22 April,2011 07:59 AM IST | | Agencies
The queen has given her formal consent to Prince William's forthcoming marriage to Kate Middleton.
Her Majestyu00a0-- who celebrated her 85th birthday yesterdayu00a0-- signed an elaborate state document giving her approval to Wills and Kate's wedding so the marriage would deemed valid.
Birthday bumps: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip with
children as they leave Westminster Abbey in London following the Royal
Maundy service yesterday. Queen Elizabeth II also celebrated her 85th
birthday yesterday. pic/AFP
In it the monarch gives permission to the union of "Our Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, KG and Our Trusty and Well-beloved Catherine Elizabeth Middleton". Under a law dating back to the 18th century, all descendants of George II must obtain the sovereign's agreement before they wed.
The Instrument of Consent features the couple's initials entwined in gold beneath the prince's coronet, but
St James's Palace said this was not the couple's official symbol.
A white lily represents
St Catherine of Siena, whose feast day falls on April 29 and with whom Kate shares her name. Beneath it is a Welsh leek surrounded by William's white three-pronged, second-in-line to the throne label, and a tiny red escallop from the Spencer family Arms.
There is also a red dragonu00a0-- the heraldic symbol of Walesu00a0-- and the UK's floral emblems -- the rose, thistle and shamrock. It was signed "by the Queen herself, signed with her own hand" at a Privy Council meeting after the monarch made a formal Declaration of Consent.
The Queen celebrated her birthday by attending the traditional Royal Maundy Service at Westminster Abbey where her grandson will marry next Friday. It is the first time the two events have coincided. The Queen presented the elderly with Maundy money, a practice on the Thursday of Holy Week which dates back centuries.
