The Royal Wedding Forecast—Will It Rain on Kate and William?

Crowds hoping that a downpour won't dampen couple's happy day

By Marianne Garvey Apr 28, 2011 8:05 PMTags
Kate Middleton,Carole Middleton, Pippa MiddletonGeorge Pimentel/WireImage

What's the only thing that coupld possibly put a damper on Royal Wedding Fever?

Yup, the notoriously crummy British weather.

With the ceremony fast approaching, the skies over London have turned gray and cloudy—and making the gloom even more painful is that the past two weeks have been solid sunshine and record temps for the city.

So what are the chances Kate Middleton will see a downpour on her day?

Pretty high, with a 30 percent chance of rain in early afternoon, and according to the Brits, that just sucks. And even if it doesn't pour, weather forecasters in the city are still expecting the skies to be overcast. But that's still not breaking this crazy wedding spirit. And with temps expected to hit almost 70, at least it won't be chilly too for the bride and groom—and all those camped out outside Westminster Abbey and along the wedding route.

"I feel bad for her if it rains, they've had great weather for two weeks here now," royal route camper Kathy Shaver told E! News. "What bride wants the rain? I'll feel so bad if she doesn't have a sunny day, but she'll adapt, she really loves him, she'll be happy."

Shaver told us her and her pals are well prepared for a potential downpour though, bringing jackets with hoods and rain ponchos just in case it happens.

Which Anne Corder hopes it doesn't. She's traveled all the way from Switzerland to see the event live and up close, and she's hoping the weather will behave.

"Everyone's going to be in a good mood no matter the weather, because William and Kate are really trying to connect with people and are very natural and a great couple," she told us. "But I've heard no rain for tomorrow and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that's the right forecast."

And native Londoner Janet Sanberg—who wins best tent in our book for her grassy corner spot set up with fairy lights and tables of cakes, teas and Pimm's—even has a positive spin on the wet weather.

"We're going to have pimms and dancing and champagne in here and all the pageantry is so exciting, so we'll have a good time whether it rains or not," Sanberg told us. "It would be nice if it didn't, however, but put up and umbrella and enjoy the day, Kate! And you get better pictures when it's a gray day than a sunny one anyway, so she'll be fine."

Wedding fan Wendy Hooton put it best, saying she bets people won't even notice the rain, they'll all be "so high off excitement." (Or at least the Pimm's...)

And her pal Julie Silver said Middleton won't get a drop on that still mysterious dress. "They'll be there with umbrellas making sure she'll be fine. We're Londoners. We're used to the weather here."