Prince William Wedding Mystery: Royal Watchers Search for Clues

Nov. 17, 2010— -- Barely 24 hours after Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton made headlines the world over by announcing their engagement, the chorus of congratulations has been replaced by another international obsession: When, where and how will the wedding happen?

Will it be an April wedding? Maybe as early as March? Bookies are reportedly not taking bets on July. But where? Westminister Abbey is a likely location. Or somewhere completely new?

With few facts to go on, royal watchers and gossip-lovers alike are grasping at anything that could be a hint of the wedding that some are predicting will be watched by billions of people.

"There's a lot of speculation that it's going to be a summer wedding but I think it's very telling in the announcement that the palace put out yesterday that it could be a spring wedding," royal expert Katie Nicholl told "Good Morning America" today. "And royal engagement announcements by tradition are short. So I wouldn't rule out seeing something perhaps as early as March or April.

"And June is the month that's being batted around because it's the month that Prince William turns 29 ... that birthday date could be very significant," Nicholl added.

Within hours of the announcement, and Middleton's appearance wearing the late Princess Diana's famous sapphire and diamond engagement ring, orders for replicas of the ring exploded, crashing jewelry websites.

"I called my wife and said, 'Honey, I'm not coming home tonight," New York jewelry company CEO Michael Arnstein told the Canadian Press. "We're in a frenzy. This is changing our business overnight."

Tuesday's announcement was followed by visible sighs of relief from the happy couple, as they had been keeping the secret not just from the public, but from their own family for months.

Only the couple and Middleton's father knew they were to be wed. Queen Elizabeth had not been told nor given her permission until days before the announcement, Nicholl said.

The queen said she is "absolutely delighted" for the couple, Buckingham Palace said hours after the announcement.

Like the queen, Middletons' parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, said Tuesday they too were "absolutely delighted."