesday. Well, after days and even weeks of warm weather here in the U.K., there are now fears, I'm afraid, of a royal wedding washout. It sounds like typical English weather, doesn't it? Guillermo, is it on? Is it off? What's going on? Obviously not the wedding, I'm talking about the weather.</s>GUILLERMO ARDUINO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're going back to typically British weather, yes. But, you know, we were talking about, behind the scenes in here, that we talk it's -- we have still a very high chance of nice conditions. But what's going on is that we will see some clouds. And then this system that is in Germany right now, that is bringing the rain into Berlin and into the central parts of that country, it is going to move closer into the Netherlands by tomorrow. And then, on Friday, we may have it here in London. But it's not going to be a big shower. It's not going to be big rain. We may see rain at times. But in essence, the -- the chance of showers exists and -- but it's going to have some sun breaks. So it is still -- we still hope and have a big chance for nice conditions. What you are going to notice, though, and I'm sure that tonight you must have already, Becky, is that it's cooling down. And it's going to cool down even more. So it's going to be breezier, windier, colder, cooler and a little bit more humid. But we don't think that it's going to be extremely rainy. This high pressure center is moving away and it's allowing them, the system that is in Germany, to move closer to Britain, bringing back that period or that typically British weather pattern that we usually see. And it's arriving probably in evening or afternoon hours on Friday. So we're hoping for a morning with slightly cooler, breezier conditions, but not that wet. I said it.</s>ANDERSON: Now, bring -- yes, well done. Bring your brolly if you're coming. Let's hope you don't have to use it, though.</s>ARDUINO: Let's hope so.</s>ANDERSON: Guillermo, thank you for that.</s>ARDUINO: Thank you.</s>ANDERSON: This is special coverage from Buckingham Palace in the run- up to the royal wedding, of course, on Friday. We will, though, of course, be bringing you all the other news stories that are important today. And it's 25 years to the day since the world witnessed the dangers of nuclear power. Up next, the lessons learned from Chernobyl and how nuclear disasters are prompting governments to dig deep for a safer future.