Privacy main concern for royal honeymooners

Royal couple may honeymoon in sun-kissed sands or cosy up in colder climes, but the most important factor will be privacy.

LONDON // For royal honeymooners, privacy is paramount.

Once they are man and wife, this will be the priority as Prince William and Kate Middleton decide whether to honeymoon at the queen's 50,000-acre Balmoral estate in Scotland, a family holding so vast that the couple could relax without worrying about their every movement being tracked by long-lensed paparazzi.

They could combine a stay in Scotland - a beautiful spot but with iffy weather - with a visit to a reliably sunny locale, royal experts believe.

"I think privacy will be the most important thing," said Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine. "Maybe a week in the sun and a week in Scotland, which is a traditional royal honeymoon venue."

Prince William and Miss Middleton are somewhat limited by the prince's military commitments as a Royal Air Force helicopter search and rescue pilot with two weeks' leave available before he will have to be back at the base in Wales.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana spent several months honeymooning, combining a two-week Mediterranean cruise on the Royal Yacht Britannia with an extended visit to Balmoral in Scotland.

Mr Little said Prince William and Miss Middleton seem to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle of Balmoral, one of the queen's favourite estates.

He said photographers who might be tempted to to photograph the couple with telephoto lenses would likely be warned in advance against intruding on the couple's privacy by the UK's Press Complaints Commission.

The Prince's press office has refused to give details of the destination, although William himself has dropped several hints. On a trip to Australia, he told cheering crowds that the couple might return for a honeymoon in Cairns so they could scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef.

Some believe the couple will return to mountain retreat in Kenya where the Prince proposed to Miss Middleton last October. When he signed the guest book he said he hoped they would come back soon.

The wedding guest list includes several people - including a bartender and a yoga instructor - from the Caribbean island of Mustique, a favoured hideaway where the late Princess Margaret kept a house.

Other retreats, including Mauritius and the Seychelles, are also seen as contenders, as is the private island in the British Virgin Islands owned by the billionaire Richard Branson. Miss Middleton was photographed nine days before the wedding making last-minute clothing purchases on London's chic King's Road, including two bikinis.

But she would probably need those at all of the above destinations - except for Scotland, where romance is made out of haze, mist and fog.

* Associated Press