Inside the Royal Wedding Hotel

Dec. 14, 2010— -- As if it were not already expected to be the wedding of the year now comes word that Prince William and Kate Middleton plan to take over London's exclusive Goring Hotel for their reception and to house their closest friends and family.

This just isn't any hotel. Roughly 400 yards from Buckingham Palace, the Goring is the de facto annex to the royal family's home. Members of the royal family, including the Queen and the late Queen Mother, have eaten at the hotel on many occasions. The hotel's pastry chefs even supplied the christening cake for the christening of Prince Charles in 1948. Princes William and Harry are said to often be found at the hotel for a drink or meal.

The owners of the Goring -- it has been owned by one family for four generations -- refused to comment for this story or any other about plans for a royal wedding. But word in London is that the prince and his fiancee have taken over the five-star hotel for their reception and its 71 rooms and suites for their out-of-town guests. (Rooms start at $550 and suites go for $1,350 a night.)

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All the rooms and suites are individually designed, many by British designers to create the atmosphere of a country house retreat with more than a touch of city sophistication.

The Goring is currently in its hundredth year of operation and in its time has played host to many historic events. During the First World War, the hotel became the command center for the chief of the allied forces.

When the Norwegian Crown Prince visited in 1937, he explained his fondness for the hotel: "At Buckingham Palace I have to share a bath with five people! Here I have one to myself."