we begin with the telegraph which is in full royal wedding fever mode. the paper says the mother of meghan markle, doria ragland, is now the most likely candidate to accompany the bride—to—be on her walk up the isle. le figaro calls it the marriage that will shake up the british monarchy, citing miss markle‘s mixed heritage and the fact she is a divorcee as symbolising the modernisation of the royal family. however, an opinion piece in the washington post disputes the notion that the marriage will help make britain more progressive due to the heavy restrictions placed on political speech and activities by members of the royal family. the south china morning post says the royal wedding frenzy around the world is rooted in the legacy of the british empire and asks why so little attention is paid to the weddings of other royal families from asia and continental europe. and finally, the short list website asks, "what kind of man enjoys the royal wedding more than the fa cup final?" chelsea and manchester united face stiff competition from the royal family for attention as they face each other at wembley stadium for the english premier

leagues biggest football fixture of the year. so let's begin. such a wide variety of subjects. with me is richard griffiths, who's corporate communications director at the global pr firm, ketchum. i should not be so cynical. that is wrong. a bad start. there is a very wide range of perspective on coverage. i think it makes sense to start with, let us go straight into the fever as the telegraph is calling it, the wedding fever. throwing up nonetheless some of these are still unanswered questions about how is it all going to fit together for dig about how is it all going to fit togetherfor dig in about how is it all going to fit together for dig in markle about how is it all going to fit togetherfor dig in markle in particular? in case you missed the last few minutes of the last 45 minutes, the big event tomorrow. volden, saturday the 19th of may, at the location, st george ‘s chapel at windsor castle, for the big wedding

of prince harry and meghan markle. the big story has really pivoted on whether meghan‘s father will make it to the wedding. we thought he would come, then he wasn't going to. and yesterday we had confirmation from kensington palace that thomas markle will not be coming to the wedding. so the big question, the big question this morning is who is going to walk down the aisle? and we are expecting confirmation this morning of who dat is going to be. on the front of the telegraph they are starting to site the runners and the writers —— of who dat is going to be. they think it will be her mother, doria ragland, who flew from los angeles early in the week. she has had tea with the prince of wales and it looks likely that she will be the most likely candidate to walk up the most likely candidate to walk up the aisle. there was a suggestion that it could have been prince

charles. because apparently she gets on famously with prince charles. it looks like the most likely option is her mum will be doing the honours. it is classic coverage these days. it is classic coverage these days. it is classic coverage these days. it is not just it is classic coverage these days. it is notjust coverage but who is the bookies split was favourite. the hubbub around it is amazing. sally joins us. was this the day that meghan‘s mum meets the queen? absolutely. i think it would be quite a meeting. if i was meeting my new in—laws i would be filling trepidation. there has been so much speculation about who will walk meghan down the aisle. we are looking at some of the papers. this is the guardian. many of them have the voter which you showed in the telegraph of meghan and harry who came here yesterday. we were not

expecting them here. they were doing a bit ofa expecting them here. they were doing a bit of a flyby while the military we re a bit of a flyby while the military were doing the reversal of the carriage procession. that brought so much delight to the many members of the public who are here at the moment. this is the sun which focuses on a story you just talked about. i focuses on a story you just talked about. lam focuses on a story you just talked about. i am so sad about dad, it talks about the fact that she really did want her father to walk down the aisle. she wanted both her mother and father to be here tomorrow to have key roles. unusually, we don't normally do this on the freezing, i thought we show you some of the girlie magazines. this is gratia, talking about meghan, the most powerful woman in fashion. they talk a lot about who will be making her dress. it will be revealed tomorrow, which designer brand will make meghan's dress and the impact she has when she wears a certain brands, certain fashion brands, jewellery,

eyewear, etc, how the sales of those items literally skyrocket the moment she is seen anywhere wearing anything. they estimate the meghan effect adds £500 million to the fashion industry, in grazia. it is the fashion and the beauty products that we are hanging on. thank you. the fashion and the beauty products that we are hanging on. thank youlj can that we are hanging on. thank you.” can imagine. richard, you could think that britain could be accused of going overboard on all of this. as we reflecting in the papers, the world is going overboard on it. the figaro, talking about the marriage thatis figaro, talking about the marriage that is tipping the royal family upside down in terms of modernisation, etc, and the washington post takes almost the exact opposite view. i had a quick look at the figaro's website, it is packed with stories from all angles. this is a global media story. the

royalfamily are this is a global media story. the royal family are a global media sensation for so many reasons, possibly to do with the legacy of the british empire. the figaro highlighting her prominence as an american, a divorcee, of mixed—race, the polar opposite in the washington post by the global opinions editor, she is writing this morning saying that meghan will not be the modernising force britain truly needs, why, because she won't be able to be outspoken on race issues because of the heavy restrictions placed on members of the royal family taking political standpoints. i disagree, personally. family taking political standpoints. idisagree, personally. i family taking political standpoints. i disagree, personally. ithink family taking political standpoints. i disagree, personally. i think the fa ct i disagree, personally. i think the fact that she is not an aristocrat in the same way that kate middleton is not an aristocrat is a huge step forward for the royal family. is not an aristocrat is a huge step forward for the royalfamily. plus, the impression we get so far, like harry, she is a great communicator, she can relate to real people on the streets. for many of us this is a big step forward. it will be

interesting, she is a very forceful character. she has had to forge her own career, she has been outspoken once or twice before. there is a little bit of, you will have two button it. she will have to be diplomatic. you have to remember, harry is a brilliant communicator. he has grown up in the of modern media and has learned the lessons of what happened to his mother and he has learnt his own lesson subsequently and he will be able to help on this journey, as well as the army of people they have at clarence house protecting them. the story gets wider and wider. we will have a look at the south china morning post. i am going to steal this quote. "a fairytale wedding it is not, it is between the balding prints and a former small—time american actress." they cannot help but focus on it. they tried to create a suggestion as to why they are create a suggestion as to why they a re baffled create a suggestion as to why they are baffled there is so much interest. there are other royal

families around the world. why does the british royal family families around the world. why does the british royalfamily reign supreme? again, ithink the british royalfamily reign supreme? again, i think it goes back to the legacy of the empire, the vast global english—speaking media as well, which has such an influence. it is not surprising that some people in some parts of the world would get frustrated at the disproportionate impact that the royal family have. disproportionate impact that the royalfamily have. even disproportionate impact that the royal family have. even referencing hong kong about this sort of nostalgia for what was, whether it actually was, as people like to think it was, or not. the greater the history the more, obviously, fascination seems to be. even if you are frustrated by it, you can bet that over the coming days, and i think beyond that, the coverage that this couple will gardner will continue. what they do will be an object of immense fascination —— will garner. another institution that could do with a bit of a lag up

is the fa cup, taking place on the same day. are you going to watch the wedding or the fa cup? why should they be mutually exclusive? i wanted they be mutually exclusive? i wanted the outcome of both. the timing is good. the wedding is at 12 o'clock and the fa cup is after five good. the wedding is at 12 o'clock and the fa cup is afterfive p.m.. this guy is saying he will be outside st george ‘s chapel in windsor with a mini unionjack, tea rs windsor with a mini unionjack, tears streaming down, all a bit tongue in cheek, it is bringing the country together. get out and enjoy it. i hope we know the result of one of those two and await the results of those two and await the results of the other. richard, great to chat with you. thank you. thank you for watching the briefing. goodbye for now. hello there. well, for most of the uk, thursday was a glorious, sunny, dry day. saw so many weather watcher picture scenes like this one, in warrington in cheshire,

of a flowerful field and shrubs, with the blue skies above, and a lovely end to the day with some gorgeous sunsets. but, like the last few nights, temperatures really falling away under those clear skies, particularly across eastern scotland. for much of england and wales, close to freezing in one or two places, with a touch of frost in fact, but not so much for the north and west of the uk. in western scotland and northern ireland, here a veil of cloud will continue to move in from the atlantic, so it'll be less cold here to start to friday. a chilly start elsewhere, another lovely sunny one expected for england and wales. more cloud, though, across scotland and northern ireland could spoil things a little bit bit. some holes still, with sunny spells, and those temperatures up a notch, i think, compared to thursday, around 19 in the south and the east. high pressure still the dominant feature of our weather as we head into the weekend, but weather fronts never too far away from the north—west. so for saturday itself, there's some big football matches going on. top and tail of the country, it looks like it'll be fine and dry for all of them, and, of course, the royal wedding in windsor. a cool start with those temperatures

rising quite quickly through the afternoon and we should see a top ten of 20 or maybe 21 with good sunny spells. this is the picture for saturday, a cool start, clear skies to start, lots of sunshine around. a little bit of fairweather cloud just bubbling up here and there. close to the west of scotland, though, these weather fronts will be floating, bringing thicker cloud and maybe the odd spot of rain. most places should be dry, and temperatures up a notch still, maybe 21 or 22. as we get on into sunday, though, looks like these weather fronts will begin to make inroads across scotland and northern ireland. so here a cloudier, breezier day, with outbreaks of rain for northern ireland and western scotland, maybe pushing further southwards and eastwards, but i think some parts of northern scotland should see sunshine. for england and wales, another gorgeous day on the cards with temperatures reaching highs of 22 or 23, but a bit cooler further north and west, because of the cloud and rain. similar picture as we head on into the start of next week. high pressure still dominant

but still these weather fronts plaguing the north and west, so outbreaks of rain in northern ireland into northern and western scotland. the further south and east that you head, it should be dry and bright, with plenty of sunshine. could see the odd sharp shower developing in the south—east later on, and those temperatures even warmer — 23 or maybe 2a celsius. hello. this is breakfast, with naga munchetty in windsor on the eve of the royal wedding. prince harry and meghan markle have been here overseeing the final preparations. today, the bride's mother, doria ragland, will, for the first time, be introduced to the queen. but as the town gears up for the big day, it's still to be confirmed who will walk the bride down the aisle. good morning from the long walk.

it's quiet. different tomorrow morning. across the board, notjust in windsor. chilly. for most, pleasa nt in windsor. chilly. for most, pleasant and sunny. cloud and patchy rain in the north—west.