Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall given 40,000 palace by the Queen for wedding reception

Add to My Stories Share
It may not be an official Royal wedding, but the Queen has given Zara Phillips the use of one of her palaces as a wedding gift - costing her 40,000.Holyroodhouse - the monarch's official residence in Scotland - will be used for the wedding reception when she ties the knot with rugby star Mike Tindall this weekend.
The Queen is spending 40,000 on the venue to reimburse the Royal Collection for the money they will lose by closing their doors to the public for five days in the tourist season.

Lavish: The Palace of Holyroodhouse which will be shut for five days for the wedding this weekend

Zara Phillips and fiance Mike Tindall leave the wedding reception for Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Buckingham Palace in April - on Saturday they tie the knot themselvesThe palace will be shut from Wednesday so the venue can be prepared for the lavish reception on Saturday - and it will not reopen until next Monday.Guests will include William and Kate, the Queen, Prince Harry, some of former England rugby captain Mr Tindalls team-mates and members of his immediate family.
But while some might be daunted by the prospect of entertaining royalty, Tindall is unfazed,saying his involvement in rugby has helped bring him and his family closer to Zara's 'normal family'.In this month's Reader's Digest the sportsman said people wondered atfirst if their 'backgrounds were too different', but insists it is not a problem at all.
'I've been on the edge of her world all the time I've been playing rugby,' he said.
'I know William and Harry because they are great England supporters, and I've played against Peter (Zara's brother, who represented the Scottish Schools team).'Zara's mum is patron of the ScottishRugby Union so I've known h! er for y ears. They're good, fun people, all of them. They're just a normal family.'Tindall said his own family have no worries about the high-profile relationship.He said: 'They just want me to be happy.
'They can see I am, so they're not worried, and they love Zara.'

LAVISH VENUE FOR WEDDING RECEPTION

The 12th century palace which is the Queen's official residence in Scotland will provide the perfect setting for the couple's wedding reception.It was the home of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth II spends one week there every summer. Staff are used to closing the doors for when the Royal family are in residence - although they open to the public during the rest of the year.
The wedding will be a very private event with the reception a far cry from the Buckingham Palace party that was laid on for William and Kate.Holyroodhouse was set on fire during the visit of Oliver Cromwell in 1650 and had to be restored. After the Ace of Union in 1707 between England and Scotland the Palace went into decline and has been used much less frequently by Monarchs.
Fellow rugby player Iain Balshaw will make his best man's speech at the palace, which was once the home of Mary Queen of Scots, before the couple cut their wedding cake.
The venue would have expected to have around 4,000 visitors over an ordinary July weekend.

More...

• Zara to hold pre-wedding Britannia bash on former Royal yacht
• A regal wedding it ain't! What we can expect when Zara Phillips ties the knot with 'The Fridge' Mike Tindall

Despite the closure, staff at Holyroodhouse are expecting a surge in visitor numbers after the high-profile event.
A spokesman told The Sun the bill for closing the popular attraction will not fall to the taxpayer.He said: 'The Queen will reimburse the Royal Collection for the period the Palace of Holyroodhouse is closed to the public. It will be from her own private funds and there will be no cost to the public purse.'The family - and not the taxpayer - will! be payi ng to lay on the entertainment at the reception as it is not a state wedding.An aide told the newspaper: 'This really underlines that it is a private family event and draws the distinction.'Zara is not officially a member of the royal family and is 12th in line to the throne.
However, taxpayers will have to foot an estimated 500,000 bill to provide security at the wedding for the royal family.

Church: The couple will marry at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, whose Royal associations stretch back centuries

The Queen has offered the use of her Scottish residence for her granddaughter's wedding receptionZara, 30, will marry the Englandrugby captain, 32, at the Canongate Kirk on Saturday before they head to the Palace for the reception.Thecouple, who first met in a Sydney bar during the 2003 Rugby World Cup after being introduced by Prince Harry, are holding a cocktail receptionthe night before their big day on the Royal yacht Britannia.They were forced to turn down a 500,000 offer from Hello! magazine to cover the big day because the Queen is determined that it remains a private event.A small number of hand-picked photographers will be allowed into the Palace of Holyroodhouse to record the arrival and departure of the bridal party and their immediate families.
Like Holyroodhouse the venue is a tourist attraction and will be shut for the day for the party.The Queen cried publicly when the yacht was decommissioned in 1997 and she is not expected to be at the cocktail party.

Britannia was decommissioned in 1997, but will host the Royal Family once again on Friday night

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be among the royal guests at Zara Phillips' wedding to Mike Tindall on Saturday