George Michael unveils royal wedding track

George Michael has unveiled his much-hyped royal wedding track for Prince William and Kate Middleton - a cover of Stevie Wonder's 'You And I'.

The 'True Faith' singer gave an exclusive first performance to CNN show Piers Morgan Tonight on Friday and told the interviewer that recording the track had been the "best two days of work" ever.

He explained: "The idea came to me last week... that I should perhaps kinda express my happiness at this marriage, in a way, publicly.

"It was an April day that happened to be like summer here in London and I was Twittering and kinda got carried away and decided I was gonna make [William and Kate] a new track... by Friday, so I've had a very busy week."

Michael, who was a close friend of William's late mother Princess Diana, further admitted that he had always wanted to cover Wonder's 1972 song.

"When I was a child I dreamed of singing this song in my imagination," he said. "I used to dream of singing it in the school assembly hall, but I guess this is a slightly bigger deal than that."

He added: "I would really like for any of my fans or anybody who really enjoys this track, if they're gonna download it for free... I would love them to go to Kate and William's charity site and make a donation if they're genuinely happy for these two people, which I think a lot of people are."

Kate's parents to spend 100,000 pounds on her wedding

London: With their daughter set to marry Prince William, parents of Kate Middleton will be spending about 100,000 pounds to pay for expenses like bridal gowns and hotel suites bills.

According to a report in 'The Sunday Times', Carole and Michael Middleton, mother and father of Kate will also contribute to the cost of an evening reception and disco hosted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, apart from paying bills for hotel suites, bridal gowns, bridemaids dresses, the maid of honour's outfit and the honeymoon.

Kate's parents have made millions from their mail order party business.

They will pay for several suites at the Goring hotel in Belgravia including 4,000 pounds-a-night two-bedroom, five-room suite for Kate and her sister Pippa, the maid of honour.

One-room Belgravia suites costing 1,140 pounds each including Vat will be taken for Carole and Michael, their son James, Kate's brother, plus a number of other close relatives and friends.

The Goring is not far from Buckingham Palace.

The hotel bill alone is expected to touch 20,000 pounds, including dinner, breakfast and drinks.

Other expenses include 30,000 pounds for Kate's bridal gowns and 20,000 pounds for Pippa's dress.

Prince Charles will cover most of the other costs and the Queen will host the lunchtime reception.

The cost of Prince Charles' wedding to Lady Diana in 1981 was estimated to have been 30 million pounds, but most of the security costs were picked up by the taxpayer.

Even Charles's modest wedding to his second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, may have cost 5 million pounds.

An official spokesman for Prince Charles said, "The Middletons have offered to contribute to the cost of the wedding. How much they contribute is a private matter".

Cheryl Cole 'not invited to royal wedding'

Cheryl Cole has joked that her invite to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding may have been lost in the post.

The 'Promise This' singer met Prince Charles last month and confirmed that she is launching a charity foundation in aid of The Prince's Trust. Speaking to Hello magazine, Cole admitted that she has not received an invite to the royal wedding next month.

"I'm going to ask Prince Charles where it is," she quipped. "I think it must have got lost in the post."

Praising the couple, she said: "I love Kate's style - she dresses like a princess. I've met William a couple of times, but never Kate. I can't wait for the wedding - hopefully I'll be watching from an aisle."

Speaking about her decision to launch the foundation for young people in the North East, the X Factor judge said: "When I was a teenager, my life now would have been beyond what I could ever hope to achieve.

"I feel very fortunate I was able to get myself into a different situation, and that I can help somebody else."

It was confirmed this week that upcoming X Factor auditions will no longer be held on April 29 in London, to avoid clashing with the couple's nuptials.

Elton John 'planning royal dinner party'

Elton John is reportedly planning a star-studded dinner party with Prince William and Kate Middleton as guests of honour.

The singer has also invited David and Victoria Beckham to the event, which is due to take place at his Windsor home three weeks before the April 29 royal wedding, The Mirror reports.

"Elton loves entertaining and hosting people at his home," a source said. "He is touring America at the moment but flits between there and the UK, and comes to his Old Windsor home whenever a short break in his schedule allows.

"He has wanted to invite Kate and William for dinner for a while now to thank them for his wedding invitation. He always puts on the most incredible feasts fit for royalty anyway, so they should feel right at home.

"The Beckhams will be invited, but it depends on whether his club let him travel."

Elton John recently confirmed that he will attend the royal wedding with partner David Furnish.