prince williamThe Queen has reportedly told grandson Prince William that he shouldn’t expect a huge public event if and when he marries long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton.

The couple have been at the centre of engagement rumours for most of their five year relationship but are unlikely to marry before the end of William’s military training next year.

The wedding of William’s parents, Prince Charles and Diana Princess of Wales, in 1981 was attended by 3,500 invited guests and watched on television by an estimated 750million around the world - but a source told the News of the World that the Queen has made it clear that William and Kate’s nuptials would not follow in their footsteps: “The Queen knows how the nation is really suffering [in the current economic downturn].

“A big lavish ceremony would send out all the wrong messages. The last thing she would want is to rub people’s noses in it by spending a fortune.

“She has made it clear that the massive royal weddings of the past are just that, of the past.”

William met Kate at university in 2003. This weekend news broke that his younger brother Prince Harry’s five year relationship with Chelsy Davy has ended.