How William and Kate Will Honor Princess Diana at Wedding

USMagazine, Thursday, April 28, 2011, 6:37am (PDT)

The late Princess Diana will be sorely missed at Friday's royal wedding, when her eldest son Prince William ties the knot with Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

But William, 28, and Middleton, 29, have found a way to honor Diana, who died in a 1997 car crash at age 36.

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Newly released details about the wedding's musical service reveal that the first hymn sung will be "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer" -- the final hymn at Princess Diana's funeral, and was also played at a memorial service on the 10th anniversary of her untimely death.

Before the service begins, a selection of organ pieces will be played, plus seven orchestral pieces by Bach, Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten and other, mostly British composers.

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Three of those pieces -- Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Farewell to Stromness, William Walton's Touch Her Soft Lips and Gerald Finzi's Romance for String Orchestra Op. 11 -- were played at Prince Charles' and Duchess Camilla's 2005 wedding.

"Catherine is a fan of classical music and also had a lot of input from the Prince of Wales. They spent a lot of time listening to the music together on iPods," a Palace spokesman tells Us Weekly.

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"The theme of [this selection for the wedding] is Britishness, accentuating traditional forms and crafts," the spokesman explains, adding that the selections will "give a sense of grandeur [to the day]."

Two selections are also sentimental for the Prince and future Princess. Middleton chose the song "Greensleeves" because "it's such a famous piece of English music," a royal insider says.

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William, meanwhile, chose the piece "Jerusalem" to honor "his love of rugby and patriotic nature."

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