Ready Freddie shop! Lord Freddie's £23,000 wedding list even Princess Pushy thinks is vulgar


Guests asked for a dinner service at £4,236 and £435 cashmere throws


Tying the knot: Lord Freddie Windsor and Sophie Winkleman are getting married - and attending won't be cheap for their guests

The gift list is a central part of almost every wedding – but Lord Freddie Windsor and his bride-to-be Sophie Winkleman have really gone to town on theirs.

The couple, who are due to get married at Hampton Court tomorrow, have invited their guests to buy presents worth £22,682.34 from London department store Selfridges.

The list, which has more than 300 items on it, ranges from the exclusive – such as 12 'after-dinner teaspoons' costing £31 each – to the homely, with a selection of garden games including a rounders set and a set of giant 'pick-up sticks'.

It is said that the list has caused friction between actress Sophie, 29, and her future mother-in-law, Princess Michael of Kent, who made no bones about her view that it was 'a little vulgar'.

Apparently the princess, who has appointed herself the couple's 'wedding planner', suggested that guests were asked to buy pieces of art so that the newly-weds could start their own collection.

However Sophie was determined to get her own way on this one detail at least, and has had 'the most fun' going around the store compiling her wish list.

'Like most men Freddie wasn't that interested and has pretty much left it up to his fiancee,' said a source.

Given that Freddie, 30, was once a familiar figure on the party circuit, it is no surprise that there are a substantial number of alcohol-related items on the list, such as 12 pairs of goblets (£1,032), six pairs of champagne flutes (£492) and 42 highball glasses and tumblers (£1,533).

There's also a £235 decanter, a £225 cocktail shaker, a £280 jug with built-in ice compartment, an ice bucket with tongs (£198) and a £300 silver plate champagne bucket. 

And let's not forget the sangria jug at £89.50 plus a black corkscrew for a modest tenner.

Friction: Princess Michael of Kent thinks the couple should have asked guests for works of art

Of course every new bride needs to fill her airing cupboard with fresh, fluffy white towels and Egyptian cotton sheets – although not all are in a position to ask for two £435 cream cashmere throws as well.

Even a royal kitchen (Freddie is 31st in line to the throne) needs a few mod cons, including a £249.99 food processor, a £100 blender, a £280 juicer, and a polished steel Dualit toaster at £191.

Miss Winkleman, who will be styled The Lady Frederick Windsor after she says 'I do', has chosen a pretty ice blue and white dinner set complete with chargers, cereal bowls, sauce boats and even a jam pot.

If the guests are generous enough, this will be complemented by a silver cutlery service. As well as the 'after dinner teaspoons', a single knife costs £49.

The entire service, including serving utensils, costs £4,236. The Mail understands that Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Prince Harry – who have all turned down invitations to the wedding citing previous engagements – have clubbed together to buy the couple a gift, although it is not clear whether it is from the official list.

Other guests appear to be a little slower off the mark, however, and towels, cutlery and bed linen were still available for purchase yesterday.

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