Madonna to Marry in Scotland Dec. 22
Dec. 7, 2000 -- In Britain’sshow business wedding of the year, Madonna is to marry her filmdirector boyfriend Guy Ritchie in the Scottish Highlands threedays before Christmas.
The wedding will crown a triumphant year for the Queen ofPop, dubbed “McDonna” by the tabloids after she picked Scotlandfor her big day on Dec. 22.
Nuptials in Sutherland
Back in the charts at the age of 42 after the birth ofRocco, her son with Ritchie, she attracted a world recordWebcast audience of 9 million fans last month for her firstBritish concert in seven years.
“There is a notice on the board in the council offices,”said Dornoch registrar Leslie Conner in Sutherland.
Tabloid speculation about the wedding has reached feverpitch with the American star tipped to wear a wedding gown byStella McCartney while Ritchie would be kitted out in a kilt.
Madonna’s 4-year-old daughter Lourdes is expected to be abridesmaid at the glittering ceremony in Dornoch Cathedral.
‘Notoriously Unsettled’
Weather forecasters warned the elegant icon could be in fora windy day. “It is notoriously unsettled at this time of theyear,” a spokesman for the Meteorological Office said.
It will be in sharp contrast to the Material Girl’s firstwedding in 1985 to Hollywood star Sean Penn in the Californiansunshine. That stormy marriage ended after four years.
Madonna and Ritchie, 10 years her junior, paid a flyingvisit to Scotland earlier this week, sparking speculation thatthey were laying plans for their big day.
Hot tip to host the reception is Skibo Castle, a turretedpile on Scotland’s northeast coast that is a favorite backdropfor the weddings of the rich and famous.
Actors Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle, stars of theScottish cult movie Trainspotting, both held their weddings inits oak-paneled halls.
The castle is also reputed to be a favorite forHollywood stars Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, SeanConnery and Jack Nicholson, as well as billionaire Microsoftfounder Bill Gates.
The castle owners have refused to comment on whether thesinger has made any bookings there.
Her Christmas nuptials wrap up a memorable millennium yearfor Madonna.
The singer, born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone in BayCity, Mich., has reinvented her image more times than DavidBowie. Her new album, Music, has gone to No. 1 in 23 countries.
She then followed up with a return to the stage, playing toinvited audiences at two concerts in New York and London thatwon massive media coverage and heralded her return to thefrontline in the notoriously fickle pop business.