Kate Middleton to use Diana's carriage on wedding day

Kate Middleton to use Diana's carriage on wedding day - Kate Middleton will make her first journey as a member of the Royal family in the same carriage that Diana, Princess of Wales, travelled in on her wedding day. 

Prince William and his bride will be driven from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in an open-topped State Landau that carried the Prince and Princess of Wales past cheering crowds after their wedding in 1981. 

In a surprise move, Clarence House also announced that the vehicle in which Miss Middleton will be driven to the Abbey will be the same Rolls-Royce that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were using when they were attacked by student protestors last year.

The vehicle, which has not been used since rioters smashed one of its windows and threw paint on it, is being repaired specially for Miss Middleton’s final journey as a spinster.

Details of the transport arrangements for the couple’s wedding on April 29 were released after the Royal household finalised plans for the carriage procession in which the public will get their first sight of the newlyweds. 

Prince Harry, as best man, will be in the second carriage, together with Miss Middleton’s sister Pippa, who is maid of honour, and some of the bridesmaids and page boys, who will also take up the third carriage.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be in the fourth carriage, with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall bringing up the rear, sharing a carriage with Miss Middleton’s parents Michael and Carole. 

But the Glass Coach – which was famously used to transport the Princess of Wales to her wedding, giving the world its first glimpse of her wedding dress – will only be used if there is a downpour. 

Colonel Toby Browne, the Crown Equerry who is in charge of the Royal Mews, said the damaged Rolls-Royce would be ready in time for the big day. 

“It’s not extensive, it's just minor damage following the incident before Christmas,” he said. 

“One of the problems (is) it's such a special car there are details that have to be reproduced and are not available off the shelf. 

“The claret paint is specific to (all royal) cars and certain bits of glass had to be made, but it's really a minor detail you won't notice.”

The coach was used after the wedding to take Charles and Diana to Buckingham Palace Credit: Rex

Prince William will be driven to the Abbey in a separate state car, before the 1902 State Landau, which was also used by the Duke and Duchess of York on their wedding day, pulls up outside the Abbey, drawn by four grey horses, ready to take the couple to Buckingham Palace for their wedding reception. 

Mark Hargreaves, the head coachman at the Royal Mews, where the carriages are kept, said: “People here are slowly starting to buzz a bit more and more and more, as we get closer and closer to the wedding. 

“With the crowd and the noise, the horses are going to be on their toes. You're too busy thinking about 'what am I going to do next' to enjoy it. “You get the butterflies before you get on board and while you're getting changed. 

“But once you get on you're tuned in to your job, you don't really enjoy it until you get back and everything's gone well and you can sit back and relax.” ( telegraph.co.uk )