One in three Irish people plans to watch Royal wedding

One in three Irish people plans to watch the Royal Wedding, with a quarter of those tuning in at work.

A new survey by UPC shows the top reasons attracting Irish viewers are to see Kate Midleton's dress and to check out which celebs are invited.

Nearly half of those polled think Brian O’Driscoll and Amy Huberman are Ireland’s closest thing to a royal couple.

Meanwhile Kate Middleton is set to follow in the footsteps of Princess Diana by omitting the word “obey” from her wedding vows, it was reported today.

She will instead promise to “love, comfort, honour and keep” Prince William, according to the Daily Mirror.

Diana pledged herself to Prince Charles in a similar way during their wedding ceremony in 1981.

The revelation comes as the future king, 28, and his bride-to-be finalise their preparations for the much-anticipated event, which is now just one week away.

Second-in-line to the throne William has already had his last shift as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot before the ceremony on April 29.

Next week he will spend the last few days before the ceremony mostly in London at wedding rehearsals.

Kate, 29, has been spotted doing some pre-wedding shopping in the capital, amid speculation that she has been stocking up on summer outfits for her honeymoon.

This weekend, Westminster Abbey will be concentrating on its Easter commitments before the final preparations – from the flowers and the music to ceremonial processions – begin next week in the run up to Friday.

As the UK begins enjoying the first of its two bank holiday weekends, the couple will be spending their last weekend before they become husband and wife together privately.

The Archbishop of Canterbury – the man who will marry them – has spoken of the “courage and the clarity” they will need to live out their marriage “in the full glare” of the public eye.

Dr Rowan Williams said the couple “knew what the cost of that might be” and urged people to support them.

He described them as “deeply unpretentious people” who were clear about what mattered about their wedding day.

The Queen has signed her historic formal consent to the marriage.

Under the Great Seal of the Realm, the monarch put her signature on an elaborate notice of approval which proclaimed, in transcribed calligraphy, consent to the union of “Our Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, K.G. and Our Trusty and Well-beloved Catherine Elizabeth Middleton”.

William had to ask his grandmother’s consent to marry because of a law dating from the 18th century.

Under the Royal Marriages Act 1772, all descendants of George II must obtain the sovereign’s agreement before they wed, or the marriage is invalid.

A list of wedding guests invited to the wedding by the Prince and his bride-to-be has also emerged.

The Sun reported that David and Victoria Beckham, actor Rowan Atkinson, Clive Woodward, film director Guy Ritchie and Ben Fogle are among the high-profile attendees.

The couple are said to have invited 388 close friends and associates, while 254 relatives and friends of the Middleton family will also be present at the wedding.

The king of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni, is yet to reply to the invite sent to him by the Queen, it was reported.