5 Best iPhone Apps For The Royal Wedding

At the end of this month, two university sweethearts will wed. The bride used to be an accessories buyer for Jigsaw and she still makes the best-dressed lists. The groom is a helicopter pilot and also His Royal Highness, Prince William of Wales. The British prince, second in line to the throne, will marry his long-term girlfriend, Catherine (Kate) Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. Whether you’ll be in central London waving a Union Jack on the nuptial date or spending your extra public holiday watching the proceedings on TV, here’s a list of the top iPhone applications to help you prepare for this royal wedding extravaganza.

1. Royal Wedding Invite -£0.59; released 13 March 2011; Developer Ryan Stevens

According to Wikipedia, 1,900 people have been invited to the wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey. If you haven’t made the cut this time, you can still learn more about the bride and groom, the best man (Prince Harry), and the wedding venues via the free Royal Wedding Invite application – or alternatively, you could look on Wikipedia where most of the text and images come from.

If you’re especially eager not to miss any of the big event, the application also features a timer that counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the ceremony begins.

2. The Royal Wedding from Hello! -Free; updated 23 March 2011; Developer Hello Ltd.

Hello! magazine has recently released their own royal wedding application, featuring a range of glossy images and short captions from their editorial team. Take a look at Kate’s ring and those of other royal fiancées. See early pictures of the bride and groom. Follow the timeline of their romance, break-up and engagement.

It’s a fairly slick application, but its content is fairly limited and padded out with pictures of other royal couples. You’re also not going to see Kate’s actual dress in the dress section at this stage, but rather sketches from alternative designers, such as Valentino and Elizabeth Emmanuel, showing what they would’ve done if given the opportunity. However, the application developers promise that new pictures will continue to be added as the wedding approaches.

3. Monarchy: The Definitive Guide – £1.19; updated 24 January 2011; Developer Daniel Dickenson.

Prince William is second in line to the British throne – a throne that has been occupied over the centuries by a number of well-known kings and queens. Henry the VIII with his six wives. William the Conqueror. George VI, played by Colin Firth in a recent film. The Monarchy application brings a timeline of monarchs to your phone, ranging from King Offa in 757 to Queen Elizabeth II in the present day.

Once again, the content is drawn heavily from Wikipedia, but the easy-to-use interface makes it a handy reference tool for offline browsing. Additional features include a list of Prime Ministers from 1721 onwards and the lyrics for the national anthems of the United Kingdom, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – useful if you want to brush up on the words to ‘God Save the Queen’ before your royal wedding street party.

4. London: Westminster Abbey Guide & Audio – £2.99; released 23 September 2009; Developer GuidzAlive Limited.

Westminster Abbey, the venue for William and Kate’s wedding ceremony, is one of London’s top tourist attractions. Whether you’re planning a visit or just wanting to find out more about this historic site, this Way2Go guide provides an excellent audio commentary on the highlights of Westminster Abbey, such as the Coronation Chair and Poets’ Corner. There’s even a five minute audio segment on the funeral of Princess Diana, Prince William’s mother, which also took place at the Abbey.

The application also includes a floor plan of Westminster Abbey, a map of the local area and information on how to get there (though if you’re a wedding guest you perhaps won’t be using public transport).

5. Weakest Link: Royal Wedding Edition – £0.59; released 22 March 2011; Developer BBC Worldwide LTD.

Once you’ve used the other applications on this list to study up on all things Kate and William, test your knowledge by playing Weakest Link: Royal Wedding Edition. Released by the BBC and based on their popular game show, the application matches you up with five computer-generated opponents who each seem to have an endless knowledge of wedding trivia as well as their own strategies for making it to the final round.

What does the Middleton family business sell? How old was Diana when William was born? In which room at St James’ Palace were William and Kate’s official engagement photos taken?

Answer the questions correctly while avoiding being voted off by your opponents and you’ll make it through to the sudden death play-off. There are no snarky comments from Anne Robinson here, but there are 1,000 wedding-related questions ranging from member-of-the-public to stalker-of-the-monarchy difficulty levels.

Alternatively, if you’re not interested in the royal wedding at all, and are just looking for something to do on April 26, the application also has a general knowledge setting, boasting 10,000 different questions – that should keep you busy through the ceremony, at least.