WEDDING WATCH: Designer of the dress: Sarah Burton

_ Australia: The wedding hoopla has raised the prickly issue of whether the country should dump the British monarch and become a republic.

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9:51 a.m.

ABBEY ARRIVALS: Elton John and David Furnish have arrived at Westminster Abbey for the royal wedding. So has former British Prime Minister John Major.

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9:42 a.m.

Crowds in London are cheering absolutely everyone who drives along the procession route, reports AP’s Rich Matthews, who is on the scene. Not long ago, a sanitation truck rolled by and the crowd went crazy with cheers and screams.

The driver played along, with a bit of a royal wave.

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9:36 a.m.

Paisley Dodds, AP’s chief of bureau in London, is taking a moment to think about hats. Here’s a preview of her story.

Floppy, feathered, flouncy and expensive _ hats were in full force Friday with guests lining up outside of Westminster Abbey for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.

Some looked like dinner plates. Others were so large they covered faces. One woman wore a bright red fascinator that resembled a flame licking her cheek.

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9:27 a.m.

Story Continues →

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