Credit crunch William and Kate considering a budget honeymoon in the Scilly Isles (where Charles took Diana)

By Katie Nicholl and Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:12 PM on 30th January 2011

Prince William and Kate Middleton are planning a budget honeymoon in the Scilly Isles.

The Royal couple are also considering telling friends not to get them lavish gifts when they tie the knot - but instead make donations to charity.

The couple have reportedly drawn up a shortlist of British honeymoon destinations - because Palace officials don't want them going on an expensive foreign break while Britons see their living standards squeezed.

Arm in arms: Kate Middleton has much to organise ahead of her Spring wedding, including selection of her coat of arms

Prince William last went on holiday to the Scilly Isles - off the coast from Penzance - on a family holiday with his mother Diana, brother Harry and Prince Charles in 1989 when he was just seven.

Charles and Diana spent time at Lord Mountbatten's Hampshire estate and at Balmoral on their honeymoon in 1981.

An aide told the People: 'William and Kate are acutely aware that in these difficult times being seen to take a luxury honeymoon would not look good and send out entirely the wrong signal.

'Neither has lavish tastes and a domestic location is ideal to ensure they are secure.'

It had been thought that William and Kate would fly to Kenya where the Prince proposed or go to the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, bride-to-be Kate is so busy with wedding plans she has yet to apply for her own coat of arms, the College of Arms confirmed yesterday.

Honeymoon destination? William and Kate may be going to the Scilly Isles where the Prince first holidayed when he was aged eight with Charles, Diana and his brother Harry in June 1989

Staycation: Prince William is considering taking Kate Middleton to the Scilly Isles for their honeymoon after their April 29 wedding

Although not a legality, an insignia is a prerequisite for those marrying into the Royal Family.

Unlike the late Princess of Wales, whose paternal Spencer family Coat of Arms was used when she married Prince Charles, Kate’s middle-class background means she does not have one.

In order to be granted one, her father Michael will have to lodge a petition – or a ‘memorial’ as it is correctly known – with the College, which would then approve the application before a bespoke insignia can be designed.

Arms and crests are granted by letters patent. Applicants must get a warrant from the Earl Marshal agreeing to the granting of the arms.

Yesterday Clive Cheesman, officer of arms at the College of Arms, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We have not received any application thus far. For normal applicants the process can take up to eight months from first consultation to the completed process. However in this instance it could be arranged in two weeks.’

Last night, Palace sources said the Middleton family would be applying for a Coat of Arms, but this could be postponed until after the wedding on April 29.

Once awarded, the crest could also be used by Kate’s father, her mother Carole, her sister Pippa and her brother James.

Memory: Arms of Prince William, the Coat of Arms designed to mark Prince William's coming of age in 2000, incorporates a tribute to his mother

‘Catherine has rather a lot to think about,’ a senior courtier said. ‘I expect she will have a coat of arms; it would be surprising for her not to. I suspect she has not got around to having it done yet. She might not get around to it until after the wedding.’

A source at the College of Arms added: ‘Miss Middleton is likely to use her Coat of Arms more than any other grantee because she is marrying into royalty and they tend to use theirs more than others.

‘However, it’s likely that her arms will be in keeping with the heraldic tradition. Choosing a motto is completely optional.’

Precedent: Kate will follow in the footsteps of Sophie Wessex, who had her Arms granted after her marriage to Prince Edward

Prince William was granted a coat of arms shortly after his 18th birthday. His insignia uses the Queen and Prince Charles’s arms and contains small red shells around the necks of the lion and the unicorn, a tribute to his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

The shell, which derives from the Spencer arms, was included at Prince William’s insistence. The motif has been borne by the Earl of Spencer since the 16th Century and was a popular symbol for medieval pilgrims. In all, the shell appears four times on William’s arms, the design of which was approved by Prince Charles and the Queen.

By not having her coat of arms granted until after her wedding, Kate will follow in the footsteps of Sophie Wessex. When she married Prince Edward, Sophie, who became the Countess of Wessex, had her 200-year-old family Rhys-Jones insignia redesigned.

The Duchess of York created her own coat of arms with the rather apt motto, ‘from adversity grows happiness’.

It is still not known which title Kate will take once she is married to Prince William. The likely options for William are Duke of Clarence, Duke of Cambridge, Duke of Connaught or Duke of Sussex, all of which would make Kate a duchess.

But she and William are said to be reluctant. A source said: ‘William wants to stay Prince William and Kate likes the idea of being Princess Catherine. They think being duke and duchess ages them by 30 years. They may in the end choose not to have a title.’

Technically, if that is the case, Kate would be known as HRH Princess William of Wales or Princess Catherine of Wales.

A spokesman for the Prince said: ‘We are not giving any guidance on titles. It will be announced on the day.’ 

Print this article

Read later

Email to a friend