Above is a photo of Princes Harry and William from 2006, which was just recently released. I thought it a fitting occasion to use this photo – Prince Harry has just been officially named Prince William’s Best Man. And you know the Best Man gets all of the action. Yes, this isn’t a surprise… who else was William going to choose? Also not surprising, Kate Middleton chose her younger sister Pippa as her maid of honor. On the Today show, they said that Pippa was going to be one of the oldest maids of honor ever in the history of royal weddings… and Pippa is only 26 years old. Weird. Also: there’s still no information about the designers – although everyone pretty much agrees that Kate will be wearing Bruce Oldfield, and Kate’s mother and sisters have been seen entering Oldfield’s studio.

It will be all in the family for Prince William and Kate Middleton, who Monday morning announced their wedding party.

As was widely predicted, Kate, 29, has chosen her sister Pippa as her maid of honor – whose job, it is stated, will be to make sure the bridal gown is displayed properly and the young wedding party is kept in line – while Prince Harry will be his brother’s best man, the palace announced.

For royal watchers, the real treat may be in observing the young friends and royal relatives who will make up Kate’s bridal party. Among them are Lady Louise Windsor, 7, the daughter of William’s Uncle Edward and his wife, Sophie Wessex. Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones, 8, is also from the wider Windsor clan. She is the daughter of Queen Elizabeth’s nephew Viscount Linley and his wife, Serena.

A close friend of the couple, Hugh van Cutsem, is the father of another bridesmaid, Grace, 3. She, like one of the pageboys announced by the palace, Tom Pettifer, 8, is a godchild of William’s. Pettifer is the son of William’s nanny, Tiggy Pettier (nee Legge-Bourke), and her husband, Charles.

There’s also a spot for Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall’s granddaughter, Eliza Lopes, 3, whose mother is Camilla’s daughter, Laura. The other pageboy is William Lowther-Pinkerton, 10, son of Jamie Lowther-Pinker, who as the princes’ private secretary is the one heading up the wedding planning – and all the crucial work for the couple and William’s brother Harry.

The palace ends its announcement by saying that the couple will withhold news of the what the bridesmaids dresses and the uniforms of the pageboys until April 29 – which happens to be the wedding day.

[From People]

I find it kind of sad that Kate’s bridal party consists of mostly William’s extended family. She got to pick her maid of honor, but why can’t she have bridesmaids that are girls she went to university with? Or friends she’s known since childhood? Or have all of those girls been jettisoned over the years as Kate has grown closer to William’s inner circle?

Also, don’t get any ideas about the Best Man and the Maid of Honor finding true love in each other’s arms. Harry likes trashy-looking blondes, not geisha brunettes. And Chelsy Davy will likely be Harry’s date for the day.

Photos courtesy of WENN.