Ian Thorpe invited to Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton – Swimming News
Australian comeback king and former Olympic champion, Ian Thorpe, has been invited to the royal wedding of Prince
William and Kate Middleton. The future king of England, Prince William, invited Thorpe, who is the apple of the eye of swimming fans after his return to competitive swimming.
The 28-year-old Thorpe is very pleased to receive an invitation of the royal wedding by the Prince. He expressed
his happiness and said that he feels great to be invited at the precious occasion. He is the only one of all swimmers, who would be present at the auspicious event. In 2009, Thorpe happened to have a chance to meet the Prince personally at the Kirribilli House
reception, where the Prince showed keen attraction to Ian Thorpe’s Youth Charity Fund.
The invitation to the royal wedding demands the dress code of guests to be uniformed. The criterion for the dress
code has been set to a Morning Coat or Lounge Suit, for which Thorpe will consult with his favourite brand, Giorgio Armani.
Thorpe, who returned to competitive swimming in February 2011, has been the centre of attention of media. After
facing many career problems, he finally hired Gennadi Touretski, as his coach and has a scheduled training program in Switzerland and Abu Dhabi, but now he will have to fly to England to attend the wedding. Furthermore, Thorpe’s focus is on deciding a suitable
wedding gift for the Prince.
Thorpe is not the only athlete to be invited at the wedding. The guests list comprises of foreign royal families,
celebrities and sports stars. In addition, the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard has also been invited at the wedding, along with David Beckham and musician, Elton John.
PM Gillard expressed that she does not have a problem attending the royal wedding, as she would represent the
entire Australian nation.
Gillard said, “There are many republicans in Australia, there are also many Australians who want to see our continued
ties to the Monarchy. We have not made a step to be a republic. I received an invitation to go to the Royal wedding and I think on behalf of the nation, it's appropriate that I'm there.”
Most of the wedding guests are friends of the wedding couple, whereas, St James’s Palace explains Thorpe’s invitation
to the wedding as a result of his meeting with the Prince, last year.
The Royal wedding is expected to be viewed by more than two billion international viewers. The wedding will be
a memorable occasion for all related to the wedding, but the eyes of Australian fans will solely be upon their returning champion, who seeks his qualification for the 2012 London Olympics.
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