Prince William, Kate leave palace in helicopter

Prince William, Kate leave palace in helicopter

Prince William and his new wife flew out of Buckingham Palace Saturday after tying the knot in a dazzling display blending centuries-old royal tradition with the private moments of any young couple.

But they did not fly off to their honeymoon, the couple has decided to stay in Britain this weekend, palace officials said Saturday.

William, who married Middleton on Friday in an opulent ceremony at Westminster Abbey, plans to return to military duty as a Royal Air Force helicopter rescue pilot in Wales at the end of this weekend, which includes a Monday holiday, officials said.
They will go on a honeymoon to an undisclosed overseas location later, officials said, stating that this is the couple's "personal preference."

The palace has not revealed where in Britain they have gone for the weekend. The couple are thought to be seeking privacy after the intense media focus on their wedding.

Earlier, officials said William has scheduled a two-week leave from his military duties for the couple's honeymoon, but no specific dates or locations have been announced.

Official photographs of the newly wed couple taken by Hugo Burnand, above and to the right, were also released Saturday by Clarence House, where William's father, Prince Charles, lives.

The prince and Kate Middleton, his 29-year-old girlfriend of nearly a decade, married in London's Westminster Abbey on Friday in a ceremony that captivated the world.

A million cheering people tried to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds as they rode from the abbey to Queen Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace in an open-topped carriage. One newspaper estimated the worldwide TV and online audience at 2.4 billion people.
Commentators praised the royal family for striking a balance between choreographed pomp and ceremony — military bands in black bearskin hats and household cavalrymen in shining breastplates — and personal

"The British still know how to combine pageantry, solemnity, romance  better than anyone else in the world," wrote Sarah Lyall in the International Herald Tribune newspaper.

'Sea change'
William, 28, drove his bride the short journey from Buckingham Palace to St James's Palace in his father's open-top Aston Martin with the license plate "JU5T WED". Their kisses on the palace's balcony carpeted newspaper front pages on Saturday.