Obamas to get the royal snub

Royal sources reveal US President and family will be left off the guest list for Prince William's nuptials as it is not a 'state occasion'

Royal sources reveal US President and family will be left off the guest list for Prince William's nuptials as it is not a 'state occasion'

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, didn't make the royal cut.

America's first couple is not on Prince William and Kate Middleton's list of invitees for what's being called the "wedding of the decade," the media reported.

Sources said that William and his bride-to-be want to tie the knot in front of ordinary citizens and because the wedding isn't an official state event, the couple doesn't feel compelled to invite foreign dignitaries.

"The wedding will not be a formal state occasion since Prince William is neither the sovereign nor the heir to the throne," a St James Palace spokesman said.

Despite the Obamas not being invited, a number of heads of state will likely attend the April 29, Westminster Abbey ceremony, possibly including France's president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni.

The decision to exclude the President, however, isn't the norm.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana invited then-President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy to watch them exchange vows in 1981.

"It is certainly not the case that all foreign heads of state will be excluded. The guest list is still being drawn up and could change, but as things stand it's right to say the Obamas will not be invited," a senior courtier said.

A glitzy, over-the-top wedding is likely to be out of the question, as the country faces severe government cutbacks. Palace officials say the royal couple is "mindful of the economic situation."

First Baby

Education New Zealand published a quarter-page advertisement offering Prince William and Kate Middleton's first-born child a scholarship to a New Zealand universityu00a0 shortly after the royal engagement was announced.