The Royal Wedding

The Queen was "absolutely delighted" when the engagement of Prince William to his longtime girlfriend, Kate Middleton, was announced in November, said a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman.

            William, second in line to the British throne, and Kate, the daughter of middle class commoners, have told royal aides that they want their wedding to be "a people's ceremony," said the United Kingdom's The Telegraph.

            The wedding, which will take place April 29 at Westminster Abbey, is projected to benefit the struggling economy of the U.K. and to lift the public mood, BBC reported.

            "Extraneous events can increase feelings of economic and other wellbeing," Professor Stephen Lea of Exeter University, who specializes in economic psychology, told BBC.

The couple, both 28, met at St. Andrews University in 2001, where Kate was credited with persuading the young prince to stay as he struggled to adjust to university life, according to BBC. William proposed to Kate in October while on holiday in Kenya, giving her his late mother's engagement ring.

The wedding has come at what may be the perfect time, as widespread economic recession has had great impact in countries such as the United States and United Kingdom.

The monarchy has not been immune to the atmosphere of austerity. In December, the Queen cancelled a Christmas party for the palace staff, citing the financial crisis, according The Telegraph.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has declared April 29 a national bank holiday, saying that the wedding is "an exciting occasion for people across Britain to get together" and encouraging the British people to celebrate the nuptials with street parties.

"April 29 is going to be a very special day," Cameron told London's The Sun.

"It's a chance for all of us to come together and celebrate the great things about our country," he said.

While BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said Buckingham Palace will be "very sensitive" to the economic climate, and that the ceremony will be more analogous to the Queen's 1947 post-war wedding than Charles and Diana's extravagant one, the palace has asserted that it will not be an austere affair.

"The couple will be drawing on inspiration from elements of the 1947 and 1981 weddings – there are obvious similarities to both," a St. James's Palace spokesman told U.K.'s The Daily Mail. "They want to strike the right balance between intimacy and providing an occasion that can be enjoyed by everyone."

"It will be done properly and well, but not in an ostentatious and lavish manner," a royal aide told the London Evening Standard.

While the guest list has not been disclosed, William and Kate made it clear to royal aides that they did not want those in attendance to be made up only of "the great and the good," The Telegraph reported. In February, invitations were sent to roughly 1,900 people, most of them to close friends and family, or to people in direct connection with their public and private lives, including people involved in their numerous charitable works, according to a press release by the official website of the Prince of Wales. While a few celebrities and politicians have received invites, according to The Telegraph, among those who have been left off the list are President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle.