from the engagement ring to the ceremony at westminster abbey, the memory of prince mem william s mother is a silence preparation. and although the princess will be physically absent from this time of joy and celebration, she ll be very much on william s mind standing before millions to greet his bride. for a look at how prince william s mother may have influenced the plans for wedding we re joined by celia wharton. good afternoon. hello. how do you think diana is influencing things even now such a long time after her death? i think that william s made it clear from the beginning that he wanted her to be a part of it and he even said when they announced the engagement, you know, that i want her to be there as much as she can be.
but there should be several nods to her throughout the day. do you think there will be? i m sure there will be. it would be odd if there were not. do you think her sense of the event to affirm it as a very happy occasion if she were here? i think so and all sorts of very complicated political undertones there and who knows how she d get on with kate or kate s mother and it would be probably a much more interesting day if she were still alive. but i mean, sadly, on many levels obviously she won t be there. celia, thanks so much for joining us. and there will be special coverage throughout friday for the wedding and be sure to tune in to special wedding coverage friday night here on msnbc and royal updates any time with the free nbc news royal wedding app. too much on your plate?
flocking to london hoping to squeeze in among a crowd that s estimated to be anywhere between 800,000 and 1 million strong. and that s the challenge facing the metropolitan police force. with 46 heads of state, national and foreign royalty, and many public figures, a major security operation is already under way to ensure the safety of everyone who attends. reporter: in the replen dent spring sunshine, london has been perfectly polished for the royal wedding, but beneath the fluttering flags and pristine pa.s lu pavements lurks the fear that this happy occasion could be transformed in a moment. andy spent 30 years working for the british police service. underneath what seems to be a happy celebration is the police service and the security agencies planning for whatever possibly could happen. reporter: his last post in london included royal protection. if there is an event and the police need to get somewhere quickly, they ve got to get through lots of crowds. report